LOS ANGELES, April 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renowned autism parent and author Elaine Hall, as seen on HBO’s double-Emmy-winning documentary “AUTISM: The Musical,” presents “Global Autism Appreciation Week,” with a new video and Huffpost column featuring leading thinkers on autism, people with autism themselves, and family members of people with autism, all celebrating and appreciating the many ways autism positively influences our world, launching April 25, 2016. [Video: https://www.facebook.com/AutismAppreciation] [Huffpost article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elaine-hall/2468-how-do-we-appreciate_b_9761546.html]
The goal of the video is to celebrate a day of appreciation for people with autism and their families and encourage viewers to upload their appreciation videos. With a recognition that no matter what families with autism may be going through, people with autism and their support network are worthy of appreciation for the special and unique qualities and abilities they have, and for making a deep, meaningful and lasting contribution to their families and their world.
“People with autism have a true global contribution that they make to our world far beyond awareness and acceptance,” says Elaine Hall, founder of the Miracle Project, speaker to the United Nations on autism, and parent to a young adult with autism. Miracle Project founding board member and co-creator of the video Jess Block Nerren, parent to a child with autism and in remission from cancer, agrees, saying, “We wanted to take the discussion of autism one step further, because people of all abilities deserve a day of appreciation for the incredible things that they do.”
The new video is a quick-hitting segment showing the positive impacts that people with autism have had across the world on many different people, with appearances from: Autism Speaks board member and person with autism Stephen Shore, award-winning autism author Barry Prizant, children, teens and young adult performers with autism and other special needs from The Miracle Project, Shannon Penrod the host of Autism Live, researchers the Autism Treatment Network in Los Angeles, researchers and parents from the California State University Center for Autism, and family members from autism nonprofit Fullerton Cares Autism Foundation.
ABOUT THE MIRACLE PROJECT: Founded in 2004, the Miracle Project is a multi-platform socialization program that enables children, teens and young adults with and without autism to express themselves through music, dance, acting, story, and writing based in Los Angeles but serving and inspiring families across the country. The Miracle Project assists all children of all abilities to grow in skill and in spirit while creating and performing in original musicals. This acclaimed arts program was documented in the HBO double EMMY Award-winning documentary, AUTISM: THE MUSICAL. http://www.themiracleproject.org
ABOUT AUTISM: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, autism now affects 1 in 68 children in the United States. Autism is a complex condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges.