By Jacqueline Garza
Hi I am a TACA mom and I have an amazing, incredible 9 year old superhero son named Mason. Mason began receiving early intervention at 17 months and was formally diagnosed with autism at 2.5 years old.
In April 2014, Mason participated in Volcom Autism Awareness Day brought to us through TACA Orange County. His Volcom volunteer whose name, Harris, he remembers to this day, and the experience in general has had a tremendous influence on his life ever since.
Since that day Mason has continuously skated 20 plus hours a week. His energy and enthusiasm that can sometimes be overwhelming on a playground is appropriate and even inspirational at the skate park.
He has had the chance to meet some pretty famous skaters (Omar Hassan was so inspired by Mason at the skate park that he took the wheels off of his personal deck and gifted it to him right there in the parking lot) but more importantly has gained the respect of his peers at the skate park.
Skating has allowed him to channel the hyper focus and sometimes obsessive components of his autism and turned them into a drive and determination to be the best skateboarder he can possibly be.
He has gone from needing hand over hand balance help from Harris to skating 11 ft pools. Many times he is the best skater at the park. This has transpired in just one year. Through skating, we have seen exponential gains in his self-esteem and desire to be physically active. Under a helmet and on a board, he can be anyone he wants to be.
I wanted to say thank you to companies like Volcom for their continued support of the autism community. Their support for a community event changed my son’s life for the better.
With the huge rise in occurrence of autism we have to find opportunities that inspires and help our kids. I never guessed this one family outing would affect our family is such a positive way. Volcom’s assistance in helping our children “up their cool game” is a gift that will combat bullying, depression, and low self-esteem in the future.
And special thanks to TACA. From the first time I viewed your website when my son was 15 months old to find the “warning signs” & to the opportunity gifted to him at age 9 your organization has truly supported our family for almost a decade and we are forever grateful for what you do. I am grateful I have a community of support for Mason and I am excited for his future.
Editors note: special thanks to Volcom for hosting TACA for four years of skating fun for families living with autism. Many kids like Mason are experiencing skating for the first time because of their support of TACA. We greatly appreciate their years of support and dedication to TACA’s mission.
To see more pictures from the April 2015 event hosted by Volcom, please see:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/talkaboutcuringautism/sets/72157649484883954/
Moving Autism Forward by Team TACA 
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