Jack Loth

Autism Light #266 is Jack Loth.

Jack Loth is an inspirational young adult with autism from Omaha, Nebraska. He was born on July 5, 1992. Jack Loth has been spreading light for several years through his efforts to raise money for charitable causes and his encouragement to his high school baseball team, where he served as the manager for two years. Jack Loth is an Autism Light for making the world brighter for people in his community.

Special Olympics: In February, 2010, Jack Loth started to raise funds for the Special Olympics by walking backwards. He walked backwards for three months and raised $7,000 for the Special Olympics. The Get Back Jack page on Facebook chronicles Jack Loth's adventure in helping great causes.

Here is a tweet on Twitter that was shared by @TomBecka about Jack Loth's efforts.

Jack Loth has autism. He is walking backwards to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics. He'll be on my show tonight @ 5.kfab.com

— TomBecka (@TomBecka) March 29, 2010

Jack's mother explained what motivated him to walk backwards and raise funds for the Special Olympics.
"He saw that he was going to be able to make a difference and give back to the community because that's really all he wants to be is a normal member of the community and not looked at as a kid with autism (Source)."

High School Graduation: In 2012, Jack Loth graduated from Burke High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Here is a video of Jack Loth receiving his diploma when he graduated from Burke High School.



Jack Loth served as the Manager for his Burke High School Varsity Baseball Team in 2011 and 2012. In the Fall of 2011, "Loth told his mom that his only wish for his senior year at Burke was to not eat lunch alone. Within a few days, the baseball players joined Loth at lunch and made sure someone sat with him all school year (Source)." KETV produced a video of the news story featuring the Burke High School Baseball Team's friendship with Jack Loth. You can view it at this link. Autism Light originally was going to honor the Burke High School Baseball Team of 2012 for this attitude towards Jack Loth, but we felt they would want us to dedicate this entry to Jack's story. Here are some words about Jack Loth from his high school baseball team at Burke High.

• Coach Scott Hodges of the Burke High School Varsity  Baseball Team revealed why Jack Loth is such an inspiration to his team when he said, "He always has that big smile on his face (Source)."
• A student baseball player Turner Gaines expressed the teams feelings when he said, "We enjoy being with Jack. He's always happy. He's our friend (Source)."

Angel Guardians, Inc.: Jack Loth's most recent charitable cause has been to support Angel Guardians, Inc. by helping sell pies for their annual apple-pie fundraiser throughout the community. Angel Guardians is based in Omaha, Nebraska and their mission is to "improve the quality of life for special-needs teens and adults in the areas of housing, employment, fitness, socialization, and recreation (Source)."

Social Media: If you would like to follow emerging details of Jack Loth's amazing efforts to shine a light on his world, you can "Like" the Get Back Jack Facebook page.

Special thanks to Jack Loth for being an Autism Light. We wish Jack continued success as he shines his light to the world and represents the autism community in a way that only he can so uniquely and effectively do. Jack Loth's story is one of amazing abilities not a disability. We are honored to link this article with the Autism Light page featuring other amazing individuals with autism.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson

Autism Lights #229 are Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson.

Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson are from Omaha, Nebraska.  They have two sons with autism. Scott is a pilot and owner of the air charter company, UltraAir and Gail Werner-Robertson is a lawyer who founded GWR Wealth Mangement. Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson are Autism Lights for being dedicated parents of autism and for bringing hope and help to those with autism in Nebraska through the Autism Action Partnership that they founded.

The role Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson had in the origins of the Autism Action Partnership is explained this way on the Autism Action Partnership's website.

Gail Werner-Robertson and Scott Robertson, the founders of Autism Action Partnership (AAP), laid the groundwork for Autism Action Partnership in 2000 when they began the GWR Sunshine Foundation. As the parents of two sons diagnosed with autism, they personally experienced the constant challenges and frustrations associated with finding adequate, cost effective treatment services, medical expertise, and basic educational support for their children. Determined that other Nebraska families would not have to endure the same struggles, Gail and Scott began their work to provide support to individuals with autism and their families across the state (Source).

You can view a news story on the work of Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson on YouTube at http://youtu.be/8nFIdMTO_6E (sorry the YouTube settings won't allow this great video of Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson to be embeded here).  In addition, here is a YouTube video spotlighting the different programs associated with the Autism Action Partnership.


The Autism Action Partnership became a public non-profit organization in 2008.  Gail Werner-Robertson serves as the Chairman of the Board to this day. Gail's motivation for making a difference for autism can be understood in the following statement she made as an autism parent:

"All I ever wanted was for my child to be invited to just one birthday party (Source)."

Gail Werner-Robertson: Gail Werner-Robertson earned both her B.A. and J.D. from Creighton University. For more information on Gail Werner-Robertson you can read her biography at the Plate Institute for Economic Research's website.

Scott Robertson: Scott Robertson's biography on the UltraAir website says the following:

Scott is a founding board member of the Nebraska Business Aviation Association and sits on the boards of the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Children's Scholarship Fund. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and resides in Omaha with his wife and four children (Source).

Scott and Gail Werner-Robertson are the first Autism Lights from the state of Nebraska. Their dedication to shining a light for autism in Omaha, Nebraska is an inspiration to the autism community. The autism community is fortunate to have them as parent leaders who fight the good fight for autism in Nebraska.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.