Fighting With Autism- Champion Wrestler and Mixed Martial Artist Chloe Spiteri

Fighting For Autism takes pride in highlighting positive stories from the Autistic Spectrum, and are incredibly proud to introduce Fighter Ambassador, Champion Freestyle Wrestler and Mixed Martial Artist, Chloe Spiteri who is from London, United Kingdom.

Chloe is a 6 time National Wrestling Champion, has represented Team Great Britain and got to the finals of the Commonwealth Games, as well as recently winning a title in Mixed Martial Arts, to say Chloe is inspirational is an understatement, Chloe has also gone on to offer support and guidance to others.

"My Journey hasn't been an easy one, having being diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 3, neurological problems and Autism.
Some of the symptoms of my autism were, I  struggled to communicate effectively i.e not looking people in the eye, I struggled to mix in large groups, I didn't like change at all, and if any change came I would lash out and lots more.
I was written off by many professionals and told I needed to be on heavy medication and in full time boarding school.
but my parents knew me best and knew with the right support I could overcome and go on to achieve great things, and with overcoming adversity I did just this.
My epilepsy stopped at age 11, my symptoms have decreased and become mild, however I do still not like sudden changes in my schedule and some communication/ social difficulties.

but, I am not ashamed to be who I am and want to go out there and share my story to others and let them know that know that nothing is impossible, as well as provide support and advice.
through self belief , being persistent and understanding and accepting myself, I have been able to defeat any barriers that have come my way and get to where I am. 

 

When the professionals wrote me off, I was predicted not to get any qualifications, after not going back into full time "mainstream" high school until the later years after being placed into special needs, I went to achieve 10 A-C grades and also went onto achieve a sports science degree from Brunel University in the UK, so not only did I excel at sports, I also excelled in my education."

 

 

 

 

Fighting For Autism would like to say a massive Thank You to Chloe Spiteri,  Chloe can be found on Twitter www.Twitter.com/chloe_spiteri and on Instagram www.Instagram.com/chloe_spiteri

Fighting With Autism- Shining Through the The Spectrum with Judo and Jiu Jitsu. Maximus Jolly

 

 

Today's Fighting For Autism Blog, is  brought to you by a remarkable young gentleman from Tampa in the USA, his name is Maximus "Prime" Jolly

Max is one of Fighting For Autism's Junior Ambassadors and is an inspiring character not only raising Autism Awareness on the mats, but proving that a diagnosis of Autism does not define you as a person, this gentleman's story of hard work and determination to smash down stereotypes and shine through the spectrum is truly amazing.

 

Maximus Jolly, is a 14 year old who trains and competes in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Judo, Kickboxing, and Wrestling. It is BJJ that is his passion and what transformed his life. Max was diagnosed with Autism at age 2. He did not speak until age 3. He has been bullied, and called “weirdo” and “crack head”.  On one occasion, peers threw balls at him as hard as they could. At the time, he thought they were playing with him, laughing with him. They weren’t. 

Max struggles to overcome the challenges Autism brings which can be invisible to most people. Autism is a diagnosis. He is not a diagnosis. Maximus Jolly is the 2016 FFBJJ State Champion. He is a dedicated mixed martial artist who trains 6 days every week. He runs/swims about 20 miles every week. He has a passion to compete at the highest level.

Max is no longer bullied. He has made a choice to take action and has chosen to speak out about something he is uncomfortable with in order to help others with autism know they can be whoever they want to be by making a decision to break through their barrier as Max has. The fight is not over. Training at Gracie Tampa and Gracie Tampa Judo has transformed the way he views the world and people living in it. He has the honor of training under one of Royce Gracie’s 1st black belts – Prof. Rob Kahn and the 2015 USA Judo coach of the year – Sensei David Cainas.

 

 

Everyone has challenges. Max’s happens to be a diagnosis of Autism that comes with various learning, communication, and social barriers. He was told that if he works hard, he could be whoever he wants to be. Honor, respect, humility, and work ethic are things Max learns from mom and dad and they are reinforced on the mats by his coaches and mentors. Maximus is a fighter and he is proud to be Fighting for Autism.

Fighting For Autism- Scott Tunstall, Father to a Superstar on the Spectrum, Freestyle Wrestler and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Scott Tunstall, is a father to young superstar on the Spectrum , he is also an Irish Freestyle Wrestling Champion and active in  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as becoming the Regional Director for Fighting For Autism in Northern Ireland.
The Martial Arts and Boxing communities have been absolutely amazing towards Fighting For Autism, with the amount of clubs, coaches, active fighters and so many more really taking to raising Autism Awareness with us to their hearts, and the wonderful thing, is that through these same communities we are seeing a wave of extremely gifted athletes who are on the spectrum themselves and some truly remarkable people who are assisting in bringing out the very best in them.

 

This is Scott's blog on his experience as a parent of a superstar on the Autistic Spectrum.



What I have learned from Autism?
As we navigate through the sometimes tranquil sometimes turbulent oceans of Autism, a multitude of emotions surface. Sometimes the torrent is too much control and it feels as if your ship is sinking beneath waves of unbridled fear and pain.

