CONCRETE EMPATHY Transforming Autism on the Spartan Course with Matthew Deitch
Transforming Autism on the Spartan Course with Matthew Deitch
“It had rained all week, and the grassy field parking area now had a knee deep creek running through it.” The Beastie Boys were echoing off the quarry’s stone walls and Ishwar’s shoes were covered in Carolina clay and he did not want to tie them. His friends at Black Mountain Academy (BMA), a school for boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder, had talked him into trying the Spartan Race and he was too far in to turn back. As his ears were bombarded by the aptly titled “Sabotage”, Ishwar recalls feeling worried about getting through, and how muddy he was going to get, and even if his shoes would stay tied. The sensory overload could be too much, but Ishwar understood he was there on a mission with his team, More Heart Than Scars (MHTS). He had signed up and trained for this but at the moment he was stuck. The mission was this: The students of BMA had to race, but not to win it themselves. Instead, they were tasked to guide Spartan athlete Mark Herbert, a paraplegic, through an obstacle course that’s challenging to the most able bodied and neurotypical adults. The feat would require sweat and muscle, but also emotional strength and real teamwork among athletes and peers. At the team tent, Ishwar silently stared at his shoes. After a silence, Mark wheeled over and asked: “Do you need any help?” and Ishwar replied “yes”... Looking back, Ishwar had this to say:.. “Mark helped me with tying my shoes and gave me some encouragement before we started the course. I loved it, it was so much fun. All the obstacles, the challenges, and helping other people makes the experience more worth it.”
A Bellyak is a kayak designed to be used in the prone position. This adventurous piece of equipment can be adapted to support the varying needs of our athletes with spinal cord injuries in very muddy unstable conditions.
It is not often enough that people in wheelchairs are asked for help. It’s even rarer that people on the Autism Spectrum are given responsibility for the safety of another person, let alone in an environment as challenging as the Asheville Super. With Mark’s act of kindness, a tangible connection was formed between the two. A connection Zackary Paben refers to as “concrete empathy.” Led by seasoned Spartan Athlete, Zackary Paben; Who has empowered adolescents and adults to achieve broadbased recovery from severe physical and emotional issues since 1991. Also, Wendy Jenkins Paben (co-founder) who both works on the course and as clinical director, MHTS is doing something that no one has done before.
Since April 29, 2013, Zackary and Wendy have been leading adaptive athletes through Spartan Races. Zackary and Wendy, who have led over 50 of these types of adventures, have proven without a doubt that they have in fact mastered the art of team work with integrity, and a sheer will to thrive in a team environment realizing the impossible.. In doing this, they afford their team a mixture of on-site therapy and the full-on push of a collaborate group effort. In doing this, they have realized the impossible. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication, and restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior. According to Autism Speaks,
ASD affects 1 in 59 children in the United States today. In addition to these basic characteristics, ASD also includes aversion to sensory stimuli such as sound, heat, cold, textures, and smells. Put simply by Brandon Moffitt, the Executive Director of BMA...
lives to these epiphanies. More Heart Than Scars aspires to carry the momentum from a race back into a person’s daily life. As each new stimulus bears down on people with Autism, one’s first Spartan race can build, within hours, a resilience they would have never known.
“Consider that everywhere you go there are sights, sounds, smells, and experiences that overwhelm you or cause confusion or an acute sense of stress.” As Spartans, we know the races are jam-packed with stimulation. From World Championships in frozen locations like Iceland to the muddy water of the Dunk Wall, a Spartan course tests the mettle of our bodies and minds, but through the promise of MHTS of faith, love, hope, and heart, we can transcend our visible and invisible scars by overcoming obstacles together and encouraging others to live so boldly.
Observing Zackary’s methods, Jim Johnston, Clinical Director of Black Mountain Academy, recalls of one young student...
When BMA students look at Mark Herbert and can see his physical scars; it makes them consider the invisible scars they hold. The team at More Heart Than Scars devote their
“I thought he would never do a race, but Zackary got him to commit, and I believe that was the first step in a procession of new life experiences for this young man. Including, sticking with a job and pushing through his college class stress.” In a Spartan race, communication is everything. At a MHTS event for children on the spectrum, the ability to name their own needs and respond to the needs of an athlete in a wheelchair is essential for safety and success.
