‘Autism Sings’ recognizes national autism month

The Aires, Brovertones, Decibelles and Dodecaphonics all gathered in Collis Common Ground last Thursday to perform at “Autism Sings,” an event held by ASPIRE to raise funds and community awareness about the impact of autism on Dartmouth and the Hanover community.

 

Event organizer and ASPIRE Amanda Marinoff ’12 said she was inspired to emphasize autism’s impact on society by former Dartmouth president John Sloane Dickey, who famously stated “the world’s problems are our problems.”

ASPIRE held a similar event last April, which is autism awareness month, but this year the group aimed to increase the educational aspect of the event. The event featured not only a capella performances, but also speeches from community members affected by autism in their daily lives. Three parents of ASPIRE participants and two students who have siblings with autism spoke to event attendees.

 

ASPIRE organizes weekly play programs and aquatic programs for 11 kids from the area with autism. The $750 that “Autism Sings” raised will go directly towards covering the costs of aquatic center fees, supplies for projects and aquatic instructor compensation.

One highlight of the program was a slide show accompanied by the song “So It Goes,” which was created by a national non-profit called “Songs for Autism.”

 

“I couldn’t be more thrilled with how the event turned out,” Marinoff said. “I think that it was really a wonderful way to bring together both the Dartmouth and Upper Valley communities.”

Marinoff began working on creating ASPIRE her freshman fall, and the group began programming her sophomore fall, she said. Since its founding, it has grown to include 18 Dartmouth student volunteers, she said.