PUMPKIN THERAPY
Event offers autistic kids a chance to stretch socially
EL CENTRO — Children on the autistic spectrum were given the opportunity to have some Halloween fun in a family-oriented social atmosphere during Autism Support of Imperial County’s pumpkin carving and decorating event held Tuesday night at First United Methodist Church.
The event was open to anybody with an immediate family member with autism and provided 75 pumpkins for decorating on a first-comefirst-served basis.
“When it comes to children with autism, or even adults with autism, socializing is very limited. They tend to not want to socialize and not want to have too much contact with any other persons,” ASIC President James Gonzalez said. “Not every child is going to interact. Every child is different, but if they can somehow get their child to interact, and help them carve or paint the pumpkin, that’s what it’s all about.”
This was the first time ASIC had held a pumpkin-carving event in its 25 years, Gonzalez said.
While El Centro resident Nora Cornejo had previously brought her 7-year-old autistic daughter to previous interactive ASIC events, she noticed her daughter especially enjoyed interacting with pumpkins. “It’s funny because she’s very finicky when it comes to textures like that,” Cornejo said. “For some reason, this one doesn’t bother her.”
Cornejo, who also brought her 14-year-old son Hector along to participate in the carving, believed Tuesday’s event was very helpful for the local autistic community.
“It’s helpful for them because they get to meet other kids in the spectrum,” Cornejo said. “It also helps me with support to meet other people in the community who share the same experience as I do. It was well organized. The pumpkins were huge, I thought I was going to see little pumpkins, but the pumpkins are huge, and they’re really enjoying it.”