Friday Night Out at LSU is a social event, held once a month, that brings together students with and without autism and other special needs.
Tigers for Autism Awareness, Volunteer LSU, and the Families Helping Families program in Baton Rouge work together to make this event enjoyable for everyone regardless of what disabilities they may have.
“This is an opportunity for them to be able to interact with people and students that don’t have autism or special needs,” Samantha Lanjewar, president of Tigers for Autism Awareness, said.
“We like to work with organizations, like the Tigers’, in the community to allow everyone to feel included,” Teresa Wilson, program director for Families Helping Families, said.
The students have a variety of activities to choose from at the event. Lanjewar said she can always see the happiness in their eyes.
While this event is a fun time for the students, it also gives their parents a break to socialize, have some alone time, or join the fun with their children.
LSU student Charles Cedotal said two of his favorite things about Friday Night Out are seeing friends he does not see often and beating his dad in UNO.
A third favorite Cedotal mentioned is being able to talk to students he may not be able to talk to without the event bringing them together, which is one of the main goals of Friday Night Out.
Tigers for Autism Awareness and Families Helping Families want to get more LSU students involved as they raise awareness about autism.
The next Friday Night Out will be held on April 21, 2017. More details can be found on LSU’s TigerLink website at https://lsu.collegiatelink.net/.
Families Helping Families’ eighth annual Active for Autism event will be held on April 22, 2017. For more details and to register as a volunteer, visit www.fhfgbr.org.