Local family raises autism awareness

Kimball's Light it up BLUE Autism Awareness Run/Walk is Saturday, April 2 at 10:00 a.m. in Gotte Park, organized and put together by some of the members of the Brent Klassen family.

Klassen, son of Tim and Jean Klassen of Kimball, graduated from Kimball High School in 1997 now resides in Woodville, Ohio with his wife, Alexis and their sons Kolden and Aithan.

Kolden, 8, and Aithan, 5 both have severe autism, neither of them can speak and doctors said the two would never walk.

"We decided as a family to support Brent, Lexi, Kolden, Aithan and everyone affected by autism from Brent's home town, since we can't be in Woodville, Ohio for their event on April 2," said Cortney Klassen-Bowron's fiancee Phillip Cape of Gering.

While communication remains a challenge, Kolden is able to walk and Aithan is close to being independently mobile. 2015 was a major year for the boys in terms of development.

Both boys have Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, though Aithan, once on a new medication, became seizure free and Kolden hasn't had a seizure since he was about two years old.

On Mar. 16, the Woodville, Ohio couple, led a group of family, friends, old classmates and students in a roughly one mile run across campus, beginning at Offenhauer Hall and ending at the Stroh Center.

This one-mile stretch was only a small part of the over 250 mile journey they will run for the campaign to raise awareness.

"For a long time we've been wanting to do something to help raise awareness about autism," Brent said. "It was on a whim. We finished running one day, my wife and I, and I said 'Honey do you want to run across the state of Ohio?' And she said 'Yea.' [She] didn't think about it at all."

Both Klassen parents attended the University, graduating in 2002. Brent played basketball for the Falcons and majored in marketing. He now stays home to care for Kolden and Aithan while Alexis used her University degree to become a dentist.

"We have been blessed to meet and have several wonderful friends that support, encourage, and inspire us. Sometimes in life, you are lucky to meet someone who does even more than that," Brent said. "Sometimes you are lucky enough to meet someone who gives you hope, someone who exemplifies the meaning of courage, someone who opens your eyes and touches your heart with one small smile. One of these people is Grace. She is a beautiful 10 year old girl that goes to school with Kolden and Aithan."

Cape added that there are many misconceptions about autism and raising awareness will help dispel these. Such misconceptions are that fact that persons with autism do not want to interact with others, such as in the way of friendships. The truth is that they do desire friendships and relationships, but have difficulty in communicating in the same way as most.

Another misconception of the condition, is that autistic persons are intellectually disadvantaged when in fact they often have normal to high IQs and some may even excel in one area or another; such as in math, music, or science for example.

With proper knowledge of autism, the stereotyping and myths will end. The purpose of the Light it up BLUE Run/Walk is to bring awareness to communities about autism and support the individuals and their families affected by it.

For more information about the campaign visit the Klassens' blog at http://www.side2sideohiowide.com.