Student starts Germantown Autism Festival

By Lisa Kelly Eason

Commercial Appeal

MEMPHIS — What began as a mother-mandated, summertime homework assignment for 14-year-old Mashal Mirza evolved into the Mid-South area’s first Autism Festival this weekend.

Mashal, whose 12-year-old brother, Omar Mirza, is autistic, proposed the festival last summer in her winning entry for the U.S. Autism and Asberger Association Sibling Scholarship Award. Mashal entered at the insistence of her mother, local pediatrician Dr. Ayesha Shah.

In the essay, she proposed a festival especially geared toward children with autism.

Mashal, an eighth-grade student at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, also was invited to serve on a Sibling Panel at the USAAA’s 2008 annual conference last September in Austin, Texas. Mashal read from her scholarship entry, saying she wanted to provide a fun but soothing environment for children like Omar.

“This carnival would be for autistic kids only, because they do not like regular carnivals, which are loud, pushy and there’s much going on,” Mashal said in her entry. “... The kids would have fun because they will not get overstimulated. ...”

The free festival, held in conjunction with Autism Awareness Month, will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Riverdale Elementary School in Germantown, Tenn. The event will include food and typical carnival attractions, such as pony rides and inflatables, as well as activities geared specifically for children with autism, such as sensory activities and a “meltdown room.”

Shah said the festival will allow children and their families to be comfortable around others who understand the challenges of autism. Like most autistic children, Omar looks “normal,” and when the family is in public people often are taken aback by his behavior, Shah said.

“I can’t tell you how many times people have looked at us strangely and thought we have a misbehaving child,” Shah said. At the festival, autistic children will “be around people who understand and respect them.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disabilities caused by a problem with the brain. ... There is usually nothing about how a person with an ASD looks that sets them apart from other people, but they may communicate, interact, behave and learn in ways that are different from most people.”

More than 1 million Americans have autism-related disorders, which begin in early childhood and last throughout a person’s life, the CDC said. While symptoms and their severity vary, most people with an ASD have problems with social, emotional and communication skills and have trouble relating to other people. There is no known cure for ASDs.
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