13th Annual Chattanooga Autism Celebration Walk

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The 13th annual Autism Celebration Walk was held Saturday at Coolidge Park, bringing together members of the community for a day centered on autism acceptance.

The event is hosted each year by the Chattanooga Autism Center, and more than $111,000 has been raised in connection with the event’s fundraising efforts.

The day included scheduled activities, vendor booths, and a one-mile walk through the park.

Participants said the event offered a chance to connect with others and share experiences within the autism community.

Kirk Lazenby described that sense of connection, saying, “My favorite thing at the wall is to just connect with other autistic people. I love that we have people from all over the southeast come here in just a sense of community and camaraderie, seeing the younger autistic kids playing, meeting other autistic adults. It’s just a whole vibe.”

Others said the event also served as a place for learning and comfort in a public setting.

Camille Winningham said, “Is a great place to learn about autism. It’s also a great place to see autistic adults on math and autism on math. We so often and the autistic community our autism within the public, and this is the place that we feel comfortable just being ourselves.”

For some attendees, the event also highlighted support within the community during difficult moments.

Eric Small said, “so the fellowship, the camaraderie, the openness, the kindness that we’ve experienced, my family here a little bit earlier. We had a kind of a rocky start in the morning, but it was nice to see that I had so many friends and people that I didn’t even know that were my friends they’re gonna be around and kinda like support us and not make us feel ostracized or weird about you know him him having a little bit of a meltdown or having a harder time being overstimulated.”

The annual walk is held during Autism Acceptance Month and is focused on connection, awareness, and community support.