Running and Autism

A running trail through the woods

How Running Helps One Boy and His Family Cope


Sam was six years old when he started running with the Fleet Feet Sports Syracuse training programs. When his sister started ballet, he told his parents he’d like to run. His mother, Melinda, says she knew absolutely nothing about running. It was a Google search that led her to a kid’s training program at Fleet Feet Syracuse. She signed Sam up.


Autism and the Daily Struggle

But running wasn’t exactly new for the energetic kid. Almost as soon as he could walk, Sam was running laps around his house. Lap after lap after lap. When he was running, says Melinda, he was happy. It made the rest of life more bearable.

That’s because Sam suffers from ADHD, anxiety, and autism. It’s a combination that makes life challenging at times. “We knew when he was eight or nine months old,” says Melinda. “He wouldn’t make eye contact. Everyone told us it was too early to tell, but we knew.”

At 15 months, Sam went to a speech therapist a couple of times a week. And then later to a school where a therapist could help him interact with his peers. Still, he didn't speak until he was three years old. That’s when they received an "official' diagnosis.

“It was tough early on,” says Melinda. “As a toddler, he couldn’t communicate what he wanted.” Every day was a struggle.

And then, he started running. It opened up a whole new world. Running became the way Sam coped with the overwhelm of everyday life. Melinda says running became his version of stemming.


A young boy poses for a photo after a race
A young boy running a race
A family poses for a photo

Training with Fleet Feet Syracuse

Melinda admits that she was nervous about Sam's first day of training. After all, how would all of the other kids react? Her fears quickly quelled. Sure, group training had its challenges at first, but those challenges didn’t last long. Sam signed up for training program after training program. He ran every single program he could, and he also made friends, something Melinda didn’t quite expect. And she attributes that to the sport’s culture. “It’s such a nice, calm atmosphere where you don’t have to walk around with your guard up,” says Melinda. “It’s not judge-y. Running is, by nature, inclusive.”

And he's still running five years later. The discipline that running provides has helped Sam segment his time more effectively. He can now more easily focus on different tasks while still feeling calm, collected, and able to handle the daily stress that comes with life as a teenager.

“The coaches at Fleet Feet helped him to feel like he was part of something,” Melinda says. “At school, he has had a couple of friends here and there, but he doesn’t ever totally fit. With running, though, it’s different. With running, he belongs to something, and he feels like he is part of something bigger than himself.”

And Now, the Whole Family’s in It, Too

While Sam’s dad always ran (a little bit) because he was in the army, Melinda says she never ran. But the more Sam ran, the more she felt compelled to give it a try, too. So, she and her husband signed up for No Boundaries, a training program for new runners, and went all in for a half marathon. It was a way to step into Sam’s world and support him.

“It’s funny, I was always the person that skipped gym class,” she says with a laugh. “And I went from that ... to paying to run 13.1 miles on purpose!”

And now? Well, running is growing on her of course. While Sam won’t run with her, because he says she’s too slow, he is still happy to have both of his parents doing the thing he loves most in the world. And it’s good for them, too.

“If Sam’s having a rough day, one of us will ask him if he wants to go on a run,” says Melinda. “My husband usually goes with him. When they come back, Sam is usually calm and feels great.”

Running, she says, has opened up a whole new way of living that he wouldn’t otherwise have. And that, we know, is something worth celebrating.