We Run the Spectrum: Erin Bryant

Our Virtual 5K, We Run the Spectrum, welcomes people from all over the world to complete a 5K their way while advocating for the autism community. Solo participants and teams are working diligently to raise understanding about autism and fundraising to help further our mission. Today we would like to highlight one of our participating team captains, Erin Bryant.

Bryant is the team captain for Centennial @ District U-46. This team has participated in prior years and we truly appreciate that they decided to join us again this year. We reached out to her to learn more about why she is participating in our event and her experiences in participating.

Bryant shared that their school has,

“5 ILP classrooms comprised of students that are on the autism spectrum. Those students are integrated into our Gen Ed classrooms every year so every teacher at our school is passionate about spreading awareness and acceptance for these students.”

ILPs are, as noted by the the U.S. Department of Labor, Individualized Learning Plans used to help students learn their skills and interests, find potential secondary education programs, careers, and jobs, and set goals related to the potential programs that will be achieved through certain classes.

This is their third year participating in a run, and Bryant noted that the past two years they have organized their own run with local police and their families participating. For their event, they decided to get t-shirts for the participants to wear during the run. As a group, they also created a video that they shared with the staff and families to help promote their cause. Bryant says they also posted this video to their Facebook page.

In comparison to prior years, Bryant said that despite promoting the event earlier this year, they have less donations and members participating. This did not discourage her, though, as she mentions that there are still 3 weeks until the run and there have been last minute entries and donations before.

Bryant expressed her favorite part of this experience overall has been being able to see, “everyone rally around such a great cause for our students.” From participating in these events, Bryant has seen the positive impact that We Run the Spectrum has had on her community. She said that her school included all ILP classrooms within their district last year to walk with them and extended the invite to their families as well.

When asked why she chooses to advocate for the autism community she stated that she and her team want everyone to know, “Autism won't go away and that with acceptance and inclusion, the autism community may one day feel that their voices are heard.” It is clear to us that her passion and support for people with autism runs deep and is extended throughout her community.

As a team leader, we asked Bryant if she could offer some words of encouragement to her team, Centennial @ District U-46 ahead of the 5K. She happily responded with, “No matter how fast or slow you walk, showing up and raising awareness shows that you care.”

We would like to thank Bryant and her team for their wonderful drive to advocate for the autism community and for choosing to participate in our We Run the Spectrum Virtual 5k.

If you would like to participate or start your own team, visit www.myautism.org/walk.