BY AARON CHRISTIAN D. RUSIANA, KISHA MICA BARDAGO & CLIFFORD JAMES L. DANDUAN/UM Interns
THE AUTISM Society Philippines (ASP) Davao expects around 2,000 parents, children, advocates, and supporters for the Angels Walk 2025 at SM City Davao, Annex, on April 13.
During the Kapehan Forum on April 7, Imelda Rendon, executive director of Rainbow Intervention Center for Autism Foundation Inc., said the event aims to promote the rights and welfare of the children in celebration of Autism Awareness Month this April.
Uswaldo Parreñas, president of ASP Davao, added, “One of the aims of the Autism Society Philippines is to create, aside from awareness, this time is to focus on the acceptance, coz we want everyone to accept the individual.”
Parreñas said 1,227 attended last year’s Angels Walk, which exceeded their 1,000 target participants.
This year’s event will feature the same activities as last year, including showcasing the talents of children, as well as a parade that includes marching bands and mascots.
In an exclusive interview, Parreñas described the annual event as a platform to strengthen their advocacy, especially in raising awareness and helping children on the spectrum feel accepted and appreciated.
”This program is a very powerful tool for us because, apart from our advocacy for society to be fully accepted, we want to create awareness. Basically, we want [children in the spectrum] to have the feeling of being accommodated and being appreciated,” he stated.
Aside from the angels walk program, Parreñas also mentioned their other initiatives that continuously support children on the spectrum. These include Autism Works, where jobseekers aged 18 and older on the spectrum are matched with caring, inclusive employers, and the family support group sessions, which bring families together to share their experiences living with autism, providing insight and mutual support.
”Moving forward, of course, we want to have a continuous, I would say, acceptance that these individuals with autism will be fully inclusive,” he shared.
