The image is a staple of childhood: scrambling up and down the court, dribbling the ball, chucking it at the hoop, keeping score only in laughs and smiles.
But for many children with autism, there are no opportunities to forge these quintessential childhood memories.
In the spirit of Autism Awareness Month, Jake Bernstein and other UNC student athletes are changing that.
At the “Bball for All” basketball clinic at Fetzer Gym on April 28, more than 40 children on the autism spectrum and their siblings will get to the chance to hit the court with UNC student athletes.
“There’s a limited number of extracurricular activities for kids on the autism spectrum,” said Bernstein, a member of the UNC fencing team.
“The event is all about offering a chance for them to try something new and maybe continue it in the future.”
Bernstein said he thought of the idea after talking with high school friends who had worked with autistic children.
He proposed the idea to Carolina Outreach, an organization that works with student athletes to provide monthly community service events.
Athletes from several UNC teams will volunteer at the clinic to give a one-on-one interaction with one of the five- to 13-year-old children.
“For the kids, we want them to have the opportunity to have some fun, run around and interact with the student athletes,” said Cricket Lane, a Carolina Outreach coordinator.
To create an open and free environment, the volunteers will let the children dictate what they do, Lane said.
Bernstein and Lane said they hope that the event spreads awareness of autism throughout the UNC community, especially for the volunteers.
“I think it will teach the volunteers that you can’t put autism under one umbrella,” Bernstein said.
“They are all incredible and each will have a unique experience.”
Bernstein added that he hopes the athletes take ownership and a leadership role while working with the children.
Elizabeth Schroeder, a UNC student, has worked with people with disabilities for more than six years and will give volunteers tips on interacting and communicating with the children.
“It’s hard to categorize people with autism because each person has individual quirks and idiosyncrasies,” she said.
Strategies such as trial and error and expecting the unexpected will help the volunteers get acclimated to their child, she said.
She added that she hopes that the experience will help the athletes think twice before accepting some of the stereotypes of people with disabilities.
“You have to try as hard as you can to interact with them as a person first and try not to think of them as an autistic, because they are so much more than that.”
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