LCDD holds sensitive egg hunt, Walk for Autism (WITH GALLERY)

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, April 20, 2022

ROME TOWNSHIP — Children of all ages took to the Lawrence County Fairgrounds on Saturday, looking for Easter eggs for the next day’s holiday.

Lawrence County Developmental Disabilities hosted a Sensitive Egg Hunt, providing an accessible activity for those diagnosed with autism.

Just prior to the event beginning, LCDD hosted a Walk for Autism, with dozens participating and taking the route around the fairgrounds.

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“We are targeting people with autism and we are doing this to bring awareness to people with autism,” Julie Monroe, superintendent for LCDD, said of the walk, the first for LCDD.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that about one in 44 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to estimates from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Monitoring Network. ASD is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. Signs of ASD begin in early childhood and typically last throughout a person’s life.

Monroe said the event was a collaboration by LCDD with the Autism Project of Lawrence County, Special Needs Youth Sportsmen and the Autism Services Center.

Groups were set up on the site, providing information about services in the area, as well as events, such as Special Needs Youth Sportsmen’s fishing day, which provides a free day outdoors for families in June.

Monroe said they were also giving away two sensory Easter baskets, which contained items such as weighted blankets and sensory toys.

Following both events, lunch was provided to attendees.

Monroe said LCDD’s next public event will be their annual fall festival.

The event at the fairgrounds was one of the first for community use, following the use of COVID-19 funding by the Lawrence County Commission to pay down the main barn and reserve it for public gatherings over the next three years.

LCDD is a publicly funded program serving children through adults in Lawrence County.

The agency operates Open Door School and provides lifetime services through adulthood for those with developmental disabilities.