MANILA, Philippines–More than 12,000 people on Sunday joined the “Angels Walk” in an attempt to break the world’s biggest gathering of supporters of a campaign to promote autism awareness.
As early as 8 a.m., thousands of participants wearing green shirts and wings made from various materials like cotton, tissue, foil, paper and even synthetic feathers began marching around SM Mall of Asia Arena where they were treated to a program that featured the talents of children with autism.
The event marked the start of Autism Awareness Consciousness Month. It was organized by the Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP), a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to the well-being of people with autism. The group also aims to raise awareness of the neurodevelopmental disorder and advocate for disability inclusion in society.
Theme of the monthlong program is “Autism Inclusive Philippines: Aim High! Fly High!”
In a statement, ASP said it hoped to continue to inspire awareness, acceptance and inclusion of people with autism (PWAs) in the society “to promote action by the public and private sectors toward enabling PWAs to live with dignity, enjoy equal rights and access, function independently and contribute productively.”
According to ASP president Mona Veluz, Sunday’s gathering could “easily beat” the world record for the largest crowd wearing wings, which stands at only 1,200 and which is currently held by Germany.
“We are vying for a world record and I think we already beat the record of only 1,200 because of the overwhelming attendance. Our contingent from Cavite already beat that number and we have 25 chapters in attendance today,” she added.
Veluz noted that ASP’s 25 chapters nationwide from Luzon and the Visayas had worked on making their wings for several months to vie for the world record.
Among those who detailed how she made cute little angel wings made of synthetic feathers for her “baby” Daniel was Julie Llanera, a mother from Biñan, Laguna, who also shared on Facebook the excitement of her family in attending the gathering yesterday.
Cynthia Arevalo, of Valenzuela City, also proudly showed off the wings she made for her son, Adrian, for the event where she and husband Dante joined their son and other individuals with autism celebrate acceptance and awareness for the disorder.
“Adrian is our special angel. We love him so much and if there’s anyone who does not like or cannot accept him, it is their problem and not ours. He is a special gift sent to us by our Creator,” Arevalo said.
The Angels Walk has come a long way since the first event was organized on Roxas Boulevard in Manila in 2007.
“When we started, we only had a few hundred walkers. Last year, during ASP’s 25th year anniversary, we filled up MOA Arena to the rafters. This year, we have around 12,000 in attendance and we hope to set the world record for the largest group of winged angels,” Veluz said.
Aside from the Angels Walk, ASP launched the “It’s a-OK Philippines” campaign, a multisectoral movement that is aimed at building an autism-inclusive society.
With this movement, Veluz said, the organization wanted to inspire more autism-friendly establishments, compassionate workplaces, job transition specialists and coaches, freelancers on the spectrum and livelihood opportunities for persons with autism.
“For the welfare of a maturing population of Filipinos, care for persons with autism must transition from the confines of the home and school to universities, businesses and workplaces,” the ASP president added.
The validation of the crowd count and documentation conducted with the assistance of a Guinness representative are expected to last for about a month before the official announcement on the record attempt.
While autism is increasingly being diagnosed in places like the United States, where about 1 in 68 children is said to be on the spectrum, it is still largely unknown and undiagnosed elsewhere.
According to Autism Speaks Foundation, the estimated spectrum cases in the Philippines have doubled today from 500,000 in the 1980s as a result of better detection methods of the disorder attributed to genetics and environmental factors, among many others.
Persons afflicted exhibit difficulties in social, emotional and communication skills. It is common among boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189).
Tiptoeing is one symptom of autism among children, which is why Sunday’s event was called “Angels Walk.”