On September 29th, Autism Speaks held its annual Autism Walk at the Jacksonville Landing. The Walk itself was definitely a success, as was the Reaching Milestones with BCS tent. The weather was perfect, the Landing was packed, and the BCS sensory booth was full of awesome (and sometimes messy) activities.
Who knew that water beads (those little colored balls that florists will put in the bottom of a vase of flowers) would be such a huge success? Since the Walk took place on a Saturday, the BCS staff prepared two different bins of the water beads for the table– one filled with orange and blue for the Gators, and the other with garnet and gold for the Seminoles. It was fairly evident that the kids were more enthralled by the actual texture of the water beads than by the rivalry that the colors represented, but there were a few parents who appreciated the effort.
Also on the Reaching Milestones with BCS table, one could find a large container of a very interesting concoction known as “moon-dough.” Moon-dough looks similar to Play-Doh, and it is easily molded. What makes it so unique is the fact that it is virtually weightless. Watching a child’s face as he or she reached into the tub and picked up a softball-sized mound of the dough, just to realize it weighed as much as a feather, was priceless.
Unquestionably, Squishy-Baff was the biggest hit of the 2012 BCS booth. (Yes. It is really called Squishy-Baff.) According to the product’s website, you use Squishy-Baff to, “…turn ordinary water into glorious colorful goo and then back again. Create fun goo adventures, while feeling it squishing between your fingers and toes!” This stuff is awesome. Seriously. BCS filled up an elevated kiddie pool and a huge storage bin with this mixture of gooey goodness, threw in some toys, and history way made! Okay. Maybe that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but the kids really, really loved it. A few loved it so much they tried to eat it, and one little guy couldn’t get enough of it simply by reaching his hands into it, so he climbed right on in the pool!
So many people took time out of their busy schedules to come out and walk for a cause that is so close to the hearts of so many. The weather was awesome, the kids were happy, and as a whole, the day was perfect.
