By Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer
    This Sunday will mark the Fifth Annual Autism Walk held in Biddeford. The walk will be held at the University of New England’s Biddeford campus on April 29 from 11 a.m. through 2 p.m. in conjunction with a walk at the University College of Bangor to raise money for autism research as well as the Autism Society of Maine. The Autism Society of Maine, or ASM, uses the funds raised from the walk to pay for children with autism and Aspergers to attend a summer camp for two weeks.
     The Biddeford walk was organized by Roberta Bernier, the mother of an autistic child who also runs an autism and Aspergers parent support group whose meetings are held Monday nights at the Teen Center. Currently, the group consists of between 10 and 15 people but Bernier said that everyone is welcome. She said that she has recently discovered several adults living with autism and Aspergers and invited them to come to the group with their families. Bernier said that she lines up speakers for nearly every meeting to help educate the families about the services that are available to them.
    “There’s so much help out there and people just don’t know about it,” said Bernier, adding that there are things available for families that until recently, she wasn’t aware of.
    “Knowledge is power,” she said.
    Last year, more than 300 people participated in the Autism Walk and raised a total of nearly $35,000. Bernier said that she has approximately 150 sponsors in the business community that have donated either financially or in goods or services for the walk. Area schools are also raising money for the walk. The Biddeford Fire Department has been a contributor every year since the walk began. They bring a truck from the Hills Beach Station and provide coloring books for the children. Sparky, the fire department mascot is also on hand, along with Clifford the Big Red Dog, whose costume is donated by the Biddeford Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, Clinic. Volunteers wear the costumes for the walk.
    Autism is a disease that crosses the spectrum in cause and treatments and is also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders, or ASD. Included in the ASD are all types of autism and Aspergers Syndrome. The symptoms also span a range of severity from speech delays to mental retardation. Treatments also vary depending on the individual situation as well as the severity of their disability.
    Parents of autistic children have a variety of stories to tell about their every day lives.
    Belinda Archer of Saco is the mother of three autistic children, all of whom have different issues from Aspergers to Turret’s syndrome to developmental delays, as well as a child who is not autistic. She said that the child who does not have ASD worries that he will become responsible for his siblings if anything happens to his parents and has had to take on a complicated role within the family structure. She said that she wishes that he didn’t have to deal with such responsibility.
    “This is all I know of being a parent for 25 years,” said Archer. “I’m learning as I go. I don’t have all of the answers for everybody. It’s a work in progress and a day to day struggle.”
    This is the first year the family has participated and Archer and her children plan to volunteer at the walk.
    Betty Demeule of Saco said that it took nearly five years for her child to be diagnosed with Aspergers and in the meantime the child struggled in school and was disciplined for multiple behavioral issues. She said that the right program for her child has not been discovered to this day. Demeule and her son will be participating in the autism walk for the third year.
    “My son really enjoys walking with us too because he gets to see that he is not the only one, especially because he is a teenager,” said Demeule. “It does have its ups and downs, but you know you wouldn’t trade your child for anything.”
    Jen Audet of Biddeford said that she thinks there needs to be more awareness of ASD.
    “Hopefully, this (autism walk) will bring parents together. It’s almost like they are afraid to say that they are the parent of an autistic child,” said Audet. She and her child plan their first year of participation in the walk as volunteers.
    Biddeford resident Raelyn Skillings compared being the parent of an autistic child to being in a war zone.
    “You think you can predict and plan but every day is different, it’s intriguing,” said Skillings. “Had we not had a special needs child, we would look at the world in a different way. He’s taught us a lot.”
    Skillings said that other parents have been a huge help to her in understanding her child as well, but she said that the state doesn’t have the resources to deal with the increasing number of autistic children. She said that homeopathic remedies have been helpful to her child and that encouraged her to go back to school to study homeopathic medicine so that she can help other families.
    Skillings said that she has participated in the walk for years and plans to continue the tradition.
    There are a limited number of specialized schools in Maine that children with ASD can attend to assist them in coping with their disease. Public schools are obligated to pay for a child in their district to attend a specialized school or to provide appropriate education services for them, said Bernier. 
    There was national legislation introduced by Congressmen Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania), Christopher Smith (R-New Jersey), Eliot Engel (D-New York) and Chip Pickering (R-Mississippi) on April 17 titled “Expanding the Promise for Individuals with Autism Act of 2007.” The legislation would create a national task force to study biomedical and behavioral treatments and services for autism spectrum disorders, or ASD. It would also establish state grant programs to provide services, provide funding to address individual needs, provide funding for expanded access to treatments and provide additional grants for training for service providers and educators. The legislation would also establish a national center on autism services information.
    Information on the walk can be found on the Web site for the Autism Society of Maine at www.asmonline.com or call 1-800-273-5200. Donations can be made to the Autism Society of Maine, Walk for Autism, 72 B Main Street, Winthrop, ME 04364. Registration forms for the walk can also be printed from the Web site and Bernier said there is no required minimum monetary amount that needs to be raised in order to participate in the walk.