The 8th annual “one piece at a time” Autism Awareness Walk took place on Saturday, April 27th and was a huge success! It was the perfect way to wrap up Autism Awareness Month. We had 1,000 people in attendance, and it was wonderful to see so many friendly familiar faces as well as many new ones! Thank you to all who joined us at this fantastic event! It was a wonderful show of support in our community!

CNY ASA thanks everyone who joined us at the Walk and the Kohl’s Autism and Related Disorders Program of the Margaret L. Williams Developmental Evaluation Center for its generous support of this event. We also thank all those who raised funds for and donated to CNY ASA. Donations can still be made on our Firstgiving site. Monies raised go towards our recreational programming, including two inclusive day camp programs this summer in collaboration with two YMCA sites and an iCan Ride Bike Camp. In addition, we plan to implement some additional recreational opportunities for the community! As always, we welcome feedback as to what types of programs and opportunities our families would like to see.

We also thank the many businesses, organizations, and individuals who helped ensure the success of the Walk, including:

• Our wonderful volunteers
• Families for Effective Autism Treatment who organized children’s activities
• Wegman’s
• Pepsi
• Fastrac Markets
• John’s Auto Care, Inc.
• Balloons Over Syracuse
• Twisters Mobile DJ Co.

• When: June 23 - June 28  
• Where: SRC Arena on the OCC Campus, Syracuse, NY

CNY ASA is excited to host an iCan Ride Bike Program this summer during the week of June 23 - June 28 at the SRC Arena on the OCC Campus in Syracuse.

The mission of iCan Ride is to teach individuals with disabilities to ride a conventional two wheel bicycle and become lifelong independent riders. This achievement, in turn, creates a gateway of opportunity, helping them gain assurance and self-reliance in many other aspects of their lives.

This is an adaptive bicycling program. For many children with disabilities, mastering riding a bicycle can be a seemingly impossible task, however with this camp, they can typically master it in less than a week's time.

This camp opportunity is open to participants that are at least 8 years of age with a diagnosis of autism. In support of our mission, priority will go to those campers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. If all spots are not filled, we will then open registration up to other campers with a disability. Camp sessions are for 75 minutes Monday thru Friday. There are both daytime and evening sessions available.

CNY ASA is able to offer this opportunity at no charge to campers with autism. There is a refundable deposit of $125 required to reserve a camp space; the deposit will be returned at the end of the week when the participant completes the session. Participants that do not show up will not get their deposit refunded. For campers without an ASD diagnosis, the fee is $200 to offset camp costs to CNY ASA.

Volunteers will also be needed for this exciting opportunity to spot particpants alongside the bikes.

For more information visit the www.icanshine.org website. To register and/or volunteer please fill out the forms below and email them to cnyasabikecamp@hotmail.com or return to: CNY ASA, 4465 E. Genesee St., PMB 252, Dewitt, NY 13214.

• Rider Registration Form
• Volunteer Registration Form

This camp is made possible through the generosity of several sponsors, including:

• TJX Co., Inc.
• SRC, Inc.
• John's Auto Care, Inc.
• Gary Menke's Ha!Ha! for Autism Awareness
• Funny Bone Comedy Club Restaurant

• When: July 1 - August 9, 2013  

CNY ASA is pleased to announce that its inclusive summer recreational program will continue this year. There will be two sites for this six-week program, the East Area YMCA in Fayetteville and the North Area Family YMCA Y-Kids Club at Roxboro Elementary in Mattydale. The East Area YMCA will run from 9am - 3pm Monday thru Friday, and the North Area Family YMCA site will run from 9am - 1pm Monday thru Friday. Campers will participate in themed activities each week, including arts and crafts, gym games, swimming (East Area YMCA only), and occasional field trips. CNY ASA will provide special education supports, teaching assistants, and related service consultants to supplement the existing camp staff. To be eligible for consideration, children must be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and be between the ages of 5 and 8 on July 1, 2013 for the East Area Y location, and between the ages of 5 and 9 by July 1, 2013 for the North Area Y location. Campers will be responsible for normal camp fees, varying by location, and there is an additional fee of $25 per week payable to CNY ASA. Scholarship programs, based on income, may be available.

If interested, please complete the summer camp application and return with the requested paperwork as soon as possible to CNY ASA, 4465 E. Genesee St., PMB 252, Dewitt, NY 13214 or email to cnyasa@yahoo.com. Space is limited.