Kelly O’Brien, Centretown News
Liisa Vexler and Derek Firth started Ausome Ottawa so their son could have an easier entry into sports.A new extracurricular sports program will be rolling out on fields and courts across the city.
Ausome Ottawa, designed specifically for autistic youth, offers an athletic outlet for children on the spectrum who struggle with the organization and structure of organized sports.
The idea came from Ottawa parents, Liisa Vexler and Derek Firth, whose son has been a sports enthusiast from a young age.
A few years ago, the couple found out there was something more to their son’s fascination with the games.
At age seven, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Vexler says the diagnosis explained a lot.
“We just thought he was competitive and really talented,” she says, with a laugh.
Vexler says the rules and techniques of games like soccer came quite easily to her son, but she noticed that he struggled to understand that his teammates may not know all of the rules or be 100 per cent focused on the game.
“If he is there to play soccer, well, everyone should be there to play soccer…and everyone should know their position and ‘why isn’t that guy standing in the right position,’” she says. “He would have complete meltdowns at the field.”
Kate Myles Presse, autism and behavioural science graduate from Algonquin College and board member of Ausome Ottawa, says everything from bright lights to loud noises can intensify already high anxiety common in autistic youth.
But she says she believes sports can be a great outlet for this stress in the right setting.
Ausome Ottawa will be structured to help youth build individual skills in a variety of sports, including basketball, soccer, yoga, and karate, among others. Experienced sports trainers will guide youth individually in a group setting over six-week programs.
Vexler says it’s the couples hope this structure will allow for the diversity of learning behaviors among autistic youth.
Capital Courts Training Center in Orleans will be the program’s first location, starting in January 2016.
Merrick Palmer, owner of the basketball-training centre, says Ausome Ottawa was something he immediately wanted to get involved with.
“I’ve worked with autistic adults for eight years prior to opening the gym. So it was an easy decision when Derek came to me. I said, ‘I’ll support it no matter what, just let me know what you need from me,’ ” Palmer says.
Capital Courts currently offers programs for autistic adults, a factor Palmer says will contribute to his staff’s ability to adapt to the needs of autistic youth.
“They’re the same, just not as big and don’t take up as much space,” he says.
“It will be very low impact and very modified. Not a full court game or anything like that.”
Presse has worked to integrate autistic youth into existing programs such as the City of Ottawa’s day camps, in the past.
She says it is still important to build social bonds between non-autistic youth and those on the spectrum to improve inclusion, but that Ausome Ottawa’s specific design for autistic children offers them an opportunity to develop skills in sports without having to worry about fitting in.
Vexler says this was exactly the environment they wanted.
“These are people who have tried to be in the mainstream for the most part, and weren’t successful. So this is giving a safe place, a space where it’s okay for anyone to have a meltdown,” she says.