Over 100 buildings lit up across Poland on April 1st and 2nd to support individuals and families affected by autism

Landlords, advisors, investment funds and property managers support the Na niebiesko dla autyzmu (Light It Up Blue) initiative organized by the SYNAPSIS Foundation. The Light It Up Blue event was held between 1st and 2nd April 2016 thanks to the joint initiative of 11 international real estate companies (CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Echo Investment, NAI Estate Fellows, Heitman, JLL, Knight Frank, Kulczyk Silverstein Properties, REINO Partners and Savills). Eurobuild CEE acts as media patron for the event.

A fun run was organized along a route which passed the blue illuminations in Warsaw on Saturday, April 2. The runners consisted of parents and loved ones of children with autism, employees of the SYNAPSIS Foundation and volunteers.

The runners were in awe of the range of illuminations. It looked impressive. Sometimes, it was hard to hide our emotions. – says Łukasz Kościuczuk from SYNAPSIS Foundation.

During the “Autism Awareness Month” (Pol. “Miesiąc wiedzy na temat autyzmu”), real estate companies will continue to support the SYNAPSIS Foundation by organizing educational meetings and encouraging people to make a 1% tax transfer or make a donation to the diagnosis and therapy of pupils of the SYNAPSIS Foundation.

Autism is a pervasive disorder of a child's development, influencing their functioning in all areas. The statistics are alarming. In the last 25 years, the number of diagnosed cases has increased 25 fold. The first symptoms of autism can be noticed early, often in babies who are a few months old. However, the symptoms are always recognizable before the child reaches three years of age. While autism can be identified in a small child, it is often only diagnosed when a person is a teenager or even an adult. Untreated, it can lead to serious functioning disorders in the future.

Joanna Grochowska, a therapist from the SYNAPIS Foundation, underlines: It is worth remembering that autistic disorders have many traits. Symptoms are manifested in different ways and operate on different levels of severity. This is why people who suffer from autism can differ from each other so much. Because of this, current global literature uses the term “autistic spectrum”.

By sharing the knowledge available on the www.synapsis.org.p/pomoc website and organizing meetings with specialists from the SYNAPSIS Foundation, you can also help raise awareness regarding autism. Financial support is also of the utmost importance – as thanks to this, the Foundation can run diagnosis and therapy for people who suffer from this condition – says Agnieszka Sławomirska-Chmarzyńska from Savills Property Management.

Please visit www.synapsis.org.pl, make a donation, organize a meeting and change the world for people with autism.