Stafford MSD community to hold autism-awareness walk April 25; district outlines spirit-week activities

Stafford Municipal School District staff and parents promoted April activities for Autism Awareness Month and invited the community to a walk scheduled for Friday, April 25 at 4 p.m. at the Stafford Municipal School District Educational Plaza.

During the board meeting, the district’s special-education parent engagement committee described a spirit week of activities: "Light it up blue" on Monday; "shade out sensory overload" by wearing sunglasses on Tuesday; Spectrum Color Day (puzzle-piece colors) on Wednesday; "rock your socks for autism" on Thursday; and a mismatched-clothing day on Friday to celebrate neurodiversity. The committee president, Lee Valdez, and parents and students spoke about supports and early intervention.

Presentation remarks included local enrollment figures and special-education counts: staff said Stafford has about 3,495 students enrolled districtwide and that 77 students are identified with autism (a figure presented as the district’s count). Parent and student speakers described early-intervention services such as speech and occupational therapies and emphasized inclusion and support. A Stafford middle-school student noted characteristics of autism spectrum disorder and recommended early intervention to improve long-term outcomes.

Organizers said the special-education parent engagement committee will host a meeting the following evening and invited all community members to attend; they also planned to distribute handouts and small items at the walk and during the meeting.

Provenance: Remarks and event details were presented in the reports and presentations segment of the meeting.