A volunteer raises a banner at the beginning of the event. The crowd for the walk began to trickle in shortly after.

The event took place at White River State Park. The city of Indianapolis is in view as the volunteers set up there tents.

A team member heads towards the stage to mingle. His shirt was an inspiring quote that became popular among the crowd.

Evey Petro gets her face painted. She is getting ready for the walk.

Evey Petro holds up her hand to show off her newly painted skin. She is almost ready to meet with her team.

Bottles were filled with water and glitter in the sensory tent. The children played with them before the walk began to pass the time.

The full crowd of volunteers and team members visit the activity tents. The people are beginning to congregate towards the start banner and stage.

Evey Petro gathers around with her team members. They take a team picture.

Blake Dauby sings the national anthem beautifully. The crowd was in absolute awe over his performance.

The crowd waves their pom-poms for Autism. The last thing they do before the walk begins.

The teams make their way under the banner. The walk starts and the crowd is silent in honor of those who have sensory issues towards loud sounds.

The start banner was also the ending banner. The teams got to come back in through a bubble machine to celebrate.

Waving your blue pom-poms is the new clapping. Organization walks are typically a common fundraiser and awareness event for many different causes nationwide, but once you stepped foot and submerged yourself into the Autism Speaks Walk’s atmosphere, it was apparently clear why it so strongly and uniquely spoke to all of those passionate enough to get involved. This was quite the afternoon filled with smiles, bright eyes, high hopes, and communal bonding. Even the sky shown bright blue for Autism.

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is where those who live with the condition may have difficulties communicating, speaking, or interacting with their peers and others. Sensory issues are also a prevalent aspect of Autism and can play a huge role in children and adults who have the condition when dealing with temperatures, textures, sounds, sights, or light in their everyday environments.

That’s why the sensory tent for the kids was so important to this fun-filled afternoon. There was shaving cream to play with on the tables and playdough for touch, bubble wands and bottles filled with water and glitter for sight, and face paint for pure fun. It was the children’s favorite spot, both those who lived with autism and those who didn’t… and that was the goal.

Inclusivity of those who seem a little different than us is extremely important and one of the main issues that the Autism Speaks community tries to teach others every single day. To start teaching young kids how to interact with those who are not as skillful communicators as them, and for them to understand their struggles and be patient and willing to make friends with those who live with the disorder, is a wonderful and difficult goal. And what better way to create this social norm than at a young age by playing with other kids who love the same joyous activities. That’s what this tent was all about. Inclusivity, understanding, fun, and normalcy.

Evey Petro, a young girl I had met at the tent and spent some time with seemed to be in love with the fun and friends that the tent provided to her before the walk. “I really really like playing with all of the kids here. I’m shy, but everyone here is nice. I like feeling included. It makes me smile”, Evey said to me.

Now Evey does not even live with Autism, but she knows others who do and that is enough for her to want to make a change in her environment at school and in her community. She’s a kid, she loves to play with others, but she is shy and does not always know how to make friends, so imagine how her peers who do live with Autism feel in these situations. This is why Evey, her mother and father, Dana and Trent, and her older brother Braden Petro walk for Autism. They walk for understanding, for inclusivity, and for opportunity of their friends and family who live with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

As the event went on and Evey and her family got ready to begin the walk, there were a sea of inspiring t-shirts congregating together to all make their way under the same banner as a community and show off their pride for themselves and their loved ones.

On stage, Blake Dauby sang a beautiful performance of the Star Spangled Banner, showing the entire field of people the talent that those who live with Autism are able to possess if you allow them to express their individuality. He commanded the stage and captured the love and respect of the audience within seconds of releasing his first notes.

Before the silent countdown to the race, the crowd was instructed to “wave your pom-poms” that were handed out upon entrance for the parents who support autism, for the grandparents, for the friends, and for the community. This was just another subtle example of how the Autism Speaks organization carefully considers and simply acknowledges autistic needs through the sensory issue of sound. It was a dedication to those living with the disorder and an opportunity to show them that the community respects them and thinks of them as equals.

Once the walk began it was beautiful to watch the team shirts dedicated to loved ones walk under the banner and not soon after walk back under through a cloud of bubbles. The excitement and pride of the teams were awe-inspiring. Pom-poms were once more in hand, but more importantly, raise high in the air to welcome the walkers back in.

For the entire afternoon, it was goodbye to clapping and hello to shaking your pom-poms for Autism. Which honestly is a more fun way of cheering anyway.