Tyler Run for Autism supports parents with autistic children

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Hundreds of people in the Tyler community woke up early Saturday morning to show support by participating in the Tyler Run for Autism. The Tyler Run for Autism kicks off April in honor of World Autism Month.

The profits made from the Tyler Run for Autism will go to organizations that aid parents such as Neurodivergent Advocates of East Texas, Monarch and The Learning Center.

Casey McCoy is the co-founder of Neurodivergent Advocates of East Texas. Her daughter ran in the race and is on the autism spectrum.

“We’re just excited to see the community step up and become advocates themselves and help bring awareness to all the different abilities that are in East Texas,” said McCoy.

Patricia Glass is the executive director of Neurodivergent Advocacy of East Texas, and she is also an advocate for her daughter who is on the autism spectrum.

Both of their daughters met in ADA therapy.

“ADA therapy is really expensive, and there’s a lot of insurance carriers that don’t cover it, so this race provides grants and also scholarships for those who need their services who don’t get it through insurance coverage,” said Glass.

ADA stands for “applied developmental analysis,” which is a treatment service that works with kids who have autism and focuses on a child’s specific needs. McCoy’s eight-year-old daughter was nonverbal until she spent three years enrolled in ADA services. Now, she is fully verbal with a vocabulary of 3,000 words. Glass said therapy sessions can cost up to $160 an hour.

“From the age of since when a child is born until they’re 18 years old, it cost over a million dollars per family to raise a child with disabilities,” Glass said.

“We want to be involved in the community because sometimes with behaviors or melt downs, we don’t want to go out or when we do we just pack up and leave because we feel like maybe, not judge is the right word, but we get stared at, so we just pack up and leave, so providing that community for the family but also outside neurotypical people to understand what it’s like,” said Glass.

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