"Pushing Through Adversity Together” —Not Creating It: Protect our players
The Issue
Wattsburg Little Gridders’ own Parent Code of Conduct requires positive support, care, encouragement, good sportsmanship, emotional control, and freedom from insulting comments. Parents are expected to uphold those standards. We believe the adults entrusted to coach our children should be held to no less.
During a recent Little Gridder program event, our family experienced an incident that no parent should ever have to witness. My son, an enthusiastic young participant, living with autism level 1, full of dreams and eagerness to learn, became the subject of ridicule and humiliation by someone who should have been his role model—a coach. In a video captured during the event, my son was seen swaying his hands and hips; an adult coach then mimicked these movements, laughing afterwards. My son noticed her mocking him and stopped; also shown in video. These movements are known as stimming.
Stimming is short for self-stimulatory behavior. It refers to repetitive movements, sounds, or actions—such as hand movements, rocking, swaying, pacing, humming, or repeating words. While anyone can stim, it is particularly common among people living with autism.
For someone living with autism, stimming can serve an important purpose. It may help them regulate emotions, manage sensory input, cope with anxiety or excitement, maintain focus, or express feelings that may be difficult to communicate otherwise. It isn’t necessarily something that needs to be stopped or mocked simply because it looks different.
The Little Gridder program is meant to be a safe haven for children, a place where they can learn important life skills, such as teamwork, perseverance, and sportsmanship, without fear of humiliation or judgment. When a coach acts in a way that diminishes a child's confidence and tarnishes their experience with mockery, it negates the fundamental purpose of youth sports.
Our children deserve positive role models who respect and uplift them, not ones who use them as the butt of a joke.
Removing this coach from the Little Gridder program is not just an act of justice for my son, but a preventive measure to protect future participants. We need coaches who understand the importance of nurturing and encouraging ALL young athletes. This initiative is not merely about pointing fingers, but about fostering a constructive environment where children can thrive.
Please join me in calling upon the program administrators to take swift and decisive action. By signing this petition, we can collectively urge them to make this necessary change. Let us stand together to ensure that all children can look forward to positive and enriching experiences in youth sports.
A link to the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/KiLWMidRSSk?is=eztzFz1YazjesjJY
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The Issue
Wattsburg Little Gridders’ own Parent Code of Conduct requires positive support, care, encouragement, good sportsmanship, emotional control, and freedom from insulting comments. Parents are expected to uphold those standards. We believe the adults entrusted to coach our children should be held to no less.
During a recent Little Gridder program event, our family experienced an incident that no parent should ever have to witness. My son, an enthusiastic young participant, living with autism level 1, full of dreams and eagerness to learn, became the subject of ridicule and humiliation by someone who should have been his role model—a coach. In a video captured during the event, my son was seen swaying his hands and hips; an adult coach then mimicked these movements, laughing afterwards. My son noticed her mocking him and stopped; also shown in video. These movements are known as stimming.
Stimming is short for self-stimulatory behavior. It refers to repetitive movements, sounds, or actions—such as hand movements, rocking, swaying, pacing, humming, or repeating words. While anyone can stim, it is particularly common among people living with autism.
For someone living with autism, stimming can serve an important purpose. It may help them regulate emotions, manage sensory input, cope with anxiety or excitement, maintain focus, or express feelings that may be difficult to communicate otherwise. It isn’t necessarily something that needs to be stopped or mocked simply because it looks different.
The Little Gridder program is meant to be a safe haven for children, a place where they can learn important life skills, such as teamwork, perseverance, and sportsmanship, without fear of humiliation or judgment. When a coach acts in a way that diminishes a child's confidence and tarnishes their experience with mockery, it negates the fundamental purpose of youth sports.
Our children deserve positive role models who respect and uplift them, not ones who use them as the butt of a joke.
Removing this coach from the Little Gridder program is not just an act of justice for my son, but a preventive measure to protect future participants. We need coaches who understand the importance of nurturing and encouraging ALL young athletes. This initiative is not merely about pointing fingers, but about fostering a constructive environment where children can thrive.
Please join me in calling upon the program administrators to take swift and decisive action. By signing this petition, we can collectively urge them to make this necessary change. Let us stand together to ensure that all children can look forward to positive and enriching experiences in youth sports.
A link to the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/KiLWMidRSSk?is=eztzFz1YazjesjJY
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Petition created on August 30, 2026