Light It Up Blue Kicks Off Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month and an ambitious effort has been
launched by Autism Speaks for a second straight year through its ‘Light It Up
Blue’ campaign. On April 1st and 2nd, buildings and well-known landmarks in over
120 cities across the United States and around the world will shine blue lights
at night to raise awareness for autism. Additionally, people have been
encouraged to wear blue clothing and apparel on both days as a show of their support.
The Home Depot is even selling blue LED lights that homeowners can use to light
up their homes.

Some notable landmarks that will be participating in the Light It Up Blue campaign
include the Empire State Building in New York City, the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in Ohio, the CN Tower in Toronto the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It’s nice to see Autism Speaks using its notoriety to create such a massive
awareness campaign. However, let’s hope it translates into meaningful change that will
benefit the millions of families directly affected by autism and not just
something that makes everyone feel good for a couple of days.

Based on the buzz that’s been created thus far, it looks like ‘Light It Up Blue’ will go a long way in drawing much needed awareness and attention to autism in the month of April.