Dover International Speedway kicks off Autism Awareness Month
Deanna Príncipe has two children challenged with autism. She says, “It’s a difficult journey. If you don’t know where the resources are it can be tough.”
She and her husband noticed by the time their son Joey turned two he wasn’t speaking. By age 3 he was diagnosed with autism. It’s a developmental disorder that impairs communication and social interaction. His younger sister Sammy followed the same timeline.
Príncipe agrees that it can be hard for parents to accept their child is different, but acknowledging it is in their best interest. It allows them to enjoy moments like the one her son Joey, who’s now 19 had on Wednesday. He is a huge Richard Petty fan and got to meet him at the Dover International Speedway.
Joey says, “I just met him. It was pretty exciting. It was my first time.”
Autism impacts one in 68 children in the U. S., according to the most recent data from Autism Speaks. With the awareness month starting in April, the Dover International Speedway kicked it off with NASCAR hall-of-famer Richard Petty.
Petty says, “We want to bring some notoriety to this and say hey man you all need to get in here and help. You know it takes money to make this work. Everybody get behind it and do the best they can for all these kids.”
Petty’s blue race car, which also happens to be the official color associated with autism, is now sitting in the hand of Miles the Monster at the speedway. It’s a reminder of the disorder for everyone who walks in. Plenty of them have autism themselves.
Artie Kempner, the chair for Drive for Autism says, “I have some friends that are on the autism spectrum. They always say, ‘we like symmetry, the cars go around, and the cars always come back to the starting point and we like that.'”
During the month of April, the monster monument will be bathed in blue lights in support of the Light It Up Blue campaign in honor of autism.
The AAA 400 Drive for Autism NASCAR Sprint Cup series race is Sunday, May 15th. For information regarding resources and services for those challenged with autism, click here.
