Hotter Than A Pistol
Jason McElwain is a seventeen year old high school senior. He is also autistic. McElwain did not talk until he was five. He lacked social skills. Many of his classes were very small (about six students) so that he could have more individualized attention. For one four minute period, Jason McElwain was a star. It is a story to warm one's heart.
McElwain loves basketball. Given that he is five foot six, his ability to play at the high school level seemed limited. He opted to become the team manager so as to stay involved in the sport.
McElwain, 5-foot-6, was considered too small to make the junior varsity, so he signed on as team manager. He took up the same role with the varsity, doing anything to stay near the sport he loves... On the varsity, he never misses practice and is a jack-of-al--trades...As the last game of McElwain's last season in high school approached, the coach, the team, and the fans had plans for McElwain.McElwain had done everything he was asked to do for the Greece Athena High School basketball team - keep the stats, run the clock, hand out water bottles... (he) usually sits on the bench in a white shirt and black tie.
"And he is happy to do it," Johnson (the high school coach) said. "He is such a great help and is well-liked by everyone on the team."
Coach Jim Johnson was impressed with his dedication, and thought about suiting up McElwain for the home finale... Even though McElwain was in uniform for the Feb. 15 game, there was no guarantee he would play - Athena was battling for a division title.The fans, however, came prepared. One section of students held up signs bearing his nickname "J-MAC" and cutouts of his face placed on Popsicle sticks.
With four minutes left in the game, McElwain's team had opened a large lead. The coach put him into the game. That was a nice gesture but it ran some risk of embarrassment:
With four minutes left, McElwain took the court to deafening cheers.What happened next is straight out of Hollywood:The ball came to him almost right away. His 3-point shot sailed completely off course, and the coach wondered if he made the wrong move. McElwain then missed a layup. Yet his father, David, was unruffled.
"The thing about Jason is he isn't afraid of anything," he told the newspaper. "He doesn't care what people think about him. He is his own person."
On the next trip down the floor, McElwain got the ball again. This time he stroked a 3, all net.He was just warming up.
"As soon as the first shot went in that's when I started to get going," he said.
On the next attempt, he got another 3-pointer. Then another, and another. In fact, he would have made one more 3, but his foot was on the line, so he had to settle for 2 points.
All in all, he hit six three and finished with 20 points in four minutes.
Greece Athena won 79-43, and pandemonium reigned. McElwain signed autographs, posed for pictures and was hoisted by his teammates..."I ended my career on the right note," he told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. "I was really hotter than a pistol!"Autistic kids rarely get to be in the spotlight. Their hard work and accomplishments are not often noticed by people outside of their immediate circles. Special Olympians are often mocked. It is nice to see one such kid receive some acclaim and have his moment in the sun. Even more impressive is that the coach would think to do something nice for an autistic kid, that the fans would come prepared to cheer for him, and that his teammates would carry him off like a hero. Any movie producers out there looking for a heartwarming story should take note.
Comments
I heard about this on the radio this a.m., and cheered. My 9 y/o son has high-functioning autism and he, too, is enamored of basketball. He fell in love with the game after watching Space Jam (movies are his obsession). Now that he's outgrown his toddler hoop, we're trying to figure out where to put a standard hoop on our very small property.
As to the kindness shown to McElwain, we've experienced the same. Our son is in a program which mixes mainstream kids and kids with communication/social difficulties (our son is the only one in his group with autism). Perhaps because of his "social blindness", and his wanting to understand and play by the rules, he is a very sweet kid. He has, to some degree, been "adopted" by many of the mainstream kids -- girls, especially, are protective of him.
On the other hand, in each new daycare situation or school, there is an initial hesitancy in taking on an "autistic kid". Mainstream entertainment has, to some degree, demonsized the autistic, generally emphasizing the negative aspects of their differences, having random, irrational, violent outbursts of "temper" or self-destructiveness, and not recognizing that those outbursts are caused by frustration at their inability to communicate their needs, or understand what is expected of them. We've educated each new group of people on how to "read" our son, and each new group of people has found him to be a loving child who, because the teacher or daycare provider knows what to look for, is often easier to deal with than "normal" kids.
