John and Traci Schneider

Autism Lights #336 are John and Traci Schneider.

John and Traci Schneider are from Seattle, Washington and their 12 year old son Ben has autism. John Schneider works as the General Manager for the Seattle Seahawks and helped develop the team that won Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. John and Traci Schneider are Autism Lights because of how their advocacy for autism and their fundraising for Ben's Fund at FEAT of Washington is helping autism families in the Seattle area.

NFL Executive: John Schneider has served as the General Manager of the Seattle Seahawks since 2010. He has established himself as a brilliant NFL administrator. Prior to moving to Seattle, he worked for the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers. John Schneider helped construct the Green Bay Packer team that won Super Bowl XLV. Dave Soft Mahler, who is a Sports Radio Show host in Seattle, posted the following tweet in praise of John Schneider in April, 2013.

Just left the Autism fundraiser with John and Traci Schneider. Not a GM in the league I'd trade him for. Hope he's here forever.
— Dave Softy Mahler (@Softykjr) April 19, 2013

Seattle Seahawks: The Seattle Seahawks have been very supportive of Ben's Fund. You can watch an autism awareness video of the Schneider's at Seahawks.com.  The Seahawks have dedicated a portion of their website to help promote the Prime Time Event for Ben's Fund.

Traci Schneider:  Traci Schneider said this about their autism journey, "John and I are of the same mindset where we were heartbroken and devastated for about a day, and then we kind of got to the point where it was like, 'All right, now what do we do?' (Seahawks.com, Tony Drovetto, March 22, 2013)."   In addition to being an autism mother, Traci Schneider has volunteered on the board at FEAT and has served as the President of the Seahawks Women's Association.

Ben's Fund: John and Traci Schneider created Ben's Fund in 2012 in order to help families in Washington State receive autism services. The fund provides grants for services in partnership with FEAT (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) of Washington. Ben Schneider has received some important help from the services of FEAT of Washington, when his family moved to Seattle in 2010.


John and Traci Schneider establish "Ben's Fund" charity from Doug Farrar on Vimeo.

FEAT of Washington: According to the Prime Time Website, "FEAT of Washington is a non-profit organization that strives to reach families with a child or children on the autism spectrum, providing support, guidance and resources for families in the community. For the past 15 years, FEAT WA has been developing, creating and inspiring autism programming for Washington's children solely to achieve one purpose - to help those children reach their full potential. Visit featwa.org to learn more."

Entire Family Impacted: John Schneider said this about autism families, "It's not just an issue for these kids. It's an issue for the entire family and it's hard. It affects your neighbors, the siblings, you can be at a restaurant and things can just fall apart. The mothers are just unbelievable and the siblings have to be unbelievable as well (My Northwest.com, Josh Kerns, April 5, 2012)."

John Schneider believes there is hope for autism. John Schneider said, "There's always hope, we have seen that with our son. He has definitely gotten better with everything that we have done over the past seven years. So we are very fortunate (My Northwest.com, Josh Kerns, April 5, 2012)."

Wikipedia: You can read more about John Schneider at the John Schneider Wikipedia Page.

Special thanks to John and Traci Schneider for being Autism Lights. We wish them continued success as autism parents and advocates. The autism community in Washington State is certainly fortunate to have them on their team as our the many Seahawks fans in the area.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Elijah Winfrey

---

Autism Light Classic 
Updated on January 12, 2016.

---

Autism Light #334 is Elijah Winfrey.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2014 we honored a golfer and autism uncle who like the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is using service as his road to make a difference in the world and to shine a light for autism. Elijah (Eli) Winfrey is a now 42 year old autism uncle and golfer from Redmond, Washington. He is married to Lisa Winfrey and has one son Jordan Andrew Winfrey. Elijah's nephew and niece, who are from his birthplace of Augusta, Georgia, have autism. Elijah Winfrey is an Autism Light because he raises autism awareness, in honor of his autistic nephew and niece, through his leadership at the Seattle Children's Autism Guild, his golfing, and his non profit organization called Team Winfrey.

Elijah Winfrey

This post is our 3rd annual feature to honor someone who is an Autism Light in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. Previous people selected for this significant day were:

• Joshua Bennett (2013)
• King Richard (2012) 

Autism Light believes that if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had seen the high rates of autism in his day he would been an autism advocate and might have even added to his "I have a Dream" speech a line such as, "I have a dream that little children with autism will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the eloquence of their communication but by the messages of their heart."

Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.

A quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that adds insight into the vision that Eli Winfrey follows in his life is when King said, "Everybody can be great...because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't need to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant (The King Center Archives, "The Drum Major Instinct", Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2/4/1968).

Eli Winfrey wrote a blog on Martin Luther King, Jr. day in 2012 and said, "As Martin Luther King Jr. said,...You don't have to be famous to be great or to serve. We are all great and we all have a calling to serve whatever it is we believe in. I'm no pro golfer or celebrity with access to millions of people, but if I can spark that one person to stand up and help me, then I know many will follow (Eli Winfrey Blog, Making a Difference, 1/20/2012).

Eli Winfrey said this to Autism Light about autism, "Autism affects 1 in 50 children and it grows every day. We have to all sit down together and continue to figure out ways to help our communities and continue to raise awareness. At the end of the day we are all in this together. We also have to listen, educate and never forget about the moms and dads who also need us."

Golf

Golf Tour: Elijah Winfrey golfs competitively on tour with the Golf Channel. He says that in 2016 he will play in 12 events including Las Vegas and for the first time playing in Florida. He says, "My game is still in the process of getting better (Eli Winfrey Blog, New Year New Goals, 1/1/2016)."  Eli Winfrey told Autism Light that, "The main reason I play golf is to raise awareness for and about Autism. I feel like I represent the autism community whenever I tee it up."

Elijah Winfrey Open Invitational Golf Tournament: Elijah Winfrey started the Elijah Winfrey Open Invitational Golf Tournament to raise support for autism. His 2016 golf tournament is planned for August 18, 2016.

Charitable Causes

Team Winfrey: On January 20, 2012, Elijah Winfrey founded the charity, Team Winfrey. It was launched to "contribute to the health and happiness of our communities by making a personal, meaningful impact on individuals and families (Team Winfrey Facebook Page)." Elijah Winfrey serves as the President of Team Winfrey. In addition to the Elijah Winfrey Open Invitational Golf Tournament, the charity does events like a sensory friendly bowling night, a golf clinic, and distribution of essential supplies to low income and homeless families in Seattle. In 2016, Elijah plans to offer two scholarships to help individuals with autism receive tutoring that will help them graduate from high school. Stay in touch with the charity work at The Team Winfrey Website.

Please support my organization @TeamWinfreyCorp as we have started our summer donation drive to help the homeless. pic.twitter.com/anULRKSlHW

— Elijah Winfrey (@Eli_Winfrey) June 24, 2015

Miracle League of Vancouver, Washington: Elijah Winfrey helps out the Miracle League of Vancouver, Washington and plans to provide scholarships for children to play baseball who can't afford the sign up fees.

Seattle Children's Autism Guild: Eli Winfrey is the former Vice-President of the Seattle Children's Autism Guild. He continues to work with them but left his position as Vice-President in order to devote more time to his Team Winfrey organization. A gala event in November, 2013, that Eli worked with raised over $400,000 for the Seattle Children's Autism Guild. Their website describes their work in this way:

The Seattle Children's Autism Guild formed to support the Seattle Children's Autism Center's efforts to eliminate barriers to care and to ensure families have access to diagnostic and clinical services. As part of our efforts to support The Autism Center, we strive to foster hope in those families affected by autism (Seattle Children's Autism Guild Website). 

Autism Speaks: Elijah Winfrey has raised funds for Autism Speaks over the years through his golfing and in walking fundraisers, and thus his support of autism service is not limited to his local community but extends to national efforts under the leadership of Autism Speaks.

Make a Wish Foundation: Elijah Winfrey has been a volunteer for the Make a Wish Foundation in Alaska and Washington State. Eli Winfrey was interviewed for an article for the charity called, "What does the Number 23 Mean to You" (Make a Wish Foundation, 8/15/2013).

Talkin Autism with Lisa and Eli: Eli Winfrey has been the co-host of Talkin Autism With Lisa and Eli. You can access episodes of previous shows of Talking Autism on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Website: Be sure and visit the Elijah Winfrey website at www.elijahwinfrey.com to learn more about his work. On his website you can learn about autism and golfing, as well as read his blog.

Social Media: You can follow Elijah Winfrey on the following social media areas.

