Autistic teen Ballers dream to play in USA! Slam Dunk for Autism Awareness

My son has worked incredibly hard to overcome challenges and develop his basketball skills, and this tournament represents a life-changing opportunity for him to experience team sports and build confidence. By supporting his journey, you'll help him not just play basketball, but also continue breaking through barriers and proving that autism doesn't define his potential.

Things have not always been easy for Louis, being diagnosed at 2.5yrs old with ASD followed by his little brother a year later. Lots had to change in our world so that he felt safe and calm but also included. I wanted him to have the same opportunities as everyone else so I was always involved in as many programmes or courses I could to constantly learn and always on the lookout for activities to keep him active.

School life was difficult and it started to affect his mental health and by the time he was 8yrs old I was hiding the knives in fear, fighting for support it was better for him and his health that we stopped attending mainstream school and thankfully he received amazing support from Northern Health School and for 2yrs Louis and our family worked on getting him healthy and back to school.

He is now 13 and in school full time, he trains daily and wants to do well.

Basketball gave Louis a chance to be active, be himself and create connections.

We have found some amazing people along the way that have included my son. They don't see his diagnosis

It gave him a purpose and meaning and the opportunity to dream!