Meet Bob.
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As a retired Fort Worth firefighter, it had always been in Bob Garcia’s nature to help people. In 1992, he was doing business with the city attorney who mentioned Bob might be interested in volunteering with the Roundup for Autism Rodeo. Bob signed up to help transport guests of the event and one day after dropping a visitor off at the rodeo venue, he went inside to see if he could help with anything else. Roundup founder Bobby Norris quickly took him up on his offer and Bob moved into a new volunteer position handling the horses and cattle.
When Bob first became involved with Roundup, he didn’t know anything about autism. In the early days of the event, some of the Autism Treatment Center residents were able to ride horses led around the arena by Bob and other volunteers. |
During the rodeo, Bob and his wife, Karen, would greet the kids and adults from ATC as they arrived, then sit with them and hand out their food and drinks. Over the years, Bob developed an understanding of individuals with autism and a deep appreciation for the staff who worked with them. “The people who work at ATC are so unique in the way they handle those folks,” Bob says.
Bob was to become even more in awe of the ATC team after his 4-year-old grandson, Lucas, was diagnosed with autism in 2012. Lucas had never learned to talk and was still in diapers. He would act out often and bite anyone who tried to hold him. That year, Lucas became one of the first clients to enroll in ATC’s newly opened Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) clinic in Fort Worth. Lucas’ father was a single parent raising him and his two older sisters, so Bob and Karen pitched in to get Lucas to ABA several times a week. The whole family worked together to help Lucas overcome his challenges.
Now 15, Lucas not only talks, he sings in the choir at his public school where he is enrolled in mainstream classes. He is quiet, but if someone starts a conversation, he jumps in. Lucas rides the bus to school on his own, is well-behaved everywhere he goes, and, the boy who used to bite people who tried to hold him, is now a hugger! He loves science and has an expansive knowledge of dinosaurs. “Lucas is also a whiz at the computer,” Bob brags.
Bob is committed to helping Roundup for Autism raise funds for ATC because he knows what a difference their services make. “Lucas now has a chance to mainstream into life with continued support,” Bob says. “ATC saved his life.”
Bob was to become even more in awe of the ATC team after his 4-year-old grandson, Lucas, was diagnosed with autism in 2012. Lucas had never learned to talk and was still in diapers. He would act out often and bite anyone who tried to hold him. That year, Lucas became one of the first clients to enroll in ATC’s newly opened Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) clinic in Fort Worth. Lucas’ father was a single parent raising him and his two older sisters, so Bob and Karen pitched in to get Lucas to ABA several times a week. The whole family worked together to help Lucas overcome his challenges.
Now 15, Lucas not only talks, he sings in the choir at his public school where he is enrolled in mainstream classes. He is quiet, but if someone starts a conversation, he jumps in. Lucas rides the bus to school on his own, is well-behaved everywhere he goes, and, the boy who used to bite people who tried to hold him, is now a hugger! He loves science and has an expansive knowledge of dinosaurs. “Lucas is also a whiz at the computer,” Bob brags.
Bob is committed to helping Roundup for Autism raise funds for ATC because he knows what a difference their services make. “Lucas now has a chance to mainstream into life with continued support,” Bob says. “ATC saved his life.”