How a Mother’s Encouragement Led to Her Child’s Love of Running

When Stephanie Jackson’s 8-year-old son, Omari, was diagnosed with Autism two years ago, she knew she needed to embrace every part of him in order for him to lead a healthy and happy life. She created Embrace Spectrum, a platform for sharing her experience raising a child with Autism. "I want to encourage parents, guardians and family members to embrace their neurodivergent loved ones,” she said.

Running as a Way of Regulating

According to Stephanie, Omari’s primary way of stimming (self-regulation) is running or pacing. Although she normally runs while Omari is in school, earlier this year he was home when she was getting ready for a run and he asked her what she was doing. When she told him she was going out for a run, he wanted to join her. It was too cold out at the time, but when the weather got warmer, she took him with her on a short run. 

“The last time Omari had been on a run with me was in 2020 when I was running with him while he was in a stroller,” she said.

Running provides an outlet for Omari to move freely and be his true self. When he can run for longer periods in open spaces, he gets the stimulation he needs, and the experience helps build his confidence. “There is a huge look of pride and happiness on Omari’s face when we complete a run. Him realizing that he completed something that is difficult is a gold medal moment for him,” Stephanie said.

Running also helps Omari develop discipline and teaches him how to motivate himself. “Being autistic, Omari is going to face challenges on a regular basis and it’s important that Omari learns to push himself and break through those challenges,” Stephanie said.

Omari recently participated in the Achilles Hope & Possibility Kids Races, his second Rising New York Road Runners event. Before the race, Stephanie looked forward to watching him have fun in a friendly, non-competitive setting alongside kids his own age.

“Omari [was] most excited about getting another ribbon and the pretzels at the end of the race,” she said.

Advice for Other Mothers

When it comes to raising a child with Autism, Stephanie said her first piece of advice is to let go of any expectations and to accept the idea of just having fun. “A neurodivergent child is going to see things differently and interact with the world differently on most occasions so focus on just having fun and what fun means to our children,” she said.

Her second piece of advice is to remember why running is important for children even when it gets hard. Omari’s first run didn’t go the way she planned because she struggled to encourage him to keep going when things became difficult. What helped most was reminding herself to have fun and to remember why she wanted to share this experience with him in the first place.

“I truly believe that getting a neurodivergent child active whether it’s running swimming gymnastics, etc., is super important for their confidence and development,” she said.



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