Alex Schneider, Autistic runner continues to overcome adversity with his feet

as reported by USA Today, By: NINA MANDELL Aug 27, 2014

photo Courtesy of Robyn Schneider

Three to four times a week, Alex Schneider, 24, laces up his running shoes and goes for a run to train for his next marathon.

Always, his longtime coach, Kevin McDermott, runs with him. It’s a partnership that has been going on since Schneider and his twin brother, Jamie, were teenagers. With McDermott, Alex Schneider has run marathons in under 3:20, one-mile races in under 6:30, 10Ks, 5Ks and whatever else he can. Jamie, also a runner, runs mostly for fun.

Without McDermott, Alex Schenider would be lost – literally and perhaps figuratively.

The Schneider twins have autism and are non-verbal. But since the moment their mother, Robyn, first introduced them to a running club that offered volunteers to run with kids with disabilities, they’ve been hooked.

“It just sort of took on a life of its own,” said Robyn. “The boys enjoyed it, so we just kept them involved.”

At first, McDermott remembers Alex would pay no mind to the finish line after races. He would run, McDermott thinks, thinking that would be the last time he would run again.

“He didn’t know it was going to be a routine and he just wanted to go. Now he knows it’s going to be roughly three or four times a week,” he said. “I think that’s made a big difference. He knows he’s going to get to run again, it’s not his last run ever.”

He’s also come up with a system to stop Alex from running up too far ahead. Before runs like mile-repeat runs (where runners have to stop after each mile), McDermott puts tape at the end of each mile so Alex knows to stop.

In addition to loving running, Alex Schneider is incredibly competitive at it. He’s run in more than 150 races including the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon, which he plans on running again in November for a team with the Association for Science in Autism Treatment. He’s also rarely injured.

Michael Rosanoff, the assistant director of Public Health Research & Scientific Review at Autism Speaks, said it makes sense that running appealed to the boys.

He said the aspects of it being an individual sport and repetitive motion makes it easier for people on the autism spectrum to participate than in some other sports.

“But really it’s his passion and commitment that gives him a competitive advantage,” Rosanoff added.

The support the Schneider’s have gotten from the community has been apparent in a recent Runner’s World contest, where Alex is up for a chance to be on the cover of the popular running magazine.

“We were really excited that he was not only came out so incredibly far ahead, but also that he also was the only one on the leaderboard from Long Island and the only one out of the top 10 from New York,” Robyn said.

The cover, McDermott hopes, could help inspire a new generation of runners with autism though he doubts Alex would care about it.

“It would be an opportunity for a little publicity more for the other parents, teachers, people who volunteer and work with autistic children to see … what they can do,” he said.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/08/autistic-runner-continues-to-overcome-adversity-with-his-feet