EBD Blog

Under the headline “Boy, 9, overcomes autism to play ball, win essay contest,” Hudson Sangree of the Sacramento (CA) Bee reported about Brandon Mark playing baseball. That may not seem worthy of an article, but because Brandon has Autism, it is. Here’s Mr. Sangree’s lead:

After their son Brandon was diagnosed with autism, Kelvin Mark and Cheryl Lieu worried he would never lead a normal life.

The two physicians, who live in the Sierra Oaks neighborhood, said they were concerned he might never be able to dress himself, feed himself or speak in coherent sentences. They wondered if he would develop the normal mechanisms of fear and avoidance that would prevent him from walking into traffic.

With Brandon’s hypersensitivity to sunlight, dirt and loud voices, the normal childhood pastime of playing Little League baseball seemed far out of reach.

So when Brandon, 9, got his first solid hit and rounded the bases to score, Kelvin Mark said it brought tears to his eyes.

Mr. Sangree also reported that Brandon entered an essay in the contest sponsored by Briggs and Stratton, Diamonds in the Rough. The Diamonds in the Rough contest recognizes essays or videos by 7- to 14-year old baseball or softball players from the US who “overcome a challenge on or off the field.” Brandon’s essay earned $5000 for his home team’s field.

Read Mr. Sangree’s story. Learn about the Diamonds in the Rough awards. Flash of the electrons to Ms. Angala of Special Education Teacher in Washington DC, where I learned of this story.