Precious Singleton-Alexander looks at her 7-year-old son Rio as her inspiration.
“He gave me the honor of being his voice, which led me to follow my God-given purpose – to empower those around me,” Alexander said.
In 2021, Alexander and her husband Mario learned that Rio, then 3 years old, has autism. That discovery spurred the couple to research everything they could about the subject. Alexander’s findings brought her to a conclusion – that to best support her son, she needed to be a strong voice and advocate for him.
She put that into action as she planned to create a community event for children, teens and adults on the spectrum to join together in a fun and safe environment, and for parents to network with one another and share their experiences.
The event took off, and on April 27 the third annual Autism Awareness and Acceptance Bubbles and Balloon Bash took place at the West Bank Bridge Park, with 107 families and 366 total attendees. It is coordinated by the Chosen Ones Foundation, a non
“I am just blessed, yet humbled at the same time that we are at year 3 already and it keeps getting better,” Alexander said. “I have the most amazing team working with me to make sure that we have a successful event; and there’s so much more we are planning to do for our autistic community.”
Singleton said when she learned of Rio’s diagnosis, it didn’t come as a shock. She said that she started to see the characteristics of being on the spectrum in how he played with certain toys and not making eye contact.
Her mission now is to empower families to have hope and her message to them is that ”you are not alone.”
“There are resources available and tons of information to help you navigate the system so that your child can thrive,” Alexander said.
Greeting everyone at the entrance were two colorful balloon columns swaying, with more at the registration areas along with plenty of bubbles.
The theme of this year’s event was “Just Different, Not Less.” Twelve informational booths were set up at the park, as well as seven entertainment areas. For children, there were sensory tables, yard games, a game truck, snowballs and a few vehicles quite catching to the eye – a fire truck, the Learn With Us Bus, an 18-wheeler and a BearCat truck via the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
There was also a petting zoo, a face painter and a gift table filled with giveaways.
“And of course we couldn’t forget about the caregivers,” Alexander noted, “so we added a photo booth to have a little bit of fun, music to dance to, resource tables with valuable information and lots of raffle gift cards and giveaways.”
The bash event had humble beginnings. Alexander put together the first outing on just five days’ notice, and it saw 50 attendees. It’s grown plenty since then.
“The event would not happen if all involved would not show up and show out and I am forever appreciative of the outpouring of love and support we’ve had over the years and will continue to have. All I can say is, God is amazing,” Alexander said.
