Hector Elementary Students Raise $1,500 for Autism Work at UAMS

By Chadley Uekman

 UAMS’ Joyce Moore (left) and Melanie Taylor with Hector student Taylor Frew, who raised more than $100 from donations, including her birthday money.
UAMS’ Joyce Moore (left) and Melanie Taylor with Hector student Taylor Frew, who raised more than $100 from donations, including her birthday money.
Kristie Proctor (left) and Sandy Lyons coordinated the school’s Autism Awareness Mega Field Day event.
Kristie Proctor (left) and Sandy Lyons coordinated the school’s Autism Awareness Mega Field Day event.

| June 2, 2009| Students at Hector Elementary in Hector recently raised $1,500 to support autism evaluation and diagnosis at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) James L. Dennis Developmental Center.

A check was presented to UAMS’ Melanie Taylor, administrative director of the Dennis Developmental Center, during the Hector school’s recent Autism Awareness Mega Party to celebrate the students’ efforts. April is National Autism Awareness Month. The students raised money from the community and even donated large sums of their own money.

This year’s fundraiser was the school’s third on behalf of autism, bringing the total raised to $4,400.

The UAMS Dennis Developmental Center in Little Rock is a regional referral center for children with developmental disorders.

“I am touched by the generosity of spirit and compassion shown by the students at Hector Elementary,” said Melanie Taylor, administrative director of the DDC. “This is about kids helping kids. It is also a testament to the positive influence of parents and teachers who have instilled these important values in these children.”

In its first fundraiser in 2007, the students raised $700 by collecting pennies for the UAMS autism program. Sandi Lyons and Christie Proctor, parents of students at Hector Elementary, are the driving force behind the annual fundraiser.

Hector Elementary Principal Kathy Freeman said the autism project was chosen because one of the school’s students has autism, which has made the school more aware of the needs of Arkansas’ children with autism.

A UAMS study found that 1 in 145 Arkansas children has autism, the fourth highest rate among14 states participating in a study by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.