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Wednesday, March 25, 2015 • Huron Expositor 3
Seaforth student raising money for autism awareness
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Morgan Mason is a kid on
a mission.
The 11 -year-old Seaforth
student has started an edu-
cational campaign to better
inform people about autism,
the oft -misunderstood
development disorder he
was told he had last year.
"I started this campaign
because I learned I had
autism last year and that is
why other people treated me
differently like teasing or
bullying me," he told the
Expositor. "I wanted to get
people to be more interested
in autism learn more about it
and how it affects me. I
wanted people to become
aware that not everyone is
the same inside and outside,
but that isn't a reason to treat
them poorly:'
As part of his campaign,
Mason has opted to raise
money for autism aware-
ness, already taking in $720
towards his goal of $750. He
even spent the better part of
March 20 soliciting funds for
Autism Ontario at Seaforth's
TD Bank branch.
"I decided to raise money
for autism awareness to
donate to Autism Ontario
and help other families liv-
ing with autism," he said of
his motivation. "I also
wanted to learn more about
why I am the way I am and
Autism Ontario has been
helping me and my family
understand that"
Mason also applauded
efforts by Autism Ontario to
organize special events for
children dealing with the
disorder, including its 'Mad
Science Day' held over the
March Break holiday.
He said these sort of group
events provide a level of
acceptance that can be
tough to come by around
those unfamiliar with the
disorder.
"It feels good to be part of
a group and not being wor-
ried about fitting in or
accepted," Mason said. "I
want everyone to be aware
and be accepting of people
with any disability but espe-
cially autism."
His mother Elizabeth says
she is very proud of her son's
efforts to make "the world a
better place," noting that
Morgan was diagnosed
with high functioning
autism/Asperger's syndrome
when he was only 15 months
old.
"We made a con-
scious choice to not tell Mor-
gan until he asked," she
explained. "He is
highly intelligent and misun-
derstood; we have faced
many battles over the years,
but we have had many suc-
cesses too:'
Elizabeth also under-
scored the importance of
organizations like Autism
Ontario in assisting fami-
lies and children alike with
autism, especially the
group ' s local
branch. Unfortunately,
Marco Viglion Huron Expositor
Morgan Mason stalked out a position at Seaforth's TD Bank branch on March 20 to raise money for autism awareness.
support for rural families
pales in comparison to
those living in bigger urban
centres, she says.
"That is why it is important
to us to support our local
chapter of Autism Ontario. I
joined the local chapter
board of directors and the
support is amazing," Eliza-
beth explained, noting that
all positions with the Huron -
Perth chapter are held by
volunteers. "All money
raised stays local and helps
those that people and their
families directly with social
activities, funding for special
expenses related to autism
and help to ease the burden
to these families."
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Morgan's next high-profile
public appearance will be at
an assembly at Seaforth Pub-
lic School to celebrate World
Autism Awareness Day on
April 2. Morgan will help
raise the autism awareness
We will be closed
flag, which was generously
donated by Autism Ontario.
Those interested in learn-
ing more about Morgan's
campaign are invited to
check out www.facebook.
com/morganmasonASD.
/Cr
April 3rd ,2014
Deadlines are Thursday
April 2 nd at 2:00 pm
(Editorial & Advertising)
Open again on Monday April 6
Happy Easter to All!
•
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