More than $10,000 raised at C’town site

By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer

Not even the wet and cold could keep community members from taking steps to show their support for neighbors and friends who have children with autism.

According to organizers, over 250 people bundled up and put on rain gear to participate in the first-ever 5 K run and 2-mile walk for autism at the Clark Sports Center on Saturday.

Lynne Watson, organizer, said she was ``Very, very happy’’ with the turnout. She said the goal was set at 125 people and the outcome exceeded that so organizers were extremely happy that the pilot-year was such a success.

Cooperstown was one of seven sites, in conjunction with the Kelberman Center at Upstate Cerebral Palsy in Utica, kicking off Autism Awareness Month this past weekend. Other sites where a walk was held include Boonville, Halland Patent, New Hartford, Oneida, Rome and Utica.

Kelberman spokeswoman Julie Batson said this was the first year the Kelberman Center has spearheaded community efforts in order to create more awareness about autism. She said Cooperstown site alone rose over $10,000.

The goal was to raise needed funds that will stay in the area, said Batson. The intent is to reach as many people as possible; therefore, the walk took place simultaneously at seven sites, she added.

According to studies, the prevalence of autism in America has risen to one in 150 children. Batson said almost one in 94 boys are apt to have autism and nearly 67 children are diagnosed every day.

``It is the fastest growing developmental disability and has touched most of us through a family member, friend or neighbor,’’ said Batson.

Margaret Harmon, 9, and friend Sophia Leski, 8, said they were at the walk to support their friends who attend the autism program at Cooperstown Central School.

Sophia’s mother, Beth, said she hopes the Cooperstown program can continue to exist because she believes it really benefits many people.

Margaret’s mother, Mary, said the children encouraged her to out and support the cause.

``They really wanted to come,’’ she said.

She then pointed to Laura Harmon, 15, and said she also provided inspiration to participate in the walk.

``She (Laura) is a good runner and will hopefully win the race (5K),’’ said Mary.

While placing tickets into plastic containers next to things up for raffle, the two families said they did not expect the weather to be so cold because it was in the 60s only a couple days prior to the event.

Kelberman Center spokesperson Jean Jacobson said although organizers did not know how many people to expect for the first series of walks, she was not surprised by the outcome in Cooperstown.

She said autism is on the rise and the turnout just shows how much others love and are willing to support families in their communities that have children with autism.

``The more people you meet the more people there are out there that know others with autism,’’ said Jacobson.

Dr. Peter Van der Riet and Dr. Anouk Lambers, of Cooperstown, have a 7-year-old son with autism. Sebastian, 7, is the oldest of their three children and was attending the Promise Program at The Kelberman Center.

They said they thought the walk was a ``great success.’’ The couple said the walk meant so much to all affected families with autism.

Van der Riet said the intention of the walk was to get the whole community together to create awareness. He said kids with autism look just like any other children so when a child has an outburst or temper tantrum it can be very embarrassing.

If an outside observer is looking on, he or she may think a child with autism is just a spoiled horrible acting kid who has lost complete manners, said Van der Riet.

``People look at you like you cannot control your child or assume you are not a good parent,’’ said Van der Riet.

Van der Riet said when he was growing up he did not see too many kids with autism. However, he said autism is becoming a growing problem and is something people should be educated about because these kids will be growing up and will be around for years to come.

When asked what kind of challenges the family faces on a daily basis Lambers joked and said perhaps she should list the things that have not been a challenge.

Lambers said sticking to a routine is very important. Sebastian needs slow transitions and we need to anticipate things and explain things thoroughly, she explained.

``Everything takes a lot of planning ahead of time,’’ said Lambers.

Van der Riet said going to community events can be a problem.

``They can be very unpredictable,’’ he said. `` We have frequently had to pack up and leave.’’

Other tricks of the trade include packing a favorite snack or toy for Sebastian, said the couple. Sebastian is not able to speak so it is hard for him to communicate with us when he is feeling sick or wants or needs something, said Lambers.

It is hard to tell if Sebastian needs something or if he is acting out like a typical child might do, said Van der Riet.

The 7-year-old is learning to use a computer with pictures to better communicate his thoughts. The couple said Sebastian, like many children with autism, is very visually stimulated.

According to Lambers, she and her husband began recognizing early signs that their little boy may have autism when he was 18- months-old.

By the age of 2 we really saw red flags such as loss of eye contact, said Lambers. Van der Riet said finding out Sebastian had autism was very hard, particularly because both he and his wife are physicians at Bassett Healthcare.

At first doctors thought Sebastian might be learning slower because we speak two languages, said Van der Riet.

He said since both he and his wife are from Dutch decent, they spoke dual languages at home.

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