LUCKY STRIKE
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP >> Eggs, pancakes and lots of high-fives and smiles were on the menu April 8 at MacDade Bowl in Holmes. The Autism Spectrum Disorder Bowling League was indulging in a celebratory breakfast before wrapping up another successful season on the lanes. League members will take a mini-break for a few weeks before the summer league kicks off in June.
C.J. Barr, 18, of Springfield, a student at Wordsworth Academy in Fort Washington, has been a member of the league for several seasons. He met his good friend, Chris Bender, 16, of Folcroft, a student at Academy Park High School, four years ago in a bowling challenger league. Bonded through their fondness for bowling, the two enjoy getting together in the league Saturday mornings with their families at MacDade Bowl.
“This league is great, a real positive experience,” said C.J.’s mom, Joanne Barr. “It’s an opportunity for our kids to socialize and make new friends. They are able to relax and be themselves and they don’t feel different or like they are being judged.”
Chris’s mom, agreed.
“Our kids feel comfortable here. It’s a really good way for children and adults with special needs to meet and feel at ease while having Donna Bender, fun,” she said.
Bender and Barr said participants in the league appreciate that there’s low lighting, minimal noise and commotion, no music and only a small group of bowlers.
The lanes are set up with bumpers and there is no pressure through scoring. A safe quiet room is set aside upstairs in case a bowler just needs some downtime. Every bowler received a participation medal, which was awarded April 8 after the final game.
Sam Harasymiw, 7, of Brookhaven, a student in the first-grade autistic-support class at Pennell Elementary School, had just finished his very first season in the league at MacDade Bowl. His mother, Jamie Reeves, said she found out about the league from a flier that came home in Sam’s schoolbag. She said her whole family, including her husband, Steve Williams, and daughter Kristina, 8, have made it a “family affair” every Saturday morning.
Two games were played each Saturday. Cost is $8, but bowlers do not pay if they are unable to come. The league is open to all ages, both children and adults on the spectrum. The winter league is held from January until April and then starts again in the summer and, yet again, in the fall.
“He absolutely loves to bowl — it’s his favorite thing to do, period,” laughed Amanda Mullen, of Glenolden, as she helped her son Austin, 7, choose a ball to roll. This was Austin’s first year in the league. He joined after seeing a flier about it when Austin, a first-grader at Glenolden School, attended a friend’s birthday party at MacDade Bowl.
“He really enjoyed the league,” reflected Amanda on closing day, “and he will most definitely be
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