Autism Awareness

We are getting ready for the 2008 Flying Pig! I know it is still almost 8 months away, but there is much to do!

Thanks to everyone that was able to participate and/or contribute to the Run/Walk for Autism Awareness. Together we raised almost $5,000! Let's push that number even higher for this year's goal!

September 29th the Greater Cincinnati Autism Society is holding a convention for Autsim Awareness in Anderson. We have been approached by the Society and are going to participate by working a booth in order to raise more support for the walk/run.

The 2008 Walk/Run will be Sunday May 4th in Cincinnati Ohio. For those of you that don't know, this is in conjunction with the Flying Pig Marathon. The Cincinnati Flying Pig is celebrating it's 10th year in 2008 and we are happy to be celebrating our 2nd!

We will try to update the information on this site once a month and more frequently as the event approaches. If anyone has any questions please call or comment. You can also check out the web sites listed on the links tab.

Thanks for all of your support!!

Today, 1 in 166 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

Two of my grandchildren have been diagnosed with Autism and we have seen the effects first hand. For those of you that haven’t had a close connection with Autism you are fortunate, but you are also in the minority. From the statistics above, you can see that Autism is affecting more and more people every day and the search for a cure is more pressing.

My daughter, Stephanie, and I decided that we were not going to let that trend continue. This year she and I decided to do our part in the search for a cure to end this horrible epidemic. On Sunday May, 6th we are going to participate in the Flying Pig Race. This is a run/walk race that the City of Cincinnati hosts every year. I will be walking the half marathon (13.1 miles) and Stephanie will be running the half marathon. We hope that you will support us in our mission by participating in the walk/run or by donating to this cause. Our goal is to raise awareness and money to further the funding for Autism research. All of the donations we receive will be given to the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati and will be used specifically for research.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We hope you join us for the walk/run. For all of those participating with us we will be supplying T-shirts and bracelets for the race. If you can’t join us on race day please make a donation to the Greater Cincinnati Autism Society. More details about the race and Autism can be found in the web-sites listed below.

Thank you for your support.

Janet and Stephanie