Cameron Allen, a neuroscientist who specializes in neurofeedback and neuroimaging who works with BMA students, explains... “With individuals on the spectrum, one of the neural markers is a decreased social reward. There is an expectation for what social interaction should be like, but when it fails to meet that expectation, it creates an emotional reaction causing more isolation and avoidance. Engaging in ‘concrete empathy’, like in the Spartan races, where the individual sees the other person’s needs visually, it allows them to move towards connection and escape the expectation. That concrete image of the person whose legs do not work finally allows the individual to feel real empathy and truly release oxytocin.” Mark Herbert is a man who has both inspired and connected with the students of BMA. After having his T8 and T9 vertebrae crushed in a car accident, Mark had to retire from the Wake County Sheriff ’s Office. Today, Mark is well known in the Spartan Community and has completed more Spartan Races with MHTS and BMA than any other adaptive athlete. Having completed a number of races, Mark recalled this to say about the BMA Students... “I remember being apprehensive about the idea of having autistic teenagers being responsible for helping me through the course. I was unsure how their level of communication would play out during the race. Today, any student from BMA that wanted to race with me I would welcome. In fact, I would choose BMA students over OCR athletes, because together we have overcome something very special.” It is something truly powerful and unseen before now. It changes the students, and they grow. Their success branches through networks of family, friends, and support teams.
GOING THE DISTANCE With his team at More Heart Than Scars, Ishwar, pictured here after triumphantly completing the dunk wall, completed the full adult Spartan course.
Spartan Elite Athlete Laura Messner stated... “This day was extra special for me because I was able to support some of the young men from Black Mountain Academy who have autism. Growing up with an autistic brother, I fully understand how challenging being in an OCR atmosphere can be. There’s always loud music or cheering. Lots of people, obstacles that require physical touch for support Changes in textures (mud, dirt, sand), as well as many other things that can affect the way an autistic person reacts to change. However, once we started our adventure out on that course, many of those determined, driven, young men showed no signs of discomfort. One of them had mentioned how it was inspiring to watch others overcome their struggles and how that motivated him to not give up And how this urged him to go outside of his comfort zone as well. I found today’s event to be a huge success for More Heart Than Scars, and an even greater opportunity from Black Mountain Academy. What a wonderful group of young men. I am proud, and honored to be a part of this historic break-through moment.”
“My Son’s Most Formative Moments”
tan race was so unimaginable, that it would not have registered in my wildest of fantasies.
Written by: Mike Ethridge
When you learn your child has autism, one of the first things you must do is give up your notion of July 7th, 2017: the life you had hoped your child would have—going to college, getting a job, living independently, a This is from the father of one of our student’s liv- life with close friendships where he’s fully engaged ing with autism. He walked the entire course with in the world around him. This time last year I had us as his son gained strength in character through come to grips with the fact that such a life was not relationship excersizes that can last a lifetime... a possibility for Austin. “This past Sunday my son and I completed our first Spartan Race. We were a part of Zack Paben’s More Heart Than Scars team, and our task was to help Mark, an adaptive athlete, negotiate the arduous four-and-a-half-mile course of mud, downed trees, creeks, barbed wire, and formidable obstacles that comprised the Spartan Sprint. Mark’s courage to undertake this challenge was inspiring by anyone’s measure. But, for me, just as inspiring were the stories of some of the other members of our team--5 boys on the autism spectrum who were students at Black Mountain Academy. My son, Austin, was one of those boys. Austin turned 17 yesterday. This time last year he spent his days locked in his bedroom playing video games. He had no friends, was severely overweight, hated any form of exercise, refused to go to school, and was chronically depressed. This time last year, the notion that Austin would participate in a Spar
After 8 months in a therapeutic boarding school with no video games, learning how to live with a group of guys he doesn’t always get along with, going to the gym daily and eating healthy meals, Austin was a different young man. He had lost over 60 pounds and for the first time in his life he had begun to get an inkling of what he’s capable of. I thought about all of this as we made our way through the mud toward the starting line for Sunday’s race. Austin was tethered to the back of Mark’s wheel chair, and it was Austin’s job to act as the brake. His job was to help lift Mark over logs and obstacles and to keep the wheel chair from tipping over as the group made its way up steep muddy banks, through creeks and across all kinds of crazy terrain. To compete in a Spartan race with all the obstacles and brutal terrain is impressive. To do it while constantly lifting a full-grown man in a wheel chair, was positively heroic.
