Autism society hosts family friendly event

By SEAN BARRON
news@vindy.com
CANFIELD
Four-year-old Abbey Minotti may be nonverbal, but no communication expert was needed to accurately interpret her body language, which told the story of a child having lots of fun.
“She can do some numbers and colors. She knows about a dozen words and sign language,” said her father, Chris Minotti of Poland, who explained that Abbey was diagnosed about a year ago as being on the autism spectrum.
The girl was all smiles as she played in an inflatable house while her father and mother, Krista Minotti, prepared to take part in a 1-mile Autism Support Walk, which was part of Saturday’s Autism Warrior Competition fundraiser at the Canfield Fairgrounds.
Hosting the family-friendly event was the Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley.
The ASMV, which serves Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, is committed to improving the lives of those on the spectrum while recognizing that each person with autism is unique and deserving of respect, dignity and an equal opportunity to achieve the highest quality of life, its mission statement says.
Suffice it to say that Abbey’s parents are trying to accomplish that for their daughter, in part by having enrolled her in the Mahoning County Educational Service Center’s Poland site. While in school, she uses a book on communication with pictures and images to help her improve language development, Chris said, adding that, like many people with the condition, Abbey often finds making transitions challenging.
Abbey also sees a specialist in applied behavior analysis, Chris noted. ABA is a flexible therapy program that uses positive reinforcement and other strategies to better understand how behavior works and is affected by the environment, as well as how learning occurs.
A primary goal of the competition was to raise $15,000, money that would go toward support groups, community outings and efforts to develop events for adults and teens, said Jodi Glass, an ASMV board member.
“We want to reach out to the community to let people know the autism community needs support from everyone,” said Glass, whose 10-year-old son, Liam, received a diagnosis about six years ago.
Liam, who attends school in Hubbard, is gifted in math and science. He also is in a regular classroom, she continued.
Several dozen participants found themselves out of their regular routines, however, because they were on the business end of a people-powered tractor pull, another event at the competition. Five groups of two to eight pulled the large tractor about 100 feet along a paved road.
Many others subjected themselves to a more prolonged workout by being on teams such as Kasey’s Krew, Team Jesus and Jacen’s Jedi for the annual Valley Autism 5K run.
The Warriors Competition also featured children’s and Ninja obstacle courses, along with a special-needs resource fair that offered soft therapy toys, pamphlets with facts about autism, information pertaining to respite programs and events calendars.
For information about area programs and services, contact the ASMV at www.autismmv.org. or call 330-333-9609.