Dave and Mindy Rice

Autism Lights #240 are Dave and Mindy Rice.

Dave and Mindy Rice are from Las Vegas, Nevada. Dave Rice is currently the head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dave and Mindy have two boys and their 9 year old son Dillon has autism. In response to the personal way in which autism has touched their lives they established the Dave Rice Foundation on February 9, 2012 (Source). Dave and Mindy Rice are Autism Lights for their work to make a difference for autism as parents and as creators of an autism foundation.

D.J. Allen, Sr., the Associate Athletic Director at UNLV said, "Anyone who has ever been involved in the life of a special needs child at any level understands the amount of love, dedication and sacrifice that goes into that child to maximize his or her potential. What Dave and Mindy have decided to do is personal. They're not doing this for sympathy. They're doing it because it's the right thing to do (Source)."

Education: Dave Rice graduated from UNLV in 1991 with a B.A. and 1993 with an MBA.

UNLV Basketball: Dave Rice was a member of the UNLV Men's Basketball team during the 1989-1990 season, when UNLV won the National Championship. After 11 years as an Assistant Coach for UNLV and one year as an Assistant Coach for Brigham Young University, Dave Rice became the head coach at UNLV on April 10, 2011. In the 2011-2012 season UNLV won 26 games and made it to the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Dave Rice Foundation: Here is a video of Dave and Mindy Rice talking about their autism foundation.


Dave and Mindy Rice started the Dave Rice Foundation on February 9, 2012. Dave Rice serves as Chairman of the Board and Mindy Rice serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board.  Dave Rice said, "Shortly after we moved back to Las Vegas, we saw this as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, and to bring about attention to the needs of those who are affected by autism (Source)."

According to the Dave Rice Foundation website they are a "non-profit, tax exempt organization dedicated to the education and support of health initiatives including developmental disorders such as Autism, and other charitable causes. The Dave Rice Foundation will be partnering with the UNLV Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Dave Rice said, "The difficulty with autism is that we would go to the doctor and he would ask us what we thought. And I thought, 'Aren't you the doctor?' That was the frustrating part. And with this foundation, the education and awareness will just benefit everybody (Source)."

Fundraising Events:  On May 4, 2012, the foundation held "An Evening with Dave Rice" as it's first fundraiser (Source). On November 12, 2012, the Dave Rice Foundation held a fundraiser with the support of restaurants in Las Vegas (Source).

The following is a video of the press conference when Dave and Mindy Rice announced their foundation for autism.  
For more information on the Dave Rice Foundation visit it's website at www.davericefoundation.org or connect with them through the various methods listed on their website contact area. 
Social Media: You can follow Dave Rice and the Dave Rice Foundation at the following social media areas:

• Twittter @CoachDaveRice
• YouTube
• Wikipedia

Special thanks to Dave and Mindy Rice for starting the Dave Rice Foundation and for being inspirational  public figures who are facing the challenges of being autism parents. The autism community in Nevada is blessed to have this foundation working to make the world a better place for families with autism. There will be a link to this post placed under the "Coach's section" of the Autism Light Sports Page as well as on the Autism Light Foundations Page. 

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Dr. Jeff Kinner

Autism Light #75 is Dr. Jeff Kinner.  

Dr. Jeff Kinner is a Dentist and the Director of the Autism Dental Center for Children in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Dr. Jeff Kinner is an Autism Light because of his dedication to make the process as easy as possible for children with autism to receive needed dental treatment.

Dr. Jeff Kinner began his dental practice in Nevada in 1983.  He limits his practice to children up through age 18.  His work with autism began in earnest in 2007.  According to his website,

In 2007, Dr. Kinner had a sense that children with special needs, especially those with autism, were not receiving dental care with the dignity they deserved. He formed the Autism Dental Center for Children to forge new strategies for the treatment of children with autism. Children who were once automatically taken to a surgery center or put into a straight jacket for dental treatment are now often integrated into a private practice environment. Most can receive routine recare visits without being hospitalized, restrained, or sedated.

The following is a promotional video about Dr. Jeff Kinner's practice.

Dr. Jeff Kinner feels that traditional dental practice is often not tolerated by children with autism. He notes on the front page of his website these three ways to help children with autism adjust to dental treatment:

1. Provide repetitive familiarization
2. Offer rewards
3. Listen to the parents knowledge of what works with their child

"Our philosophy is that every child with autism must be given the opportunity to receive routine dental care visits without the use of drugs or restraints," says Dr. Jeff Kinner.

The Autism Dental Center for Children is located at Summerlin Medical Center, 653 N. Town Center Drive, Suite 104, Las Vegas, NV 89144.   You may contact them through one of these means.

• Phone: (702) 233-3338
• Email: info@autismdentist.com
• Website: www.autismdentist.com

Social Media: You can follow Dr. Jeff Kinner at these social media areas:

• Twitter 
• Facebook

For more information on Dr. Jeff Kinner and his work read his bio from his Website at this link.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Update: Dr. Jeff Kinner retired at the end of 2011. This post was written prior to his retirement. 

Russell Lehmann

Autism Light #9 is Russell Lehmann.

Russell Lehmann

Russell Lehmann is giving to the world through his special gift of poetry. He resides in Nevada and has autism. Russell Lehmann is an Autism Light because of the way his poetry touches people and provides a window into the poetic gifts of some people with autism.

Inside Out Book Published:  Russell Lehmann's first book on poetry called Inside Out was published in October, 2011. The title for his book seems to come from a quotation Russell Lehmann said, "One way I like to define myself living with autism is that I'm closed on the outside, and open on the inside. I may come across as not listening or paying attention, but trust me, I am."  Dr. Temple Grandin, another Autism Light herself, has called his work "Beautiful". 


Here is a video of a news story on Russell Lehmann's poetry talent.

Website: You can learn more about Russell Lehmann on his website at https://www.russell-lehmann.com/.

Thanks for being an Autism Light, Russell.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism. 


Photo: Photo in this post used with permission of Russell Lehmann.

Note: This post was updated on October 18, 2011 to reflect the publication of Russell Lehmann's book.

John LeSieur

Autism Light #2 is John LeSieur.

John LeSieur created the Zac Browser and is the President of People CD.  The Zach Browser is a web browser designed to help children with autism navigate the internet. The USA Today did a story on John LeSieur which can be found at this Website. This resource was created in order to help limit the frustrations of his grandson Zachary experienced when using the internet.  Zachary has autism. People CD summarizes the unique features of their browser by saying,

"The buttons are limited to essential functions and the browser prevents the child from accessing inappropriate sites. Children suffering from autism are known for being able to adapt easily to PECS (pictograms) so we designed an icon based navigation system like the PECS system."

  Below is the Associated Press story on this special web browser. 

Social Media: You can follow John LeSieur and his work at the following social media areas:

• Twitter - @zacbrowser
• Google+ - John LeSieur

You may find out all about this special browser for computer users with autism on their home page at www.zacbrowser.com.   A free download is available.  John LeSieur is an Autism Light because of the potential this browser has to help many children with autism experience the world of the Internet.  

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.