A kid with a huge heart
PINEDALE, Wyo. — To start this off right I must tell you of the challenges of an autistic child named Ace.
Ace Sorensen was diagnosed autistic in 2018 when he was 4 years old. He comes with a father (a recovering drug addict) who is just trying to do his best for his hero and special boy. Ace has been in counseling, behavioral intervention, speech and occupational therapy, along with having a CBRS worker from dawn till dusk since the day he was diagnosed — until his dad moved them to Pinedale to be with the love of his life. Ace never hesitated on anything but went all in trying to be the best at everything he did (yeah, he鈥檚 a bit competitive).
Fast forward to 2024, Ace has asked and begged to play football for over a year now and as his father, I was terrified of the idea. Not only does his autism make him feel like he needs to know and do everything perfect but pain is literally the end of the world to Ace. I finally agreed, thinking this would be short lived and he would soon want out. To my surprise, Ace has loved every minute of it. Yes, even when he couldn鈥檛 figure out how to tackle and thought he was 鈥渨orthless鈥� for even trying. I know that sounds blunt but believe me, in his mind that鈥檚 exactly how it felt.
Just when dad thought we couldn鈥檛 handle it, here comes Coach Adam and of huge hearted angel, Cash McCann. As a father and step mother, we stood by and watched as they saw Ace for who he is and slowed things down and explained them differently just for Ace. Coach Adam, we love you and you’re doing amazing, but this one is for Cash. I have watched practice after practice and seen Cash pull Ace to the side and explain things in a way Ace can understand. Mind you, Cash is a kid himself playing on varsity for the Wranglers. I don鈥檛 know what was said in each of these encounters but I do know I watched my son understand and put what Cash was saying into action, improving his game and more yet his character.
Fast forward to tonight, as I sit in tears writing this. I still can鈥檛 believe a high schooler took the time for my special boy. We attended the football game tonight to try and help Ace understand what games are like and help him understand what is expected of him on the gridiron. When we arrived we already knew we wanted to see Cash and watch how he does it. Ace quickly picked out Cash but was a little bit shy and didn鈥檛 want to yell, 鈥渓et鈥檚 go Cash,鈥� as dad was encouraging.
As the 4th quarter started the varsity players came to the sidelines as the junior varsity took the field. I spotted Cash and of course yelled, 鈥渓et鈥檚 go Cash鈥� Cash turned around and my hero Ace yelled at the top of his lungs, 鈥渓et鈥檚 go Cash!鈥� It absolutely melted my heart when Cash waved back to him. Finally, after the Wranglers ran off the field with the high of victory, Ace and myself stood by to congratulate them. This is where momma Em and dad started crying. We see Cash and think let鈥檚 just yell, “good game Cash,” and hope he hears us. However, that wasn鈥檛 what Cash was thinking. Breaking away from everyone, Cash came straight up to Ace and thanked him for coming to support him. Unapologetically himself going out of his way to go up to the 鈥渨eird鈥� kid to show him appreciation on his attendance.
To end this story would be unfair to both Ace and Cash, so better yet we say thank you for tonight and to the future humans you WILL impact along your journey, Cash. We love you buddy. Not for what you鈥檝e done for my child, but for being the type of human this world needs more of. You鈥檙e truly one of a kind and you鈥檝e made a tremendous impact on the Sorensen family’s lives!
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