Meghan Doran, Assistant Education & Recreation Manager
Beginning in 2017, Summit Metro Parks partnered with the Autism Society of Greater Akron (ASGA) to become the first Autism Friendly Community location in Summit County. Earning this designation would not have been possible without ASGA’s Laurie Cramer and Lisa Thompson, who facilitated the process and held various training sessions for our staff. The park district has also created educational pieces to inform the public of the center’s welcoming and inclusive environment, and how they can best support the initiative. As a result of these efforts, the Nature Realm was officially recognized in May 2018 as a welcoming facility for individuals and families living with autism.
Connecting all individuals in Summit County to meaningful park experiences is a central theme of our mission. Summit Metro Parks strives to create a safe, accepting and inclusive environment with events and programs designed with special populations in mind. We believe that strong families make strong communities, and becoming an autism-friendly organization shows families and individuals living with autism that we care and have gone the extra mile to learn how to support them. Because people with autism often have behavioral and social difficulties that can inhibit their ability to interact with others, they and their families can sometimes feel isolated from their communities. Autism affects the entire family, not just the individual with the disorder, and families often must split up to ensure that everyone’s needs are met — including dividing the family member with autism from other siblings. The Autism Friendly designation helps identify locations where the entire family can enjoy being together.
This new program is already making life easier for individuals and families living with autism. To celebrate the launch of our designation, we hosted our first Autism Friendly Family Day on June 2, 2018, and over 50 children, teens and adults joined us to hand-feed chickadees, go on a scavenger hunt, hike the trails and interact with our center’s exhibits. We are proud to say that our staff can now provide a comfortable, inclusive and meaningful environment for children and adults with autism.
Attaining this designation ultimately supports our desire for social equity in everything we do. Although our ranger department completed the training only this past summer, they have already had the opportunity to apply what they learned to help families in our parks. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with the autism community and sharing our story of inclusiveness long into the future.