Utah moms organize walk to raise autism awareness

Amy Baker was worried. Her youngest son, Braden, was 18 months old and had yet to utter his first word.

Doctors first thought Braden had hearing problems, at one point pronouncing him moderately to severely deaf. Three subsequent testing sessions, however, proved that the boy's hearing was just fine.

"We were wondering what was going on," Baker said.

At the recommendation of the boy's pediatrician, Baker had Braden evaluated for autism spectrum disorder. When the diagnosis came back positive, she had Braden's older brother, Bryson, evaluated, too.

"After learning more about it, we decided my oldest had a lot of the same symptoms," she said.

Today, Bryson is 4 and Braden is 2 1/2. Both have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders — physical developmental disabilities that impair social interaction and communication.

Their mother, meanwhile, is doing what she can to increase autism awareness and boost funding for research into causes, prevention, treatment and a cure for the mysterious disorders.

Baker and Amanda Patten, a South Jordan mother of two boys with autism, have organized a Utah Walk Now for Autism event, set for Saturday at Cottonwood High School, 5715 S. 1300 East, Murray. Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the walk getting under way at 10 a.m.

About 3,000 people already have registered for the walk, sponsored by the Utah chapter of Autism Speaks.

Walks have taken place throughout the nation, last year allowing Autism Speaks to award $6.9 million in grants for autism research projects and fellowships. The nonprofit organization's Utah chapter will be seeking donations at the event.

In January, Baker and Patten set a fund-raising goal of $300,000. So far, they've raised about $220,000 for Autism Speaks.

"It's important that people are giving autism the attention it needs here in the state," Patten said.

Utah has the third highest rate of autism in the nation, affecting one in every 133 children. The national average is one-in-150 8-year-old children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.

"This is really a growing problem in Utah and across the nation," said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. "It is reaching, by some estimations, epidemic proportions in terms of what has happened in the increase in autism across the nation and particularly here in Utah."