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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Throughout the course of this weekend, residents may notice the Luzerne County Courthouse bares a different color when the sun goes down.</p><p>To kick off the month of April as Autism Awareness Month, the lights shining on the courthouse will be blue, the official color of autism, a developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact.</p><p>Plains Township resident Sharon Logan spent the better part of Saturday morning erecting signs in front of the courthouse.</p><p>Getting city officials to allow Logan to pursue her work of placing signs and switching the light bulbs to blue was a simple task.</p><p>&#8220;I made a phone call,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I found the listing for the courthouse that said &#8216;building and grounds&#8217; and said that I was going to start with them first. The girl there said she would get in touch with the people who could approve the decision and then she got back to me afterwards. It was simple as that &#8212; two phone calls.&#8221;</p><p>The courthouse holds a candlelight vigil every year for autism awareness, but Logan wanted to go one step further.</p><p>&#8220;I just wanted to get in on the &#8216;Light it Up Blue&#8217; which is the worldwide event and I wanted to light up the courthouse first,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Logan and her family are members of the autism awareness group known as Supporting Autism &amp; Families Everywhere, or SAFE.</p><p>Logan&#8217;s 10-year-old grandson Caleb Balas has autism.</p><p>Caleb attends Hanover Area and lives in Sugar Notch with his mom Marge, his dad Chris, and younger brother Lukas, 8.</p><p>Marge said Caleb was diagnosed shortly after his third birthday, but the diagnosis has not prevented him from living a regular life and having an autistic son has opened the door for Marge and Chris to help other families who have children with autism.</p><p>&#8220;Some people you work with and some people you come across that have autistic kids and they know we&#8217;re part of (S.A.F.E.), so we talk to them,&#8221; said Chris. &#8220;The hardest part is nobody knows where to turn. Once you find out, (I&#8217;m) not going to lie, it&#8217;s devastating to find out your child has this disease you can&#8217;t cure, and then you wonder how you can help your child. You get answers from everybody; there&#8217;s no one source.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We have a whole new family now,&#8221; Marge said. &#8220;We have so many friends now, it&#8217;s amazing.&#8221;</p><p>While lighting up the Luzerne County Courthouse is a big step, Logan said there is still more work to be done to spread awareness of autism.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not done yet,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I started it, and all it takes is one light bulb to get started.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Blue LED light bulbs light up the Luzerne County Courthouse this weekend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040316Autism.jf_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Blue LED light bulbs light up the Luzerne County Courthouse this weekend. </caption0><photoCredit0>Jimmy Fisher | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040316Autism.jf2_.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sugar Notch resident Lukas Balas, 8, places a sign in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse on Saturday to represent Supporting Autism &amp; Families Everywhere, or S.A.F.E., for Autism Awareness Month in April. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040316Autism.jf2_.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sugar Notch resident Lukas Balas, 8, places a sign in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse on Saturday to represent Supporting Autism &amp; Families Everywhere, or S.A.F.E., for Autism Awareness Month in April. </caption1><photoCredit1>Jimmy Fisher | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040316Autism.jf3_.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Balas family places a banner in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse on Saturday. From left, are Chris Balas, Marge Balas, Caleb Balas, Dolphis Teart, representative of S.A.F.E.; Lukas Balas, Sharon Logan and Sheila Balas. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040316Autism.jf3_.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Balas family places a banner in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse on Saturday. From left, are Chris Balas, Marge Balas, Caleb Balas, Dolphis Teart, representative of S.A.F.E.; Lukas Balas, Sharon Logan and Sheila Balas. </caption2><photoCredit2>Jimmy Fisher | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jimmy Fisher</p><p>jfisher@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jimmy Fisher at 570-704-3972 or on Twitter @SD_JimmyFisher</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Family places signs in front of Luzerne County Courthouse for Autism Awareness Month