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Boston's Marathon: OMS student with autism thriving on cross country team

Messenger-Inquirer - 9/28/2022

Sep. 28—Boston Wink, a sixth-grader at Owensboro Innovation Middle School, has autism and decided when he entered middle school that he wanted to join the cross country team.

"Sometimes it has been rough," Wink said. "We've all gone through challenges together. When I was running, sometimes I have problems, but the other teammates cheered me on and made me keep going."

Wink said that he really likes to run and that's one of the reasons he decided to join, but the teamwork is why he loves it.

"We all work as a team and I like being part of a group," he said. "The competitions are a little hard and I've had some problems with them, but I fought through them and I finished."

Before joining the team, Wink said he was sad and telling himself to fight through the challenges he faced.

Natalie Ellis, Owensboro Middle School cross country coach, said a teacher at Owensboro High School approached her and asked how she would feel about a student with autism joining the team.

"I said absolutely," she said. "Any opportunity we have to create unity, I'm all about it."

Ellis said Wink "fit right in" from the first day.

"He didn't miss a beat; he runs with me at practice; I push him at practice and he fusses at me," she said. "But he finishes."

Seeing Wink's teammates cheering him on and pushing him forward moves Ellis to tears sometimes.

"When the boys finish the race before Boston, they will go back and run the course to find him and the girls will spread out to cheer him on," she said. "There's been a few times I've cried."

Ellis said a lot of his teammates didn't know he had autism until recently.

"For me as a special education teacher, to see that for them to not know, that's always an amazing sign," she said. "Usually people will try to identify a target but these kids didn't and made him part of the family."

On days that Wink has great practices, Ellis said he will lead the team in their cool down run.

"They know they're not allowed to pass him, they're to push him and he leads us in to finish," she said.

Having a teammate with autism teaches the students to be humble, accepting, unified and kind, Ellis said.

"I say that we're a family and we're going to treat each other like family," she said. "We may have spats; we may fight at each other; we may yell at each other, but at the end of the day, we're all family. We all love each other."

Ellis said since Wink has joined the team, he's become more vocal and will initiate conversations more.

"In the beginning, he would put in a couple of words here and there but now he initiates conversations," she said.

One of Wink's favorite things to do after a race, according to Ellis, is to look up restaurants in their area to see which ones are the best for the team to eat at.

"He will Google the restaurants to make sure he approves of them," she said. "After our race on Saturday, we went to a pizza place in Princeton and he Googled the pizza place and said, 'The cheese looks very acceptable. Coach, I think this is going to be a good one.' "

Ellis said it was a good choice.

"This has been a really great learning opportunity for the other kids," she said. "For them to see and encourage, there's been no negativity. I appreciate the kids have stepped up with so much kindness for him."

Amanda Owen, executive director of Puzzle Pieces, a nonprofit organization for people with autism, said if someone meets a person with autism, he or she has only met one person with autism.

"The needs and desires are so unique person to person," Owen said. "There are some who love sports and others who don't. But we all want acceptance and to be valued and to be part of something."

Owen said that middle schoolers already struggle with self-worth, identity and growing up, and when it is paired with autism, there may be some that have difficulties navigating social scenarios, but some who have a major desire for it.

"When a person feels valued and accepted, it creates a situation where they achieve at a higher level," she said. "Sometimes the opportunities are somewhat limited, but I think the schools are doing a great job in creating opportunities."

According to Owen, one in 44 people has autism, and that is is more prevalent in men than in women.

"It's an ever-evolving spectrum," she said. "It's endless."

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