4th Annual Light Up The Blues Concert

Jackie Watson, the French reporter, lit up the red carpet at the 4th annual Light Up The Blues Concert—An Evening of Music to Benefit Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. The event, held in Hollywood, California was hosted again this year by Kristen and Stephen Stills. There were featured performances by three artists with autism: Nikki Nik, Soulshocka, and Kyle Cousins.

Jackie was able to speak exclusively to many celeb attendees including actresses Christina Applegate and Patricia Heaton, regarding the event and their reasons for supporting this cause.

Additional attendees included celebrities such as Neil Young, The Rides (Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Barry Goldberg), Jakob Dylan, The War On Drugs, Nikka Costa, Chris Stills, Spencer Harte and emcee Jack Black, plus many special guests.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child’s life. These signs often develop gradually, though some children with autism reach their developmental milestones at a normal pace and then regress. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent in early childhood, typically before age three. Globally, autism is estimated to affect 21.7 million people as of 2013. As of 2010, the number of people affected is estimated at about 1–2 per 1,000 worldwide. It occurs four to five times more often in boys than girls. About 1.5% of children in the United States (one in 68) are diagnosed with ASD as of 2014, a 30% increase from one in 88 in 2012. The rate of autism among adults aged 18 years and over in the United Kingdom is 1.1%. The number of people diagnosed has been increasing dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice and government-subsidized financial incentives for named diagnoses; the question of whether actual rates have increased is unresolved. (ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism).

For more information about the 4th annual Light Up The Blues Concert visit their website at: hollywoodpantages.com

For more interesting topics and events, please follow Jackie Watson, the French reporter, on twitter @ twitter.com/French_Reporter

—Written by:

Valerie Roop

Follow Valerie on twitter @twitter/vroop33