Region 14 Education Services Center will host the 20th Annual Autism Extravaganza on Feb. 28 at Hunter Welcome Center from 8:30-4 pm.
This is a free event open to anyone who is interested in learning more about autism, the support that is available in the community and encouraging a more accepting world for neurodivergent people. A resource fair will be open from 8-4 pm with information regarding available resources in the community for those with autism and their family.
Amber Davies, ESC Region 14 consultant for autism and coordinator of the event, is an SLP who is very passionate about this event.
“I am a speech language pathologist, and I have worked with autistic individuals throughout my career, and I want them to be able to do the things that they want to do, when they want to do it,” Davies said. “Providing education about what autism is and how to provide support for our autistic individuals is really important to me.”
There will be two guest speakers at this event. Sherry Sancibrian MS, CCC-SLP, BCS- CL, FASHA, specializes in brain science and school success. Dr. Kerry Magro is an autistic individual who went from non-verbal to a motivational speaker. In addition to these two guest speakers, Davies will also speak at the event.
A panel of five individuals, Kerry Magro, Hunter Thomas, Penn Eichorn and Emily Bush, have autism and will share a peek into what their daily lives are like. The fifth individual is Abbie Fikes, junior communication sciences and disorders major from Abilene.
“Being chosen to speak on a panel for the 20th anniversary of the event is an enormous honor for me,” Fikes said. “I did not expect to be selected, and I am grateful to Amber Davis for choosing me to speak on behalf of myself, my major and fellow autistic students on campus.”
Over the past twenty years, this event has had a huge reach in the community. Davies said many still reach out to share stories of the impact the event has had and to ask how they can get involved.
“I’m really proud of what we have accomplished over the past twenty years,” Davies said. “We had no idea the reach and impact this has had on people over the past twenty years, but sometimes we hear stories, and we can see people going out and making an impact on those that they interact with themselves.”
Neurodivergent individuals are often made to feel that they are not capable of achieving amazing and meaningful things in this world. The guest speakers and this panel hope to help others understand what autism is and improve the world for autistic individuals everywhere.
“Autism is a spectrum with a wide range of characteristics,” Fikes said. “We all have hopes, dreams, aspirations, needs, wants and the capacity for relationships. It’s important for people to understand that having a disability does not mean we cannot lead our own lives; it may just look different from what they picture in their heads.”
Fikes encourages students at ACU to remember that just because a person may not appear to have a disability does not mean that they do not have an invisible disability. Sharing part of her story at this event is very important to her, and she plans to continue advocating and spreading awareness about autism and neurodivergent individuals.
“To all the students on campus with disabilities, I want you to know how valuable you are to the world,” Fikes said. “The world needs people of all kinds to work together to solve our problems. Whether I know you or not, all of you are capable of great things and will bless the world with your gifts and talents inside and outside of ACU.”
