Sorority joins fight against autism

By: Max Lemanowicz

Posted: 4/2/09

April marks the beginning of Autism Awareness Month and with this, ECU's Gamma Phi chapter of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority established its new national partnership with Autism Speaks, the nation's leading autism advocacy organization.

The partnership signing will coincide with the celebration of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.

"We are excited about our new partnership with Autism Speaks," said Suzanne Fisher, Gamma Phi Chapter president. "We look forward to directing our time and talent to raise awareness on campus about autism."

Autism Speaks is an organization dedicated to increasing awareness of autism, the establishment of funding for causes, prevention, treatments and cures of autism and advocating for the needs of affected families.

"Alpha Xi Delta has a long history of supporting child-focused issues," said Deanna Detchemendy, Alpha Xi Delta's National president. "Since early childhood, diagnosis of autism and early intervention are critical [so] our support of Autism Speaks is a natural partnership for Alpha Xi Delta."

"With one in 150 children diagnosed with autism and no known cure, Alpha Xi Delta is committed to improving the lives of children and families affected by autism," she said. "We hope our fundraising and awareness efforts can help put one more piece of the autism puzzle in place."

Alpha Xi Delta's members at ECU will be assisting and working with the Autism Awareness Foundation for the duration of this month. Members of the chapter are responsible for distributing information about autism awareness throughout campus.

"We are incredibly grateful to Alpha Xi Delta and its thousands of members for joining our fight against autism, and supporting our efforts on behalf of individuals with autism and their families," said Leslie Chambers, executive vice president for field operations and chapter management for the national chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.

Autism is a complex brain disorder that disables individuals from developing complex, or even fairly simple, social, emotional and meaningful relationships. It is also marked by significant and problematic behavioral issues.

The disorder affects four times as many males as females and its prevalence has increased by 10 times in the last decade. The underlying cause for autism is being researched, but no cure has been found.

"The energy and hard work of Alpha Xi Deltas will help spread our message of autism awareness across the country and support critical research into the causes of autism, better treatments and a cure," Chambers said.

Alpha Xi Delta has accumulated 150,000 initiated members since its inception in 1893 and has college chapters on 112 university campuses and 131 alumni associations nationwide.

For more information on the Autism Speaks or Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, please visit autismspeaks.org or alphaxidelta.org.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.