TWO hundred blue balloons were released into the air by Torfaen school pupils yesterday to raise awareness of autism.

The launch, organised by Fairwater High School’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) unit, took place at Greenmeadow Primary School, Cwmbran.

Ten pupils from Fairwater were joined by six competition winners from Coed Eva Primary School, who won Fairwater’s 100 Per Cent Awesome competition, and the pupils from Greenmeadow Primary School came out to watch and blew bubbles.

Each balloon contained a short explanation of what autism is and the school email address, said Esther Nicolaou from the unit.

“The purpose was to increase people’s awareness of autism, giving us an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of people with autism, recognise the work of their families and care givers and help the general community understand what it means to live with autism,” she said.