Ms. Michelle Muscat was present on behalf of The Marigold Foundation during KSU’s ‘Light It Up Blue’ Campaign in solidarity with Autism awareness this Tuesday.
KSU lit up Student House in blue to raise awareness on autism, as part of the Global ‘Light it Up Blue’ campaign. The event is part of the ‘Connect and Include’ campaign by KSU in collaboration with The Marigold Foundation, which is focused on accessibility and integration at the University of Malta.
Ms. Muscat expressed how before the stigma surrounding autism was much stronger than it is now. Since only few parents confessed to their children having autism, there was little help for them. The Marigold Foundation’s aim is to bring the autism awareness to a national level. This has led to a better support system for those with autism, with there being better cures and more accessibility.
One of the bigger successes of The Marigold Foundation was to make University a more accessible space. Before there was a language barrier, whilst now there are a lot of university students with the condition. In the hopes of making UM further accessible KSU with the help of Marigold will be converting a room in student house into a ‘Quiet Room’.
‘This is some concrete good for the students, a quiet area is one of the most difficult things to find on campus.’
Ms. Michelle Muscat
A bigger part of university is the independence that it gives students. Inconveniently timed lectures and a lot of travelling may deter autistic students from studying at University. That said, this ‘Quiet Room’ is a huge step towards offering autistic students this same independence, by making the campus more accessible.
Ms. Muscat continued that all this work is done to benefit the parents as well. ‘Apart from the usual challenges of a normal family,’ she said, ‘they have an extra challenge to cope with their growing children.’
The Marigold Foundation are continuing in their aim to make autism awareness a national concern. For the past five years an iconic Maltese location has been lit in blue for the cause. ‘By doing so we are proving we are fighting for this cause with the rest of the world,’ said Ms. Muscat. She continued that the final obstacle is Gozo, since she perceives that autism is still taboo on the sister island.
In fact, the coming week the Citadel, in Victoria is going to be lit up on 5th April. The Mdina Bastions will be lit up on 2nd April for World Autism Awareness Day.