Adam McEachern: Grueling Fitness Challenge Raises Funds for Autism Heroes

By Heather Hogan

Adam McEachern was driving with his nineyear-old son Caleb in his pickup truck when his son asked, “Do I have autism, Dad?”

Adam replied, “Yes, buddy, you do.”

“Am I weird?” continued Caleb.

“No, it just means you learn differently. But everybody learns differently,” said his father. “It’s just like you have blue eyes. Same thing. It’s just who you are.”

Caleb accepted that answer and continued looking out the window. That was the end of the conversation.

Rewind about six years –Caleb was diagnosed when he was three-and-a-half years old. It was a daunting diagnosis for Adam and his wife Tricia. They faced the perplexing task of figur- ing out how to help Caleb navigate these challenges because he was experiencing the world very differently from everyone else.

“You truly don’t un- derstand or appreciate it until you experience it,” says Adam. “We’re not experts, but we’re learning as we go.”

Motivated and inspired by his son

Adam is an 18-year veteran constable with York Regional Police. Over the past three years, he’s raised nearly a combined $100,000 for Kerry’s Place Autism Services in Aurora and the Special Olympics Ontario by embarking on a grueling fitness challenge he calls Autism Heroes.

“Caleb is my reason why,” says Adam. “He gives me the motivation, inspiration and discipline to do what I need to do.”

Raising awareness to improve everything for people with autism is important to him. Adam explains that it has everything to do with being a dad rather than a police officer.

He is grateful for the support of his platoon, York Regional Police, and York Regional Police Association – the first in his corner when he launched his fundraising event. Since then, he has connected with many policing colleagues who have children on the autism spectrum and has created a space just for them in his policing community.

One of the main symptoms for individuals on the autism spectrum is an inability to process the various sensory inputs in their environment.

“When you see people, especially children, in a crisis or acting out, they’re trying to self-regulate because they are having trouble disconnecting from unimportant stimuli.”

There’s a saying in the autism community: ‘If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.’ Adam takes this to heart. Once you familiarize yourself with autism and get to know the individual, you can learn to see the world from their perspective and provide a “more fair interaction,” he says.

Heroes do the hard things

Since Caleb’s diagnosis, Adam has worked with Kerry’s Place to figure out what the world looks like to his son.

Caleb has an exceptional memory and can recite the content of the 200 books in his bedroom. Adam considers it one of his special attributes and finds it humbling to see him exercise this talent.

When Caleb was in kindergarten, he saw a video about Terry Fox. One day, when Caleb was watching his dad run on the treadmill, he asked him about the Canadian icon.

“Was it hard for Terry Fox? Did it hurt? Did he run alone?”

“Absolutely, buddy. It was hard because he was doing what most people do on two good legs. He was doing it every day, and Terry understood that by doing hard things, many people would benefit. And many people are alive today because of Terry,” said Adam. “Terry Fox is the best Canadian hero you could have.”

“And he’s like you dad, you’re a hero,” said Caleb.

That experience stuck with Adam. A week later, while he was talking with a recruit he was training, it came up that a man in the United States recently set a new world record for completing the Murph Challenge – a CrossFit workout named for U.S. Navy Seal Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was killed in action in 2005.

The Murph Challenge involves one rotation consisting of one-mile runs bookending 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups and 300 air squats. The current world record is 16.75 rotations.

“Maybe I put my foot in my mouth,” says Adam. “But I said I could do that too and maybe fundraise as well.”

That is exactly what he did.

It began with a 24-hour fitness challenge

His 24-hour challenge started off during the pandemic with Adam completing 5100 air squats, 3100 pushups, 1700 chin-ups, and running 34 miles with just a handful of supporters in York Regional Police Association’s old banquet hall in Newmarket. The event has now morphed into a 12-hour challenge with about 100 participants fundraising alongside him at the Newmarket Soccer Club.

His original goal was to raise $10,000. Today, that fundraising total has been surpassed with a few extra zeros, thanks to sponsors including the York Regional Police Association, York Regional Police, Newmarket Soccer Club, and John’s No Frills.

Along with his family, children on the autism spectrum joined him last April from Kerry’s Place Autism Services and the Special Olympics.

Adam says, “We’re doing this for them because we love them and want them to succeed. I’m not only doing this for my son, but also for people just like him. I’m hoping other people would do the same thing for him.”

Autism Heroes fundraiser soars to new heights

Adam is raising awareness so we can all learn about autism and how to make our communities more inclusive for people on the spectrum.

The fundraiser is called Autism Heroes because it helps our communities become more “affable and appeasing for those who live with autism,” he says.

A Superman symbol was adapted with synonymous puzzle pieces. It symbolizes that anyone can take up the challenge to raise awareness for families like his. Anyone can be an Autism Hero.

Adam, his wife Tricia, five-year-old Jensen, and Caleb sport t-shirts and hats with this symbol, and they also sell them to fundraise for the event.

T-shirts sold at April’s event were adorned with the phrase, ‘We can do hard things.’

His training begins 10 months before the event with a strict fitness schedule. He gradually builds up to 12-hour-aday workouts. His first two fundraisers tested his physical and mental limits when he embarked upon the Murph Challenge workout.

Despite the physical and emotional challenges of putting his 49-year-old body through such a rigorous feat, when asked if he will do it again next year, he replies, “Yes, because my job is not done.”

But Adam says, “Clearly, it’s never been a one-person operation.”

Tricia is the fuel behind his engine, taking on more so he can focus on training to reach their goal. As a registered nurse, she is on the front lines like Adam, managing a full load of work and family.

“I’m lucky, because with her being a nurse, she can tape me back together and make me whole again.”

Adam McEachern recently received two awards celebrating his massive fundraising and autism awareness achievements: The Public Heroes Award -- Intercultural Dialogue Institute, and the Detective Constable Robert Plunkett Outstanding Service to the Community Award from York Regional Police.

Stay tuned for 2024 Autism Heroes fundraiser!

Adam is planning an even more ambitious fundraiser in 2024. If you want to get involved, you can reach him at autismhero2022@gmail.com.