GROVE CITY — At 6 years old, Adrianne Formaini's son showed all of the signs of a flourishing child, with the exception of a few quirks.

After taking him to a therapist to determine why Michael, now 7, still preferred to play alone and faced difficulties carrying on the back and forth of conversation, Formaini found her son had Asperger Syndrome, an autistic spectrum diagnosis.

"They tell you to look for the big red flags — not making eye contact or not talking and babbling by 18 months, and aversion to affection," Formaini said. "Michael didn't have any of these things. He hit all of his milestones early, was extremely verbal and affectionate."

Today she is fighting to spread awareness about the disorder and is forming the first Grove City team to take part in Pittsburgh's "Walk Now for Autism" June 7.

Formaini said April is Autism Awareness Month, and signing up for the walk gives anyone a chance to raise money for research and treatment.

"The main purpose is to raise money for Autism Speaks, which is an organization that works to compensate for really woefully inadequate funding from the government and other sources," Formaini said. "Autism is being diagnosed at epidemic levels."

Formaini said 1 in 150 girls and 1 in 96 boys is diagnosed with autism. Autism Speaks works to look for causes and cures for autism and also is dedicated to funding, biomedical research and raising public awareness.

Formaini hopes to have about 30 people on her team of walkers. Each participant is asked to raise $100 before the walk to go toward the organization. Last year, the Pittsburgh walk raised $1 million alone, Formaini said.

Formaini said many people do not know those diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome often have a genius side as well. Her son's doctor told her 20 percent of Carnegie Mellon University's class has Asperger Syndrome.

"In this particular disorder, these kids are gifted in one or more ways, but socially awkward," Formaini said. "Many of the world's best researchers and artists have Asperger Syndrome, but 20 years ago, they just called them eccentric."

For more information on the walk, visit www.walknowforautism.org/pittsburgh or call Adrianne Formaini at 814-404-3106.