Stand Clear of the Closing Doors: INCLUDEnyc and MTA Partner for Autism Awareness Month

APRIL 10, 2023, New York, NY – INCLUDEnyc has teamed up with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for the Autism Awareness Month Event, which celebrates the connection that some children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder share with transportation systems. 

“INCLUDEnyc is thrilled to partner with the MTA in providing an inclusive opportunity for children and young adults with autism to make announcements to be shared at various subway stations across NYC during Autism Awareness month,” said Cheryelle Cruickshank, Executive Director at INCLUDEnyc. “We want to thank the MTA  for this unique opportunity, and we thank all the participants and their parents for partnering with us. We hope that someone hearing one of these announcements will take pause and embrace INCLUDEnyc’s vision of a world with love, equity, and access for children and youths with disabilities.” 

The event was held on Monday, April 10, at 11 AM at Fulton Center (200 Broadway, Manhattan).

In commemoration of Autism Awareness Month, children and young adults with ASD were invited to record their own MTA announcements. This Autism Awareness Event showcased over 25 of those recordings and featured a slideshow that introduced each child who submitted a recording. Participants and their families had the chance to meet with MTA bus, subway, and paratransit employees. 

This initiative was first launched in 2022 by Jonathan Trichter, the co-founder of the Foundry Learning Center whose son has ASD, and has expanded nationally this year with mass transit systems including BART (San Francisco), MARTA (Atlanta), New Jersey Transit, and WMATA (Washington, D.C.). 

Brenna Calles, whose child Morgan’s announcement was featured at the event, said “My child has always had a fascination with the transit system, and this opportunity to connect on a personal level with the MTA and the subway system has brought Morgan so much joy.”