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The 2023 Special Needs Prom kicked off at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge in Frankfort on Saturday with an attendance of around 65 people.<\/p>\n
During the event, attendees of all ages were invited to dress to impress and enjoy a meal, dancing and bonding moments with peers in the community. Attendees were sporting western attire, suits, prom dresses and more to fit the theme of \u201cGiddy Up\u201d for this year\u2019s prom. Organizer Gena Carson stated that the Clinton County Autism Support Group hosts the prom every year to include every individual in the community with special needs and to create a community amongst one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a good time for our folks to get together, eat, dance and socialize with one another,\u201d Carson said. \u201cWe wanted to open it up to everyone\u2013Whether you have autism, we have folks with down syndrome, we have a huge neurodiverse population\u2013and we just wanted to make sure everybody feels included.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Carson stated that the idea to organize a prom for those with special needs in the community was spawned to give every person in the county an opportunity to experience the high school staple regardless of their age and background.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was an opportunity for kids that may not necessarily get an opportunity to go to a traditional high school prom,\u201d Carson said. \u201cThis gives them the opportunity to experience that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carson continued to comment that all of the events organized through the Autism Support Group are intended to continue supporting and raising awareness for those in the community with special needs, and she stated that the group organizes approximately four events throughout the year, including the prom, the Walk-A-Mile for Autism walk, Christmas events, picnics and more.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis is for everybody of all ages from one to 100,\u201d Carson said. \u201cOnce our kiddos age out of high school, it\u2019s like what do we do now? Whether some of our kids are able to go to work or some of our kids are sitting at home or some of our kids go to adult day programs, we want to just make sure that we keep them active. We want to have things available for them. Although there are a lot of events that go on in the community, not all events are necessarily inclusive to our individual\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four sets of parents with children that have an autism diagnosis helped organize the event and other events through the Autism Support Group. One of the parents stated that if the theme was chosen by their daughter, it would be centered around horses, which inspired the western theme and the inclusion of \u201cGiddy Up,\u201d the horse portrayed by Jason Earl.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe always try to mix it up a little bit each year, so this year along with the whole theme of Giddy Up and the horse, we asked if anybody was willing to wear a horse costume,\u201d Carson said. \u201cOne of our dads, Jason Earl, said he would, and they happen to have a golf cart, so we did not necessarily have a horse carriage, but we played on that theme, so he was able to take our King and Queen for a ride around the property here, and I think they really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carson expressed that the events allow for the attendees to bond as well as parents of children with special needs to form a community with each other that may help support them through difficulties and successes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really a way for the parents to connect too,\u201d Carson said. \u201cA parent who doesn\u2019t have a child with special needs may not understand the life that we live, so we all come together and help support one another too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carson extended a statement of gratitude toward the Frankfort Moose Lodge for hosting the event, which has hosted numerous Christmas parties for the organization throughout the past decade. Danny Carr, Frankfort Moose Lodge Administrator, stated that once the group approached the lodge about hosting the event, the members immediately accepted.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve done the Christmas thing for years and years and years and years,\u201d Carr said. \u201cThey contacted us to see if we were interested in hosting them, and we were all about it. We have volunteers that help with everything, so it was something that we didn\u2019t think twice about. That\u2019s how we got involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr expressed that supporting local organizations striving to spread positivity and awareness aligns perfectly with the mission of the Moose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all enjoy it, and they all enjoy it, so it\u2019s a win-win for everybody,\u201d Carr said. \u201cWe try to give back to the community as much as we can. We try to donate as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Clinton County Autism Support Group will participate in a trunk or treat event during the second Saturday of October with the Piece by Piece Autism Center. During the event, the group will distribute sensory items. Carson stated that one of the main focuses of the next few months will be including parents in bi-monthly meetings to bond and deepen the community for parents of children with special needs.<\/p>\n
The 2023 Special Needs Prom kicked off at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge in Frankfort on Saturday with an attendance of around 65 people. During the event, attendees of all ages were invited to […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":976315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-976314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2025-04-15 21:41:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=976314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/976315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=976314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=976314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=976314"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boonecountydailynews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=976314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}