2017 Autism Awareness Run in Muskegon

It's one of those things that in some circles...it's still all "hush hush".  We're talking about Autism.  Well, it's really nothing to be silent about and it's really nothing to be afraid of.  One of the greatest things I have had the good fortune to be part of so many kids and families lives who have Autism through being part of No More Sidelines.  That's where I got to know Cindy DeVries who we'll hear from here in a little bit.

Autism Awareness Run on Facebook

First off, some personal experience.  Like many others, early on, autistic kids scared me.  They were different.  In my school days, they were at their end of the hall with maybe the exception of lunch and they took the "special classes" and that was about that.  My first real exposure to autistic kids came when I was a camp counselor at Camp Optimist when I was 21.  I had never been a camp counselor and I was given the biggest group of 11-13 year old boys and 3 autistic kids.  Talk about going in head first.  It was a tough couple of weeks, but I found out that there was a special connection somehow with 2 of the autistic kids, Alan and Alex.  Alex and I bonded over "gimmie one".  "Gimmie 5" seemed a little hard to him so I would just offer my index finger and say "gimmie one" when he did something cool, and it opened a door for him.  He let me in and I had a new friend.  So much so, without me knowing his parents arranged at their own expense for him to come back for one more week at the end of the summer so Alex could spend that time again with that door open.  To this day, the gravity of the moment I walked in for the last week of camp to see him and his mom and dad all waiting for me still makes me pretty emotional.  To know that something as simple as that gave that boy a chance to come out and feel safe... it's a heck of a thing.

Today, I am pretty at home with autistic kids and families.  Every journey is a different though, and of course, every family heads into that journey looking for a way to manage, learn and grow.  There are wonderful organizations in Muskegon like Pioneer Resources that are there to help every step of the way, and with any organization, there comes a need for funding.  Which leads us to the fun portion of the story... let's have a motorcycle run!

Saturday August 26th The Autism Awareness Run kicks off at Pat's Roadhouse in Muskegon.  Registration gets underway at 10:30 am and the run wraps up back at Pats with a great picnic dinner and lot's of fun for the entire family outback on Pat's spacious deck and patio area!  You'll get a scenic ride all around the area as well as the satisfaction of knowing your're helping some pretty awesome kids and families out along the way.

Which brings us back to Cindy DeVries.  We met up at Pioneer Resources to talk about the event and autism in general.  Take a listen!

Saturday is looking like a great day for a ride and what better cause?  Help some of these great families out with their kids and learn a little more about autism.  Let's all push forward on making what was once the unspeakable part of our everyday language.  If you'd like to know more about Pioneer Resources, please click on their link below.  If you'd like to donate to help the autism program, please specify that with your donation.