Autistic Youth Runs PEI Tip-to-Tip for Autism Acceptance and Education
(Oyster Bed Bridge, PEI, May 28, 2006) On July 2nd, 2006, 18 year old Alex Bain will leave North Cape in a bid to be the first autistic to run Prince Edward Island tip to tip. Along the way, he hopes to raise $20/km for his almost 300 kilometre trek that will end in East Point on July 15th. The funds will be used to bring internationally recognized expert Dennis Debbaudt to PEI on September 27, 2006, for a series of 3 seminars about what happens and what should happen in encounters between autistics, emergency first-responders and law-enforcement officers.
Almost every weekend, for most of the year, Alex puts on this trademark yellow t-shirt, heads to a charitable road race on the Island. He runs not only for the charity benefiting from each race, but also for autism. Not to raise money to find a “cure†or to “prevent†people like himself from ever being born, the focus of most autism runs, but to raise awareness and acceptance. His recognition as the PEI RoadRunners 2004 Patterson Palmer Rookie of the Year and 2005 Ewen Stewart Inspirational Runner of the Year reflects both his running and advocacy abilities.
Accompanying Alex on her bike, and organizing Mr Debbaudt’s PEI seminar, is Alex’s mother, janet norman-bain, known as “jypsy” to many in the autistic community both locally and internationally through a website she ran from 1995-2005, “Ooops…Wrong Planet! Syndrome” at PlanetAutism.com. jypsy and another of her four children are diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, an autistic spectrum diagnosis. jypsy watched Alex start grade 1 unable to speak and graduate from Bluefield High School twelve years later with honours and prizes for top marks in two of his classes. This July she’ll be there to see him fulfill his dream to be the first autistic to run PEI tip to tip and help fundraise to make PEI a safer, more inclusive community for all autistic people.
Studies show that autistic people are no more likely to break the law than non-autistic people, but are 7 times more likely to come into contact with law enforcement officers. Dennis Debbaudt, a professional investigator, journalist and a member of the American Society for Law Enforcement Training (ASLET), is the father of a 21-year-old autistic son. He has educated law enforcement, criminal justice, and education professionals, as well as first-responders, autistics, and parents throughout Canada, the US, and the UK but has yet to present in the Maritimes.
The response of autistic people to encounters with emergency first responders may not always be socially expected or behaviourally typical. Mr. Debbaudt will explain how autistic reactions in some situations, such as running away, unsteadiness, apparently unpredictable or impulsive behaviour, or failure to respond in the expected way, may be misunderstood by first response professionals, resulting in serious consequences. Mr. Debbaudt’s law enforcement and first responder seminars offer tips and options for communications and responses designed to successfully resolve a call involving a person on the autistic spectrum, while his seminar for autistics, parents, caregivers, school personnel and other people, will address the many ways that parents can keep their child secure and safe both in the home and in the community and how autistics can increase their own safety and security. Everyone will come away with a good, practical understanding of the best approaches to make interactions with autistics more informed, safer and less stressful for all involved.
Autism is a neurological difference classified as a developmental disability. Autistic people have atypical behaviours in three areas: social interaction, communication, and restricted interests or repetitive behaviours. Autistics are different at the most basic level available: how they experience the world, and how they learn from it. Autism presents with measurable differences in perception, attention, memory, intelligence, etc. The autistic order and progress of development is different from the typical version as is autistic brain structure, allocation, and function. Autism presents strengths not available to the typical population, but the different pattern of strengths and weaknesses characterizing autism results in many difficulties as atypical needs and adaptive but atypical autistic behaviours are at odds with what is considered or expected as “normal”.
The PEI Council of the Disabled is assisting PlanetAutism.com in this fundraiser and will be handling the donations. Charitable donations can be made to the “PEI Council of the Disabled” (Runman Fund) by mail or at any Credit Union across PEI. Online donations can be made on the Run’s website, PlanetAutism.com/runman where much more information about the Run can be found including the daily schedule and a blog where you can follow the Run day by day.
Left Brain Right Brain 
Don’t you love the name of the run? iRunman. Get it? (nudge, nudge) iRunman. (giggles)
This run is so great for several reasons, it’s a totally fantastic idea and totally the brainchild of jypsy and her son, if I understand it correctly. She is getting some tactical help from other autistic adults, too. Maybe more communities will follow suit and bring Dennis Debbaudt to speak to their “first responders.” Anyone with PayPal can send donations (over $5) for this.
Hope to get Charlie running beside me (as he is always biking with his dad) very soon.
Who wrote this press release? Was it jypsy? My congratulations to the author. This is an excellent piece of writing that gets all of our main points across clearly and concisely.
Yay for Alex, and I hope his idea of running for acceptance will spread to other communities.
It was jypsy. You can always tell quality when you see it.
I ran across Dennis Debbaudt’s work a couple of years ago. There is also LEAN On Us
http://www.leanonus.org/pages/1/index.htm
founded by Andrew W. and Carolyn A. Gammicchia
http://asa.confex.com/asa/2005/techprogram/S1253.HTM
My local first responders also have a communication program.
” “When Words Are Not Enough”
“An educational tool for Fire Department personnel and other “First Responders”
Communicating with individuals who have impaired communication skills due to various physical, psycho-social, developmental, and or learning disabilities can be extremely challenging to first responders at an emergency scene. In fact, lack of communication ability between emergency personnel and their patients can waste valuable time in initial medical assessments, risk further injury to the patient, require additional personnel to help with individual, and sometimes compromise necessary treatment and or transport”
http://www.woodsidefire.org/1video.html
As you may know, I’m not particularly involved with the autism community (my brief is special education in general).
I wonder if someone more directly involved with autism might do a round up or collection of first-responder resources, starting with the three listed above.
Thanx Kevin,
and thanx Ms Clark for the creative input – especially in naming the run. Ms. Clark also designed Alex’s current Rainman/Runman shirt, she’s sooo punny…
Ralph Smith designed the website and the logo for the run’s posters and t-shirts , Michelle is responsible for that lovely definition of autism. And that’s just for starters…. this truly is an autistic effort. Alex is involved in almost every aspect of organizing this, if not hands on then right there over my shoulder.
The support so far has been fabulous. The interest expressed by PEI law enforcement, first responders & educators has been incredibly inspiring. Today I met with PEI’s deputy tourism minister, even the Tourism Dep’t is keen to help, they are distributing our flyer to tourist bureaus across PEI and are looking into providing accommodations for Dennis in Sept and Alex & I along the run. I may even get a link on the Gov’t website. Over on the RoadRunners message board, a couple of runners are already keen to join him along the way.
Anyone who can’t throw money at us is invited to throw words of support in our guestbook. The world will see those comments…..
It was only after I signed the guestbook that it sunk in that it’s not just Alex running — it’s jypsy riding her bike along with him. I’m suitably impressed. 🙂
Anne,
I walk with a cane but I bike without training wheels…
I could do the tip-to-tip on my motorcycle, piece o’ cake. 🙂
I gave up my motorcycle and hitchhiking when I took up motherhood. I promised myself I’d get another motorcycle when my youngest child started school. But somewhere in there I gained an MS Dx and lost some balance skills. I was thrilled to find I could still ride a bike, I’m convinced it’s all about the feedback I get, not just from my feet but from my hands and butt as well. I can’t stand up on my bike. I wear a helmet (law here) and am willing to risk crashing (and have). Can’t say the same for a motorcycle….. but I’ll ride on the back of yours !