Nelson Leafs continue to support West Kootenay Autism Awareness
By Nelson Daily Staff
The Nelson Leafs continue to press forward with the club’s assisting in raising Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness with a donation Tuesday before Game four of the Kimberley-Nelson Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Playoff Game at the NDCC Arena.
This past Saturday during a bottle drive at the Leafs Bottle Depot, the club raised more than $1500 for West Kootenay Autism Awareness.
Some of the money will go to helping Tashia Weeks bring an instructor from the Canucks Autism Network to Nelson to put on a seminar for local swim and skate instructors on how to teach kids on the spectrum these skills.
The rest of the funds with go toward lessons with Michelle Seminoff at Little Oasis Equine Matters as they offer Animal Assisted Therapy to similar kids.
The Leafs began their Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness program in February thanks to the idea by head coach Mario DiBella.
“The hockey club thinks it’s important for the team to be role models within the community so when Mario approached to the board with the Leafs running an awareness campaign for Autism, we thought it the best thing to do,” said Leaf vice-president Corey Viala.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted or repetitive behaviours.
According to the AutsimBC, as of March 2014, 1 in 68 children have been identified as having ASD with it being 4.5 times more common in boys (1 in 42) than in girls (1 in 189).
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