• Facebook Page of Team Winfrey
• Google+ Page for Elijah Winfrey
• Instagram of Eli Winfrey
• Twitter for Elijah Winfrey @Eli_Winfrey
• Twitter for Team Winfrey Corp @TeamWinfreyCorp
• Elijah Winfrey's YouTube Channel

Special thanks to Elijah Winfrey for being an Autism Light. The legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. will live on in perpetuity as long as individuals like Elijah Winfrey commit their lives to service. And the burden of autism will be lighter for many when like Elijah Winfrey our service is dedicated to autism. We expect to continue to hear exciting things in the future about the impact of Elijah Winfrey's service for autism. 

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

The photo in this post of Elijah Winfrey was used with permission of Elijah Winfrey.
The photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. in this post is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia and is from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Curt and Ana Warner

Autism Lights #304 are Curt and Ana Warner.

Curt and Ana Warner are from Clark County, Washington. They have four children. Their twin sons Austin and Christian have autism and are now 19 years old. Curt Warner is a former NFL Football Running Back. Curt and Ana Warner are Autism Lights for their autism advocacy as well as their dedication as autism parents.

Here is an ESPN News story on Curt and Ana Warner's family and how autism has impacted it.

Penn State Career: Curt Warner was the leading rusher on the Penn State Football Teams from 1980-1982.  His 3,398 career yards rushing was a Penn State Record that lasted until 2010.  He helped Penn State win their first National Championship in the 1983 Sugar Bowl. In 2009, Curt Warner was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

NFL Career: Curt Warner was a Running Back from 1983-1989 for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He made the Pro Bowl 3 times. He concluded his career in 1990 with the Los Angeles Rams. You can view Curt Warner's complete NFL statistics at the Pro Football Reference Website.

High School Football Coach: Curt Warner serves as the running backs coach for the football team at Camas High School in Camas, Washington (Read More at Curt Warner's Wikipedia Page).

Curt Warner Autism Foundation: Curt Warner founded and is the President of the Curt Warner Autism Foundation.

National Autism Conference: Curt and Ana Warner delivered the keynote speech at the National Autism Conference on August 1, 2013 that was held at Penn State University (Read More in an Article on the Warner's by the Centre Daily Times). It was their first public speech on autism except for the ESPN film that was done on them.  You can view the entire speech on this YouTube video.


Here are two autism quotes from the Warner's speech at the National Autism Conference.

• "I think the most important thing in this whole situation comes down to having faith. I will say that again and again and again: You've got to have some faith because this is a struggle that doesn't end....It's an ongoing process; it's not something you volunteer for. You're picked; you've got to deal with it. So God bless all of you (Read More in an Article by The Salt Lake Tribune)--.Curt Warner."

• "Count your blessings. It helps a lot. You're going to have dark days, so remember to count your blessings. Write them down and read them, the funny stories. When you're sad, you'll laugh at stuff like that. It will brighten up your day (Read More in an Article by the Penn Stater Alumni Magazine)--Ana Warner."

Wikipedia Page: For more information on Curt Warner visit Curt Warner's Wikipedia page.

Special thanks to Curt and Ana Warner for being Autism Lights. Their dedication as parents and as advocates is a bright spot for all those in the autism community. To read other posts about Athletes visit the Autism Light Sports Page.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Linda Foley

Autism Light #230 is Linda Foley.

Linda Foley is the Executive Director of FEAT of Washington (WA). FEAT stands for Families for Effective Treatment of Autism. The organization is based in Belleville, Washington. According to Linday Foley there are over 10,000 families in the state of Washington effected by autism. Linda Foley is an Autism Light for her efforts to lead FEAT of WA in making life brighter for those with autism in Washington state.

The following is a Comcast Newsmakers feature on Linda Foley in her work at FEAT of WA.

 

 

Linda Foley said in the above interview, "FEAT of Washington is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing families with hope and guidance so their children with autism can achieve their full maximum potential." For more information on FEAT of Washington visit their website at www.featwa.org

 

You can also contact FEAT of WA at the following address:

 

FEAT of Washington
Located in Lake Sammamish Foursquare Church
14434 NE 8th St., Second Floor
Bellevue, WA 98007
Phone (425) 223-5126
Fax (425) 502-9310
admin@featwa.org

FEAT of Washington is also featured as a resource in the Autism Guidebook for Washington State.
In addition to her leadership of FEAT of Washington, Linda Foley also serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of CHILD (Children's Institute for Learning Difficulties (Source).

Special thanks to Linda Foley for her work at FEAT of Washington. Linda Foley is the first Autism Light from the state of Washington. Her efforts are a light to the autism community in the state of Washington as she helps lead FEAT of Washington.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.