A CARING dad wants to turn Burnley blue to spread the word about autism.
Scott Noddings, whose five-year-old son MacKenzie attends Burnley’s Action for ASD centre, has been in talks over lighting up prominent buildings in the town to mark World Autism Day.
Burnley Town Hall clock face and the viaduct in Princess Way will be bathed in blue light on Tuesday, April 2nd, and it is hoped that Padiham Town Hall will also be lit up for the occasion.
He has also persuaded bosses at Blackpool Tower to turn the famous structure blue.
Scott, who owns Opus Pro Audio in Burnley, has already secured an iPad from the Hearts and Minds charity for the centre in Harle Syke by asking for mobile phones to be donated.
He said: “MacKenzie doesn’t have autism but he does have special needs and has been attending the ASD centre for the past two years.
“It is a wonderful place and caters for children and adults on all levels of the autism spectrum and with other special needs.
“It is also a great help for parents because they can meet other parents in a similar situation. It helps you to realise that you are not alone.
“I feel that at the moment our local area needs more awareness of ASD and so I thought this Light It Blue campaign, which happens around the world, could come to Burnley.”
American charity Autism Speaks has in the past lit up iconic structures such as the Empire State building on World Autism Day, which this year falls on Tuesday, April 2nd.
Scott added: “I have had such a good response from different people in Burnley including the borough council and Lancashire County Council. I hope that we can light up as many buildings as possible in blue.”
There are more than half a million people in the UK with autism, around one in 100.
It is a spectrum condition so therefore each child or adult will be affected differently.
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