Earlier this week I was reading a report by a local autism society and this immediately led to my wish to recount a wonderful story that occurred just a few months ago in the world of my favourite game, and world’s top indoor sport, basketball.
Some may have heard about this amazing feat (especially those who regularly follow American news as even a video was shown) yet I believe others have not and deserve to get to know the story which sheds wonderful light on how sport can be a wonderful aid to make the world be and think better.
The story revolves round a 17 year old teenager by the name of Jason McElwain, a New Yorker born on 1st October 1987 with a high-functioning autism with a reasonable level of capability. For the last years, all he wanted to do was play basketball.
However both as he was considered too small (1.68 mt) and also because of his condition, he became the manager of the Greece Athena High School basketball team in Rochester, New York..
Amazed at his dedication and enthusiasm along the previous two years, team coach Jim Johnson added Jason to the roster for the team’s last regular season game of the year, against Spencerport High School, so that at least he would wear the team jersey and sit on the bench as a player. There was no guarantee Jason would actually play as Athena was battling for a division title.
However Johnson hoped the situation would even enable him to get McElwain onto the floor a little playing time and this became possible when Athena opened a very large lead with four minutes to go. The sizeable crowd watching the game cheered a lot when Jason went on the substitute bench to enter the game.
Eventually Jason did not let his coach down as he scored an amazing six 3-pointers (which is astoundingly a school record) and also a normal basket in these 4 minutes and was carried off the court on his teammates’ shoulders as the crowd went literally wild and treated Jason as a celebrity.
Jason’s first attempt missed the ring completely and then he fluffed a lay-up. Despite this, Jason tried again and scored a three pointer, “caught fire” and nothing held him back from there till the final buzzer.
Coach Jim Johnson could not believe his eyes and really got emotional. In fact, he said “I have had a lot of thrills in coaching, I have coached a lot of wonderful kids. But I have never experienced such a thrill.”
Jason’s sporting victory might have remained just a memory but luckily this feat was captured on a student video that made the rounds of the television networks. In fact, a story was given prominence in the local media a day after. The story spread quickly and got US national coverage after the story (and the video) was aired on CBS and CNN just a few days later.
The video was very popular with many sports fans, yet its most significant impact might be felt within the autism community, where doctors, parents and educators were very excited about what this all could mean for the treatment of this disease.
Autism is a disease that affects an individual’s ability to relate socially to others. Statistics show that it is possibly growing at a rate of 10 to 17 percent a year, making it the fastest-growing disability developed countries like the USA.
The disease clearly cuts across all racial, ethnic, social and economic lines, yet it affects boys four times more often than girls.
The disease is quite complex and imposes wide-ranging effects on its subjects. Some are left speechless or entirely unable to communicate, while others face miniature hurdles each day that often are not readily visible to those on the outside. There is no known cure yet Jason’s feat has given a lot of priceless hope.
Both Jason and his coach gave numerous interviews and many contacted Jason himself for rights on the story.
The school was besieged with calls and e-mails from parents of children who have autism, a little-understood developmental disorder. Jason’s parents hope that this incident will open doors for some people or open some eyes.
McElwain’s mother sees all this as a milestone for her son. McElwain, who did not begin talking until he was 5, lacks social skills but has learned to cope well in his teens,
“This is the first moment Jason has ever succeeded (and could be) proud of himself,” reflected mum Debbie McElwain. “I look at autism as the Berlin Wall, and he cracked it.”
McElwain met with President George W. Bush on Tuesday 14th March 2006 where he greeted President Bush off Air Force One at the Rochester airport and the two spoke with each other and with the media for a short time.
President Bush commented that he wept when he saw Jason’s performance and then he gave him a bookmark and a presidential tie clip. When parting ways McElwain was reported to have said to the President, “It was an honour to meet you,” whereupon Bush responded, “No, my honour”.
In April 2006, McElwain reached a deal with Columbia Pictures to produce a film of his life story. His parents had received inquiries from about 25 production companies ranging from The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. to independent documentary filmmakers.
On 12th July ESPN awarded McElwain an ESPY Award in the “Best Sports Moment” category in recognition of his 20-point game. The other nominees for the award were no lightweights, namely Dakoda Dowd’s LPGA tournament appearance, Kobe Bryant’s 81-point NBA game, and the George Mason University men’s basketball team’s appearance in the NCAA Final Four.
Jason’s performance is clear proof that some autistic children can achieve at a highly capable level. To add more spice to his wonderful year, Jason’s next goal was to graduate and he managed to do this Summer. Through courage and determination odds can be beaten.
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