I've said that I wouldn't want to cure my son's autism, any more than I'd want to "cure" his elder brother's giftedness. They both are very special, unique personalities because of their differences from the mainstream. What I want is for our society to find places for our autistic kids, to be tolerant of their differences and recognize where those differences are in actuality, strengths. Bravo for a community that managed to do it for this McElwain.
Posted by: Frankenoid | February 24, 2006 01:52 PM
A couple of things: First, I would like to know what (in your opinion) triggers the different levels of Autism in children. I know much has been made of the vaccination connection - but I don't know whether that is a definite link, or perhaps a link to a certain kind of vaccination (where it was grown, live or killed, etc.). You are directly involved, so friankly - your research and opinions mean so much more than someone looking at this through a purely medical lens. Detachment can lead to tunnel vision, I've often found. If you have to search for alternatives - you tend to get awfully creative.
Second - Though I'm sure you already know this - children's theatre has been shown to positively affect some children whose autism is less severe. For all I know it may help those severely impacted as well; but I don't have experience with that - only cases of mild autism. I would guess it works for the same reasons involvement in sports does - individual and group participation, specific skill sets, yards of self esteem. I'm not a scientist - just ran a theatre school for children for a number of years. Working in and with theatre helped children with a whole host of problems - from stuttering and painful shyness to autism and certain mental and physical disabilities.
So bravo to everyone involved in Jason McElwain's life. They certainly hit all the right notes.
Posted by: The Fat Lady Sings | February 24, 2006 02:26 PM
What an incredible story! I wish I could have been there to experience it first hand.
Posted by: Kevin | February 24, 2006 03:45 PM
I think it's a combination of genetics and some sort of triggers.
Autism, giftedness and depression/bi-polar disorder seems to cluster in families. Both my family and my husband's family have all three. In my family, there are 6 cases of bi-polar disorder across 3 generations, and two diagnosed high-functioning autistics. In my husband's family, there is 1 bi-polar and 1 severe autistic.
The commonality in the 3 autistics is birth trauma. My son is a suriving twin, born 10 weeks prematurely, by emergency c-section -- thus, he was exposed, however briefly, to anesthesia. My niece had toxemia during her pregnancy with her autistic son. On my husband's side, his niece was a breach birth, born vaginally, who was oxygen deprived due to cord compression; she is the most severely autistic and had the most severe birth trauma.
I think there are other triggers besides birth trauma; it may be that the mercury in vaccines could be one, or that the mercury, in combination with some other environmental chemical could be a trigger for a genetically vulnerable child. Sadly, in my opinion, many of the parents of autistics pursuing the vaccine link are harming our really finding out. They are so desperate for an answer, and in finding a villain, they are impeding the search. Conversely, I think the vaccine manufacturers are more interested in covering their asses than anything else, and discounting the possibility. Our environment is so chemically saturated, it's hard to guess what might be triggering autism.
Autism is very complex -- it's called "the spectrum" for a reason. Each autistic is different; some believe that giftedness and ADHD are at the far end of the the autism spectrum; having kids diagnosed with each (my elder son has ADHD as well as being gifted), I see the commonalities.
Posted by: Frankenoid | February 24, 2006 03:45 PM
Great Post Dwight
I saw the footage of this three times yesterday and, unabashedly, it brought tears to my eyes each time - especially the interviews
with this fine young man ...
Yes, truly, indeed, a very heartwarming story ... Your a Prince for
posting it
Peace
JTD
Posted by: J. Thomas Duffy | February 24, 2006 04:49 PM
A truly inspirational story that I'm sure was missed by many in the welter of idiocy and insanity that passes for 'normal' in our news dominated by the criminal Bush regime. Thanks for reminding us of the special magic that can happen in everyday life by people just showing up day after day and performing heroically. Cheers & Good Luck! 'VJ'
Posted by: VJ | February 25, 2006 07:36 AM
Any movie producers out there looking for a heartwarming story should take note.
Looks like they did: Autistic player flooded with movie inquiries:
"His play drew national attention, and a flood of calls from Hollywood. His parents have received inquiries from about 25 production companies ranging from The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. to independent documentary filmmakers."
Posted by: Matt | February 28, 2006 05:06 PM
I lay of less than five miles from Athena, And knew nothing of these events. That coach Johnson would do that does strike me as being on par with his character. Quite a guy, that. And quite a story. I'll be linking it shortly.
Posted by: Bithead | February 28, 2006 09:03 PM