{"id":44346,"date":"2013-10-13T12:53:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-13T19:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=44346"},"modified":"2013-10-13T14:37:09","modified_gmt":"2013-10-13T21:37:09","slug":"autism-friendly-skate-clinic-draws-warm-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/10\/13\/autism-friendly-skate-clinic-draws-warm-reception\/","title":{"rendered":"Autism-friendly skate clinic draws warm reception"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joe<\/a>
Joe Walker Middle School teacher and lifelong skateboarder Jeff Ryckebosch lends a hand to 24-year-old Torin Houle at the A.skate clinic at Marie Kerr Park on Oct. 12. \u201cHe\u2019s having a great time, look at him,\u201d said Torin\u2019s mom, Anne Houle. \u201cJust the fact that he\u2019s keeps trying, that\u2019s huge!\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PALMDALE \u2013 Dozens of local children with autism became skateboarders for a day on Saturday at the first ever A.skate clinic in the Antelope Valley.<\/p>\n

A.skate Foundation is a non-profit that organizes autism-friendly skateboard clinics to teach the basic skills of skateboarding to participants in an environment that is appropriate to their sensory needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe travel all across the United States, and we\u2019re actually international,\u201d said Elisa Swan, coordinator for the A.skate Foundation. \u201cThe way A.skate events get brought to your city is through fundraising, and a local mom here that has a child with autism raised money for us to come out and put on this event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local mom Jennifer Slater-Sanchez<\/strong> said she worked hard to bring the A.skate event to Palmdale in order to provide a fun outlet for special needs families. She said she was overwhelmed by the positive response.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just been a very warm reception from the Antelope Valley,\u201d Slater-Sanchez said. \u201dOur community is wonderful, and this is why I\u2019ve always been proud to live in the Antelope Valley because it\u2019s just a great place where people are very supportive of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Proud<\/a>
Proud mom, Melanie Rhoda, takes a break with son, Robert, and skateboarder, Nick Livigni.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The clinic kicked off at 9 a.m. Saturday at Marie Kerr Park and ran until noon.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach child gets a one-on-one instruction and they just learn the basics and fundamentals of skateboarding,\u201d Swan said. \u201cSome of them don\u2019t like to stand on the skateboards and will sit on their bottoms because they like the rolling motion. We just want to show them a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some participants were hesitant at first, and there were even a few tumbles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI about had a heart attack when he stumbled and just about landed head first off the board,\u201d said Lancaster resident Melanie Rhoda about her 10-year-old son, Robert.<\/p>\n

Within the first hour, Robert and many other participants were having the time of their lives, with the help of more than 30 volunteers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is fantastic!\u201d exclaimed Lancaster resident Phyllis Kegel as she snapped photos of 5-year-old Logan on a skateboard. \u201cI love seeing him try new things, and for an autistic child, that\u2019s not easy to do,\u201d Kegel continued.<\/p>\n

The event was a raging success, organizers said. That\u2019s why plans are already underway for another local autism friendly skateboard event this spring.<\/p>\n

To get an early start in supporting this worthwhile cause, visit http:\/\/www.crowdrise.com\/AskateAVSpring2014\/fundraiser\/jenniferslatersanche<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/a>
Jennifer Slater-Sanchez (with son, Jacob, and husband, Danny) coordinated the fundraising effort to bring the A.skate clinic to the Antelope Valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"5-year-old<\/a>
5-year-old Logan receives a helping hand as mom, Phyllis Kegel, follows along.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"At<\/a>
At 13, Simi Valley resident\u00a0Nick Livigni<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>(left) is already a skilled skateboarder. “One of my sponsors asked me to come here so I said, ‘why not?’ I really like helping other people and it makes me feel good,” Livigni said, while giving lessons to 10-year-old Robert Rhoda.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Honda's<\/a>
Honda’s “Helpful Guys in Blue” dropped by to lend a helping hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The event was so successful that organizers are already planning a second event this spring. To donate, visit http:\/\/www.crowdrise.com\/AskateAVSpring2014\/fundraiser\/jenniferslatersanche<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more pictures from this event, visit our Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PALMDALE \u2013 Dozens of local children with autism became skateboarders for a day on Saturday at the first ever A.skate clinic in the Antelope Valley. A.skate Foundation is a non-profit that organizes autism-friendly skateboard clinics to teach the basic skills of skateboarding to participants in an environment that is appropriate to their sensory needs. \u201cWe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":44349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44346"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}