Autism walk in Tucson connects families to support

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Families will gather in downtown Tucson this weekend for the Dino Day and Walk, an event supporting the Autism Society of Southern Arizona. It starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Tucson Convention Center, with a route just under a mile long. Proceeds from tickets will go toward programs that connect families with resources and education.

Across the country, autism is a part of life for many families. In the U.S., about 4 in 100 boys and 1 in 100 girls have autism.

For some parents, having access to events and organizations like this can make a meaningful difference.

“I was a first time mom. I was also 19, so I didn’t really know a lot,” Starr Anderson Lopez says. She admits it was a lot to take in initially.

Starr lives in Tucson and has three kids. “All three of them are on the spectrum, and they all are so, so unique and have wild personalities.”

As her kids grew up, she says there were times she felt unsure and alone.

“I was very like alone and didn’t have a lot of friends and didn’t really know a lot of people. And I felt bad for my kids because they didn’t have, I feel like, as many friends or people who understood them,” she explains.

But, finding the Autism Society opened the door to resources she didn’t know were available. “I feel like it’s important to have the exposure to those resources because sometimes you don’t even know that they exist.”

Now, with a stronger sense of community, she hopes other families can find that same support.