Hi everyone! For those that don’t know me, my name is Toni! I am ecstatic to announce I got accepted into the Chicago Marathon with a team that is very special to me and my family’s hearts. Quick back story, I have run three marathons before to which they were all the Boston Marathon & in honor of my dad who lost his battle to cancer. Although I love Boston, I am thrilled to see what Chicago is all about! With the change in scenery, I decided to dedicate this race to another human that means the whole world to me, my nephew.

My nephew David is 6 years old & just the sweetest boy you’ll ever meet. Since before he was born, he was already our family’s saving grace. My brother & SIL were lucky enough to announce to my dad in his last living days that he was going to be a grandfather to his first ever grandchild. Unfortunately, my dad did not make it to meet David but boyyyy are their signs through that kid. I will never forget the day David was born; all I noticed was his big bright blue eyes that match my dads identically. What a gift to us all at the perfect time.

Anyone that meets David instantly falls in love with his creative, gentle & uplifting personality. At 18 months old he was diagnosed with Autism. Since then, my family & I have learned so much about what that means. What most people don’t know is that no two people with Autism are alike. The spectrum of Autism is so large and can be complex to understand.

For David’s story, he was nonverbal and used a device called an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) to communicate since he was 2. Since then, he went from saying a couple words to then at 3.5 years old he decided to communicate fully verbally and is now in an inclusive kindergarten classroom.

David has made an amazing amount of progress at such a young age. My brother & SIL are the best parents in the world. They made sure to get him all the help he needed from day one even if that meant making sacrifices to their own day-to-day life.

I have decided to run with team ‘RUN FOR AUTISM’ with OAR (Organization for Autism Research) to raise money for other people like David in the world that land anywhere on the spectrum of Autism. Not only does this benefit people like my nephew, but also the families & care takers. It’s extremely important for them to have the curriculum, guidance & tools to support any Autism needs.

It is so important to me to raise awareness of Autism to ensure everyone in this world feels included even if their way of thinking is a little bit different. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! :)