As a father of a child with Autism I would like to say Thank you to whom ever put this event together. My Son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome at the age of 3. My wife and I consider ourselves lucky that our son is on the high functioning side of the Spectrum disorder. There are many parents who have children on the Spectrum who can't speak, Cry for unknown reasons, have uncontrollable meltdowns, will not make eye contact. The list goes on and on. These children deserve to lead normal lives as much as they possibly can. To "Look" at my son he appears to be a healthy normal 7 year old little boy. This is the problem many people have a hard time coming to grips with. Myself included I was in denial for along time after we got his diagnosis. So it really bothers me when people when my child is misbehaving out in public and someone will offer there so called parenting advise. My response them is, "so have you raised a child on the spectrum." That's when I get the blank stair (or the deer in the headlights look as I like to call it.) because they have no clue what the hell they are talking about. So I try and educate these people that my son is not misbehaving because of lack of parenting or lack of discipline. My child is misbehaving because he has a neurological disorder. Another term would be a learning disability. I can tell my son a hundred to a thousand times to stop doing something. He might get the message or he may not. He also has sensory issues such as being in a loud room for instance going to Dave & Busters on a Friday night would cause my son to cover his ears with his hands due to the noise level. The flashing lights will bother him and maybe after being in the situation for a while he may adjust to it or we may have to leave altogether because he just can't take the sensory inputs. Everyday is a challenge with my son. My wife and I have received so much support from various Autism foundations such as Autism speaks, C.A.R.D. Center for Autism & Related Disorders, Autism Society. We are not a poor family nor are we a wealthy family. We appreciate all the help we have received. Since we have been helped by some or all of these wonderful foundations. I am pleased to help give back in anyway I can. Last year my wife and I plus a few other women from my sons school helped put together a charity motorcycle ride for the local Autism Society. We Raised well over $3000 for the event and donated all of the proceeds. We are vary grateful for what we were able to pull off considering the day of the event it was a very wet rainy day. I pray that you have a fantastic turn out for your event. I wish I wasn't to far away or else I would attend and support your event. I race 2WD Short Course & 4WD Short Corse Trucks and I just finished painting the body for my Losi SCTE. I painted it in an Autism awareness theme. I can't wait to show it off at the track this weekend. I wish you a great turn out and lots of fun the day of your event. Thank you.
Gordon Ellis Jr.