Stories of Hope: Keep Shooting for the Stars

Stories of Hope: Keep Shooting for the Stars

Jason McElwain, or J-Mac to his friends and fans, made national evening news 20 years ago when he exceeded everyone’s expectations on the basketball court at the age of 17.

If you’re not familiar with Jason, his underdog story is an inspiration for kiddos with autism, their families, and anyone who is looking for their shot to be successful at what they love, no matter the odds.

Diagnosed with "serious autism" at 3

According to this article on espn.com, Jason’s mom knew he was different than other children when he wasn’t making eye contact around the age of six months. She also said he was rigid as a baby. Jason was her second child.

She took him to daycare once a week to see if he’d interact with other children. He didn’t. Instead, he was often “found hiding in a corner, clutching his blanket.” At night, he would stim, running in circles and spinning in his room for long periods of time. The article also mentions he would bang his head and have what looked like temper tantrums.

His parents didn’t know he had autism which would explain Jason’s reactions and behavior. Finally, at the age of 3, he was diagnosed with “serious autism, ” giving his family the answers they needed to get him the help he needed and ensure their son would have a life free of “unnecessary limitations.”

His first words were "Big Bird"

In addition to social and behavior challenges, Jason didn’t talk until he was 5 years old. He also didn’t chew, eating only Spaghettios and baby food, and he wore a diaper until he was 6.

After intense work with therapists and other specialists – and enjoying Sesame Street with his family – Jason finally spoke his first words in front of his older brother Josh. According to the espn.com article, the breakthrough in his communication skills meant he could join his brother in all the sporting activities he loved, including bowling, golf, and basketball. Josh said of his brother, “He was different mentally. But physically, we were able to play the same sports. It kind of connected him more than anything.”

A common trait in children and adults with autism is becoming hyperfocused on one thing. And Jason’s one thing was basketball. It’s reported that he would stand in front of a basketball hoop every morning in the summer, shooting balls as soon as there was light until the darkness of night forced him to go inside. He loved basketball so much that he wanted to be on his junior high school team, but didn’t make the cut. However, his enthusiasm and dedication did win him a newly created position on the team: student manager. He couldn’t play, but he could be there on the sideline, helping his team do their best and cheering them on. As one teammate said, “He really acted like an assistant coach and a player in practice. He was just always there.”

Jason finally gets his shot as a player

In high school, Jason continued his role as student manager of the varsity team. When he was 17 years old, his beloved coach wanted to reward Jason for all that he done for the team by letting him play late the game against a rival high school.

With four minutes left on the clock, he finally got the signal from his coach that it was time for Jason to go in. He ran to the scoring table and waited to tag his teammate before running onto the court and taking up his position.

Once he got the ball from a teammate, Jason tried a 3-point shot and missed and also tried for a lay-up that didn’t go in either. But, to the surprise and delight of everyone in the stands, Jason got hot and sunk a 3-pointer. And then another. And another. And another. Before the game ended, Jason had racked up six 3-pointers and a 2-pointer, helping his team win 79 to 43!

His amazing feat that cleared the stands in excitement and joy was all caught on videotape, inspiring his speech therapist so much that he submitted a copy to a local CBS affiliate.

It didn’t take long for the local ABC and NBC channels to pick up the story, and in less than a week, Jason’s amazing performance became the subject of an interview on the CBS evening news. From there, everyone came calling, including President George Bush, Peyton Manning, and even the ESPY Awards, where he beat out Kobe Bryant for the Best Sports Moment award.

Jason, with the help of a co-author, family, and his coach, would go on to write a book called “The Game of My Life,” qualify for and complete the Boston Marathon in under three hours, and inspire an Emmy-winning long feature called “The Magic of J-Mac,” which aired during the 2009 Final Four Pre-Game Show. 

Steve Kerr, a friend and teammate, said that Jason still inspires him. “He’s out there at five in the morning, when it’s snowing, training for the Boston Marathon. You see him pushing and making the most of every day instead of taking that night and saying, ‘That’s it.’ He’s still pushing forward and trying to overcome the next obstacle.”

Give your kiddo with autism every shot at success

Put The Behavior Exchange in the game! We can create a highly individualized ABA therapy treatment plan for your child and family, where learning is fun and hope is always in the air. A brighter future is possible when we team up, so contact us today.

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Ashvina attended University of Bombay and graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce. She got her Montessori Diploma in 1985 and taught ever since. Ashvina came to TBE in January of 2016 as Admin Assistant. During the years she got the opportunity to learn and work in different departments such as HR, Finance, Office Manager and Executive Assistant. Last summer TBE bought billing in house and her current focus area is Revenue Cycle Management. She is detail oriented and enjoys working with people. Ashvina volunteers to deliver meals to seniors and local shelters on the weekend. She loves to spend time with her family and grandkids. Ashvina loves her job because she enjoys hearing different points of view, and she feels her contributions help fuel the direction of our company.

