Texas Roadhouse Andy Armadillo was at the Tyler Run for Autism on Saturday morning. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Families and community members gathered at the 13th Annual Tyler Run for Autism near Pollard United Methodist Church on Saturday morning. Organizers said the run sold out this year and expected to raise more funds than last year.

Thirteen years ago, a group of moms started the run because they “wanted to make a difference in their community.” The run helps them raise money to help families with kids who have autism. Children with autism may need additional services like speech and occupational therapies, which can be expensive for families, according to Leigh Anne Cook, Tyler Run for Autism vendors and marketing coordinator.

“On average, to raise a child with differences or special needs it is $2.1 million versus $180,000 for typically taught developing child, between the ages of zero and 18,” Cook said. “That’s just pretty eye-opening to us and that’s where we wanted to step in and fill the gap.”

Last year, Tyler Run for Autism gave out 35 medical scholarships — a record number for the organization. This year, organizers are helping Monarch Prep and the Treatment and Learning Center for Children with Autism. They are able to cover families’ out of pocket costs and deductibles.

“We had a mom who told us, ‘this is the first time I’ve ever been able, for my daughter, to have her seizure meds every single day’ because it’s $400 for the kind that she needed,” Cook said. “And while that’s not the direct mission of our race, it is the value that as times have changed is what the race is able to do for others.”

When the run started, 10 people participated. The support for the race has grown tremendously since then. This year, the race was sold out, with 1,000 tickets sold. There were 51 vendors present including diamond sponsor Southside Bank. In addition, there were massages available for the athletes, a bounce house for the kids, along with coffee.

Thirteen years ago when the race began, it was difficult to get Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy covered by insurance. The group of moms who started the run brought the therapy to Tyler, Cook said.

Participants received medals after the run. Some ran with family members, their children or ran in support of loved ones with autism.

Ruby Ramirez ran for her nephew, Jace Hinojosa who has autism, because the cause is “near and dear” to her heart. She, along with family members ran the 1-mile with Jace’s dad, Joe Hinojosa. This was their first time coming to the run. Ramirez enjoyed the event and hopes to come next year. She sees a lot of single parents at her work, which is a children’s dentist, and thinks there should be more after-school activities for those parents with children with autism or special needs.

“[They] don’t have any help after school and makes it hard for them to work because there’s no after school care for them,” Ramirez said. “But to make aware of them and to have more activities for children with special needs to be involved. But the community has definitely come out to support and it’s great. I think this by far has been the best.”

Cathey McCoy ran for her granddaughter, Laura Grace McCoy, 9, who has autism. She ran alongside other family members and her granddaughter. They have been coming to the race for the last six years. Despite disliking crowds, Laura Grace gets excited for the race and enjoys it, Cathey said.

Casey McCoy, mom of Laura Grace, came for the first time six years ago with her family to the run to learn more about autism. Her daughter was diagnosed at 3 and was nonverbal until she was 5. She received her diagnosis two weeks postpartum with her second child.

“We wanted to get involved right away,” Casey said. “We found out about the race. We ran a race two weeks after her diagnosis. I wanted to get as much information as possible.”

She went booth to booth and asked questions to figure out what her next steps would be.

“It’s been a godsend,” Casey said. “It’s definitely a blessing.”

She got her daughter ABA therapy. Now her daughter receives support at Monarch Prep Academy, a new school that helps students with autism. She was part of the first class of the academy. Monarch Prep is one of two schools that focus on autism. The other one is the Autism Response Team. Casey encourages people to come to the run and learn more about the resources available.

Casey co-founded Neurodivergent Advocates of East Texas, a nonprofit focused on connecting neurodivergent families and empowering them. They started doing playdates two years ago and now have grown to 867 registered families.

UT Health East Texas Pediatrician Zach Cannon came out to run in support of his patients. He and his daughter participated in the 5K. He has seen parents have trouble finding the right therapies and navigating care for their children with autism.

“Because there’s not one set treatment, it’s an individualized process for each patient and each family and to navigate those waters can be pretty rocky, pretty rough sometimes,” Cannon said.

The theme for this year’s run was love, Cook said.

“If you want to meet someone with unconditional love, meet someone with autism, with Down syndrome, with any type of special needs and they will lead you with this very pure, unconditional, always forgiving love,” Cook said. “This is the way of the community loving them back. This is what we do. Hopefully when we’re able to provide that financial aid, it lets that family breathe for just a minute. Even if you’re not a family who’s living below poverty, because everybody needs to feel supported.”

The Tyler Run for Autism is a nonprofit entity. 100% of funds raised are donated to organizations who provide medical services to children with autism and to programs that promote community inclusion.

For more information on the Tyler Run for Autism, visit https://www.tylerrunforautism.com/. If you want to earn more about Neurodivergent Advocates of East Texas visit, https://naetexas.org/.