Runners, walkers and volunteers gathered at Bonita Lakes on Saturday as the first Run 4 Autism was held to raise awareness and funds for the Ava and Cooper’s Journey Foundation.

Julie Cade, who started the foundation through the Community Foundation of East Mississippi, said the nonprofit’s mission is to give financial help to families and children with autism.

“We’re giving them an opportunity to apply for grants, and we will then distribute that money to people in need,” she said.

After launching the foundation, Cade said she connected with Tim Irvine, who owns a local race timing company, Time2Run, and Saturday’s event was born. Participants were able to choose between a silent walk, 5k run or two-mile walk with numerous volunteers along the course ready with buckets of brightly colored chalk powder.

Autism has a personal connection, Cade said, as both of her children were diagnosed with autism at two and a half years old. She said she has personally felt the struggle of first, finding resources for her children, and then affording it.

Even something as simple as childcare, which is already a struggle by itself, is more expensive and harder to find when it is for a child with autism, Cade said. There have been times, she said, where she hasn’t been able to work for a month or more because qualified care for her children couldn’t be found.

With both herself and her husband working in addition to good insurance, Cade’s children have been able to get the care they need. Others, however, may not be as fortunate, and that is where the Ava and Cooper’s Journey Foundation comes in, she said.

“We know that struggle,” she said. “We know what it’s like to need to get your child help and having to come up with the finances, and not everybody is as blessed as we are to be able to have that resources.”

Early detection is key when it comes to diagnosing and treating autism, Cade said. The longer a child goes without the help, the harder it is to manage their condition. Through the Ava and Cooper’s Journey Foundation, Cade said she wants to make sure financial pressures do not stand in the way of a child getting the help they need.

For those unfamiliar with autism, Cade said she encourages patience and understanding that a situation may be more than it first seems. For example, where someone may see a temper tantrum, she said, it may actually be sensory overload.

“The best thing you can do for families like mine is to support us and ask how you can help,” she said.

For more information or how to get involved, visit the Ava and Cooper’s Journey Foundation group on Facebook.