About a third of the way through the race I was cold, wet and totally miserable. There was nothing about what we were doing that would come anywhere close to the word “fun.” But at the same time, I knew (with amazing clarity) that it would be one of the best days of my life. I had no idea that Austin was capable of physically doing what he was doing in that race. But more than that, I had no idea that this kid could demonstrate the level of mental fortitude it took to complete the course. Not once did he complain or even hint at wanting to give up. He was all in for the full 6 hours—lifting, toting, pushing, pulling, encouraging others. Not for a second did it ever occur to him to do anything other than what needed to be done. And to see that was pure magic. Since Sunday it’s been impossible for me to talk about the race without my throat tightening and my eyes filling with tears. I have spent a lot of time processing the day. And still I’m not sure I can find words that will come close to adequately describing that experience. But I can say this. The special alchemy of Zack, More Heart Than Scars and the Spartan Race created a space where a young man, who has been isolated most of his life with few experiences of succeeding at anything, was given an opportunity to show himself (and the rest of us) what he was capable of. Right now, I’m feeling pretty damn good about my kid’s future.”
UNDERSTANDING AUTISM Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior. According to Autism Speaks, ASD affects 1 in 59 children in the United States today. In addition to these basic characteristics, ASD also includes aversion to sensory stimuli such as sound, heat, cold, textures, and smells. Put simply by Brandon Moffitt, the Executive Director of Black Mountain Academy, a boarding school for boys with Autism... “Consider that everywhere you go there are sights, sounds, smells, and experiences that overwhelm you or cause confusion or an acute sense of stress.�
More Heart Than Scars has completed ten Spartan races with Black Mountain Academy students. With adaptive athletes in tow, they have claimed thirty-three individual course completions. with three of BMA’s students earning Trifectas. Nine months ago, if someone had told me I’d be slogging through mud, climbing obstacles, and picking up heavy stuff just to walk around with it and put it back down, I would have said they were a lunatic. Nine months ago, I was in a complete emotional shutdown. I didn’t leave the safety of my bedroom unless it was absolutely necessary, but somehow, I was convinced into doing a Spartan race. Correction: I was convinced into helping a half-paralyzed man through a steep, muddy trail with obstacles. Mark, the adaptive athlete we were working with, was brave enough to put himself in our hands and do a race many would call impossible. We might have been helping him physically, but he was our inspiration. Had I not had that inspiration, I would have given up. Carrying and pulling a wheelchair in those conditions would have mentally crushed me. I didn’t think about the weight of the chair or the weakness in my body. I thought about Mark’s safety, his strength, the strength of everyone around me. By the end, I felt strong too. And I took that strength with me, used it in my everyday life, pushed myself beyond my perceived limits, and left the false comfort of isolation. Spartan on the course and Spartan off course. -Izzy, Black Mountain Academy Student
WE ARE MORE HE
EART THAN SCARS
“We are more than the sum of our parts.� - Aristotle
We Are More Heart Than Scars From Question to Quest, how we change our world one obstacle at a time? How can resilience and interdependence impact the arch of our personal narrative to transcend from victim to hero? Since 1991, Zack has been empowering adolescents and adults as a mental health/ recovery professional in a variety of modalities, including wilderness and residential. As he continues to face his own visible and invisible scars, he innately has to acknowledge the wounds of others and encourage them in their own healing process. Zackary is the co-founder and CEO of the 501(c)3 charity More Heart Than Scars Foundation, who empower people to say in the affirmative,”I have more heart than scars,” or to be able to receive the affirmation, “You have more heart than scars.” They have seen the transformative power of those words. More Hearts than Scars Foundation’s mission is to quest for faith, love, hope, and heart in order to transcend visible and invisible scars, by overcoming obstacles together, and encouraging others to live so boldly. Our diversity of human experience affords us the chance to invest in breakthrough. These insights allow our team members the chance to expand ownership over both the physical and mental set backs they have endured in their lives. This is where the meaningful work begins and the individual can begin working toward their full human potential. The on-going development of forward-thinking outcomes is the prime directive of every partnership we facilitate. It is the thinkers and doers who make change happen.