CORNING, N.Y.--The nearly 100 families that came to Corning's Palace Theatre Wednesday had at least one thing in common: a child with autism.
"I'm going to see a movie with my autistic brother Eddie," said James Vandright.
Was Eddie excited?
"Yes," said Eddie Vandright.
Organizers treated autistic kids and teens to "Happy Feet" and "Horton Hears a Who." With tickets and snacks, it was a complete moviegoing experience.
"This is a really big deal for the kids to experience what it's like to be able to go to a movie theatre and be able to have a seat and to sit down and to have popcorn," said Belinda Vandright.
April is Autism Awareness Month. And as our Kat De Maria tells us, the a movie outing in Corning highlighted the struggles families with autism have with even the most everyday activities.
"These children unfortunately aren't always able to go in and enjoy a movie going to your corner movie theatre. What we find is they have special needs that need to be in place," said Tricia Bressler, autism psychologist for the Corning-Painted Post Area School District.
Organizers catered to those needs by adjusting the movie's lights and volume and bringing in special props.
"We have a sensory area, a break area, a lot of opportunities for these kids to get pressure or to get fidget toys that they may need," Bressler said.
Bressler said people with autism are easily overwhelmed by sights and sounds, like at the movies, and can exhibit behaviors others might not understand. Parents said they make an extra effort to do everyday things.
"We need to live. We can't be in the house and not be able to go out to a restaurant or the movies or bowling and do regular family activities," Vandright said.
The families said they enjoyed getting together as a group.
"Having a special event for families with autism makes it better for us to get together and enjoy each other as a community under circumstances the kids can tolerate. It was a great time," said one woman who has an autistic son.
The kids agreed. Now the families say they're looking forward to their next adventure: bowling.
The families with autism are starting a support group. Their first meeting will take place Thursday, April 24th at 6:00 p.m. in the room above the Southeast Steuben County library.
The Arc of Steuben and Pathways sponsored this event so the families could go free of charge.