Galloping to Raise Awareness for Autism

Jeff Sims
Thursday June 7, 2012

Professional athletes are most often praised or criticized for the plays that they make, or don’t make, on game days. Who made the game winning shot, the last second catch, the key defensive play, or even the key mistake that helps their team win or lose a big game is what sticks out in the eyes of the public.

Sometimes reality has to bring things back into perspective. The Arena Football League lost one its players this past week when fullback Johnnie Kirton died of what has been reported as natural causes in his team hotel room in San Jose, just days after scoring the winning touchdown in overtime against the Chicago Rush. He was only 26 years old.

Reality never takes a back seat to any sporting event. There are many illnesses and mental and physical disabilities that ordinary people and athletes deal with every day of their lives.

Autism spectrum disorder and autism are common terms used to describe disorders of brain development. They can show in having difficulty in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behavior. It is often associated with intellectual ability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention, and physical abilities.

The symptoms tend to emerge when a child is between two to three years old. Currently, autism affects one of every 88 children and one in 55 boys. This is a growing number as the prevalence rates have increased 10-17 percent annually in recent years. It currently affects almost 2 million individuals in the United States alone.

Personally, I understand the hard times that families and individuals go through in dealing with this disorder as I have two children, ages ten and seven, that have both been diagnosed with autism.

Autism Speaks is an organization that helps to fund research on effective methods for early diagnosis. Early intervention with proven therapies can improve performance and help a child live independently in a mainstream society.

Back on May 12th, the organization held their annual “Walk Now” event in Chicago to raise money and awareness to help fund research for autism.

Four members of the Milwaukee Mustangs took part in the walk on that day to help support a great cause and to help bring awareness to this growing disorder.

“My uncle came down to our game in Chicago and gave me the flyer for it,” said Mustangs linebacker/wide receiver Marcus Everett. “His girlfriend; I would say my Aunt, has autism. So I brought it to (the organization) and they donated money for us to go down there and walk. It was a good experience.”

“Autism is something that is growing in the communities and it is something that we have to be educated about,” Everett continued. “Any financial contributions that we can make to get more research done and to have more people become aware of it, that is what we need to do.”

Everett is not the only member of the Mustangs whose family understands the challenges that face individuals on the spectrum. Wide receiver/ defensive back Ryan McFoy participated in the event as well.

“My sister has autism,” McFoy stated. “That’s why I did it. We adopted her when she was two years old. She was actually a crack baby. Growing up we had to deal with her learning curve because it is slower. I wanted to go and do the walk because I have been working with my sister.”

McFoy also understands all of the hard work and the patience that an individual must have in working with someone affected by autism.

“With my sister, we didn’t know that she had autism until she was three,” he said. “We have had to hold her back (in school) a couple of times because her learning curve is slower. We had to help her out a lot as far as reading, writing, and understanding things. It was hard, but we did it and she is (on the current grade level for her age now).”

Another important thing that is important for families and individuals affected by autism to have is the assistance and support of family and friends. It can help to have others around you that can understand the challenges that are faced.

Everett and McFoy were accompanied to Chicago by Mustangs wide receiver Taurean Washington and wide receivers and special teams coach Damian Harrell. They both got to see families and individuals dealing with autism and learn a whole lot in the process while providing support to their teammates.

“With me, it was trying to get educated,” said Harrell, “I wasn’t aware of a lot that is going on with autism. So for me, it was curiosity. I wanted to learn more about it. I am good friends with Everett and when his family came with the idea, it was a no-brainer to go and do it. It is a good cause. It is just something that some of our family members are going through and we want to support them.”

“I had been asked by these guys if I wanted to attend and I thought it was a cool thing to do and to support them,” Washington said. “It goes to a good cause and that’s the reason I wanted to go.”

It took some time for the foursome to get going that morning. They had lost the night before to the Cleveland Gladiators at home, but found that life continues and you continue to fight the next day.

“It was hard to do,” said Harrell after thinking about the loss. “We had to get up fairly early after a long night and the weather conditions were not the best. It was cold that day too. It is hard to do after a loss, but it is for a great cause and it worked out for us.”

In taking the time to interact, the group learned that there are some special qualities that individuals with autism can possess. They can tend to have extraordinary visual skills, memory, or be a whiz in specific topics such as numbers or animals.

“I have worked with autistic kids back home in an after school program,” Everett stated. “In the summer time they have sports camps. You have to have a great amount of patience with those kids. One kid that stuck out in my mind was one that knew every stat from every sport. He would tell me different stats about football, basketball, hockey, and any other sport really. I thought it was really interesting that he could remember all of that and tell me a new fact every single day about sports.”

“My sister is really good at math,” said McFoy. “That’s funny because that is my worst subject!”

The group would like to do the event again next year, but on a greater scale.

“We want to have more guys do it next time,” said Harrell with a passion. “It is a good feeling to see the smiles on those little kids faces. We were going up to the families and taking pictures and embracing with the families and the kids, it was a good feeling.”

“It is definitely something we would do again,” Everett said in a LeBron James reference; “five, six, seven….times more.”

All I can say is, guys, count me in too!

For more information on autism and Autism Speaks, you can visit their website at www.autismspeaks.org