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Attendees come together at the center of the Urban Arts Village’s stage for a drum circle. ERIC MOLLENAUER/Staff -
Dr. Damian Francis shows off a screen print t-shirt at an arts and crafts booth. ERIC MOLLENAUER/Staff -
Barbara Coleman helps set up a crafts table with volunteers. ERIC MOLLENAUER/Staff -
Derek McConnell and Emma Grace Avery make a t-shirt together. ERIC MOLLENAUER/Staff
April is designated as National Autism Acceptance Month, but Georgia College’s Center for Health and Social Issues, along with the Life Enrichment Center (LEC), hopes to bring awareness beyond just a month.
The collaborative event featured live music, food trucks, educational resources, an artisan market, various art activities, and more for everyone to enjoy.
“This kind of event is something to showcase that we’re all the same, we aren’t different,” Karli Galloway said.
Galloway is the community outreach coordinator for the Center for Health and Social Issues at Georgia College and helped plan the event.
“I have a cousin that’s on the spectrum and I wish that he could see this because he’s always felt like he was different and he didn’t fit in,” she said.
The event’s main objective is to spread awareness for those on the spectrum with the common theme being that whether someone has autism or not, everyone is more alike than different.
“We are really promoting similarity as opposed to difference and the fact that people with special needs have similar, if not the same, abilities that we have,” Dr. Damian Francis said.
Francis is the director of the Center for Health and Social Issues at Georgia College. He promoted various health resources while participating in other activities throughout the event. “I’m an epidemiologist and it’s always been my interest to try and improve the health of our community and our residents in particular.”
Not only did the event act as an educational resource, but it was also a fun environment for everyone to enjoy themselves, regardless of background.
The event aligns with the vision of the Life Enrichment Center, which is to have the community embrace individuals with developmental disabilities for their similarities instead of differences.
“Bringing in food trucks, musicians, local artisans, and educational resources and all is a more holistic approach to educating people about being on the spectrum,” said Barbara Coleman, LEC executive director.
Coleman previously partnered with Georgia College’s Center for Health and Social Issues in 2022 for the unveiling of a black-and-white photo gallery composed entirely of artists with intellectual developmental disabilities.
Coleman personally connects to events like these through her work with the LEC and knowing many people on the spectrum, like her nephew.
“The world expected him to fit into their world and not realizing that he was just trying to fit into his world… he really opened my eyes to the fact that every person on the spectrum is unique.”
With plenty of activities to participate in, the event had something for everyone and created a safe space for people to be educated on what makes people on the spectrum unique but alike at the same time.
“We’re trying to show that people are living in our community who are on the spectrum and we want people to know them and know that we are all people,” Galloway said.