Working with children comes naturally to Angela. Her mom was a special education teacher for 30 years and often had Angela join her for Take Your Child to Work Day. And in high school, Angela spent every summer as the nanny for a little boy with an autism spectrum disorder. It was this experience where her passion for working with children with autism started to blossom.

From there, she went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences. She learned about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in a non-normative development class and from that moment knew that ABA would be her life’s work.

Angela moved to the DFW area shortly after and began working at The Behavior Exchange as a therapist. She worked on her Master’s in Behavior Analysis at the same time. A year after graduating, she earned certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Now, as a Clinical Director at The Behavior Exchange, she brings a life-long passion to her work, holding a special place in her heart for children with limited language skills and working closely with families to develop healthy sleep habits.

Danielle’s passion for working with families is deeply personal and from the heart. Her younger brother has an autism spectrum disorder, and through their journey as a family, she found her purpose in life as an advocate for individuals with special needs.

After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Danielle began volunteering at The Behavior Exchange. She saw passionate therapists, meaningful change for clients, and families with hope for the future. After a summer of volunteering, she officially joined the team as Director of Admissions and found her home with The Behavior Exchange family.

With her extensive experience working as a client advocate with insurance providers, Danielle perseveres to help individuals of all ages and abilities receive the services they need to reach their full potential. She feels truly honored by each and every family who entrusts The Behavior Exchange to be part of their journey and is committed to the organization’s core values, mission, and goal of being a beacon of hope for the community.

Adam has always had a passion for helping individuals of all ages thrive and reach their full potential. He’s also an enthusiastic musician, songwriter, leader, and devoted family man, who has been helping children and team members grow with The Behavior Exchange since 2010.

Prior to joining the team at The Behavior Exchange, Adam was a mortgage loan consultant and grad student, pursuing his master’s degree in Education at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 2013 and also earned a graduate academic certificate in Autism Intervention. The following year, after years as a Behavior Therapist and seeing first-hand the power of ABA and the meaningful impact it can have on children and their families, Adam became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He then commenced from the Stagen Leadership Academy after completing the Integral Leadership Program (ILP), a 52-week practice-based program designed to develop executives serious about transforming themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

Adam is truly grateful to be a part of a dynamic, inspiring and compassionate team, and he’s dedicated to bettering the lives of all children and their families through the delivery of the highest quality of ABA services, while supporting the amazing team at The Behavior Exchange.

Soraya is from South Africa and moved to Texas in 1996. She graduated from The University of Texas and pursued a career, at that time, in Education. Soraya taught at a Montessori school for a few years and then took on a leadership role.

During her time in the education system, Soraya realized her passion was to assist children with special needs. So she joined The Behavior Exchange as a therapist, transitioned into a supervisory role in 2017, and a year and a half later, was promoted to Clinical Operations Manager.

She quickly learned the ins and outs of ABA operations and scheduling and successfully collaborates across departments to ensure The Behavior Exchange continues to provide quality services to clients and their families. She’s thankful to be part of such an amazing organization and excited to see what the future holds.

You could say Walter’s career started when he spent hours as a young child drawing superheroes and coloring maps. This passion, along with extraordinary swimming skills, landed him a full swimming scholarship at Texas Christian University, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Graphics.

During the next 13 years, his design and art direction skills, conceptual-thinking abilities, and marketing-savvy know-how were honed at a few prestigious advertising and marketing agencies around the Dallas area. In the mid 2000s, he helped his wife Tammy Cline-Soza (founder and CEO of The Behavior Exchange) create a unique and concise brand for her new business. From logos and websites to uniforms, brand voice and visuals, Walter has been the main creative force for all things The Behavior Exchange.

Aside from giving birth to The Behavior Exchange brand, Walter is helping Tammy raise two amazing, beautiful children, River and Sierra. In his spare time (the two minutes he’s got per week), you can find Walter illustrating iconic landmarks of Dallas and Texas or looking around for this next open-water swim. Once he gets back in shape.

After 20 years of building The Behavior Exchange, literally from the ground up,
Tammy couldn’t be more proud of the team, culture, and organization that it has become.

As a family helping families, The Behavior Exchanges looks for opportunities that will make the biggest impact and produce life-changing outcomes – for clients, families, and even for team members. Tammy believes that if a team, a family, a community takes care of each other, the possibilities are endless and the relationships built along the way can make life more enriching and challenges easier to navigate. You could say her goal has been to build a kind of utopia full of support, love, and expertise that brings the best services possible to the community and ensures more families have access to those services.

Tammy and her family have dedicated their lives to the mission of The Behavior Exchange and continue to grow, learn, cultivate, challenge, support, and create better models for success. To that end, she is committed to her own leadership development and actively participates in advanced training, mentoring, and deep self-exploration on how to live out her purpose to love and support her family and help others reach their full potential. She takes her position very seriously and tries to serve as a channel for what the universe wants to come to fruition.

She also loves travel, gardening, being creative, MUSIC!, tennis, yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, being in nature, adventures, and more than anything, spending time with her husband Walter and their two beautiful children, River and Sierra.