Celebrating the Neurodiverse with horses, dancing and shaving cream

Ronald W. Erdrich, Abilene Reporter-News
·1 min read

It was a celebration of neurodiversity on Saturday.

What does that mean? Simply put, that if everyone is on their own journey, traveling the best they can, that journey can be made richer by coming together, rather than staying apart.

Loralei Jurkis, 10, listens to her mother Marissa as she gets a face painting Saturday. Hardin-Simmons University’s Autism Acceptance Celebration was a free community event celebrating neurodiversity.
Loralei Jurkis, 10, listens to her mother Marissa as she gets a face painting Saturday. Hardin-Simmons University’s Autism Acceptance Celebration was a free community event celebrating neurodiversity.

True, that sentiment can apply to a lot of things. But in the context of this past weekend, it was one of the ideas behind the Autism Acceptance Celebration. The free community event was sponsored by the Houston-Lantrip Center at Hardin-Simmons University and held in the morning at HSU's Intramural Fields.

Children, parents and volunteers do a train dance as a DJ plays music at the Hardin-Simmons University Intramural Fields Saturday.
Children, parents and volunteers do a train dance as a DJ plays music at the Hardin-Simmons University Intramural Fields Saturday.

The Intramural Fields off Vogel Street are where a lot of fun stuff at HSU happens whenever they put on a get-together, and Saturday was no exception. The day's purpose was for those at any level of neurodiversity to mix, have fun and not worry about the differences.

Children play with tubs of shaving cream, corn kernels and water beads under supervision during the Autism Acceptance Celebration at Hardin-Simmons University Saturday.
Children play with tubs of shaving cream, corn kernels and water beads under supervision during the Autism Acceptance Celebration at Hardin-Simmons University Saturday.

Children could get a ride on one of the Six White Horses, dance to a DJ, play games, jump in a bouncy house and - probably what looked like the most fun - stick their hands in a tub of shaving cream, searching for toys. There were other sensory experiences too, tubs of corn kernels and water beads.

But that shaving cream looked like a lot of fun.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Celebrating the Neurodiverse with horses, dancing and shaving cream