These times no matter how testing are necessary and fundamental to understanding our child's condition and by learning to guide your loved one around these treacherous waters and keeping afloat we deepen our understanding of ASD and our child's psychological driver's. I know I speak for both my wife and I, that learning to overcome our child's fears through slow methodical strategies has allowed us to gain a deep understanding of our beautiful boy's mentality, creativity and emotional expression. Not every impending storm front leads to a full blown hurricane and there is always, as with everything in life a silver lining. So I want to write of untold treasures and secret cove's that Autism will pilot you to, sometimes inadvertently when the Tempest is at its peak and all hope is lost.... a ray of light a glimmer of hope shining brightly through angry skies, the eye of the hurricane........a lighthouse guiding you to safety

These precious few moments! Maybe just a smile or a hug with warmth and intent...maybe just maybe those three heart melting words. So I pose a question? What has Autism taught you? What have you found when you have braved the storm and traversed the deluge? Does it bring it you closer together and deepen your already indescribably strong bond? How have these experiences changed and shaped your humanity? These are the questions I would like to ask? For me I have gained a wealth of understanding and a deep connection with my son's feelings, his fears and his likes (which are many!) and importantly how his mind works. This has been invaluable to me and his affection towards us as parents has grown since we have taken the time and patience to really understand him. This has not only affected my life with our son this has affected me at a deep level and changed the way I interact with people in general.

Autism has altered my world view dramatically. I find that I have become more patient and warm towards people and definitely more empathetic (which was always an issue for me before we had Lewis) I also take more time to understand problems and really listen to people. We are very lucky in that although our son is profoundly Autistic, he is also very caring and shows his love on a daily basis with big hugs, excellent humour and loving words. This too has warmed my heart and has allowed me to become friendlier and open with my family and friends. We still face stormy waters with our son as we ALL do as parents/carers of children with ASD but there are oasis's of calm tropical waters out there and they hold treasures beyond measure...Thanks for taking your time to read this today it is greatly appreciated, my aim with this short piece is just to focus our attention on the positives of Autism. So please feel free to share your thoughts......
What have you, learned from Autism?

Fighting For Autism- Paddy "The Baddy Pimblett" Helping to raise Autism awareness through Mixed Martial Arts

Patrick "Paddy The Baddy" Pimblett is a Champion Mixed Martial Artist and who fights for Cagewarriors Mixed Martial Arts promotion.

The awe inspiring performance's being displayed in the cage by the Lightweight fighting out of Next Generation Mixed Martial Arts in Liverpool are touting Paddy to be one of the shining stars on their way to world stardom in the sport, and has definitely gone on to seen him as one of the hottest properties of Mixed Martial arts in Europe, This gentleman has the ingredients of being a truly remarkable fighter.
Paddy who started his Professional Mixed Martial Arts Career in 2012, and has 11 Wins with his last bout seeing him crowned as The Cage Warriors World Champion at his home city of Liverpool on what was an electrifying evening, along with team mate Chris Fishgold who was making the first defence of his Cage Warriors Title as well ,both train with the widely respected and renowned Next Generation MMA Gym in Liverpool under the guidance of coach Paul Rimmer.

 

Paddy's performances outside of the cage are also becoming the stuff of legend, this is a gifted young fighter who is extremely vocal and defensive of his home city Liverpool and is becoming recognised as a fan friendly fighter, who always goes the extra mile to put a smile on someone else's face.
The team around him are like a family, they train together, eat together and socialise together it really is a fantastic thing to see, as each one brings the other on to the next level, I've been privileged enough to be in their company and are among some of the nicest people I've met in Mixed Martial Arts.

Next Generation Gym currently has Chris Fishgold and Paddy Pimblett as Cagewarriors Champions, and Molly McCann-Pearson who also is alumni from Next Generation and also trains with the widely respected Ippon Gym in Bournmouth is also Champion with Shock n Awe Mixed Martial Arts.
All 3 of these amazing martial artists along with so many other across the globe have become Fighting For Autism Ambassadors, and the amount of positive feedback has been incredible, from parents/carers to a loved one on the Spectrum, but also from people on the Spectrum themselves who are beginning to find their voice and confidence, getting parents to talk about Autism can be quite hard, especially with the males, but when Martial Arts are used as an ice breaker, people are beginning to open up, share experiences  and begin to investigate what Autism is, this is also the trend with youngsters who see a role model speaking about Autism and will investigate what is meant by the word Autism.
And people are beginning to come forward, a huge amount of people who have an interest or who are martial artists have a link to someone on the Autistic Spectrum.

Paddy is also a Fighting For Autism Fighter Ambassador, who together with Fighting For Autism is assisting in raising Autism Awareness from the Mats, Paddy was also the first Ambassadors to nominate one of his students as a Junior Ambassador a superstar in the making called Connor Orford, who's influence and friendship has brought Connor on in leaps and bounds over the past few months.
Connor who is on the Autistic Spectrum is thriving through the sessions with Paddy, and this is now a gentleman who cannot wait to get to class to train and in our view Connor is very much a champion in the making too.
We issued Connor a top secret mission to present Paddy with his very own personalised Fighting For Autism Cap, and Connor passed the test with flying colours. as the pictures shows.

Paddy and Cage Warriors Owner/ President Graham Boylan  in September placed a bet with Paddy Power Bookmakers for Paddy to beat UFC champion Connor McGregor by the year 2020, the bet in itself was massive, to which we are so grateful and to which we can only ever say thank to you Graham Paddy Power Power book makers

 and then this morning Paddy put up on his Instagram feed that he had put up tickets for auction for his upcoming bout, these tickets are not for sale to the general public, with the proceeds going to Fighting For Autism...

Paddy we will never forget the kindness and generosity you have shown towards us, that makes you every part of the champion both in the cage and in life itself, we can never thank you and everyone at Next Generation MMA enough and we wanted to say a special Thank You to you all and Graham Boylan from Cage warriors too.

Fighting For Autism Ambassadors, clubs and promotions around the world are very much the driving force behind making a brighter day to so many people on the Autistic Spectrum and their families too,  they are becoming the Voice for The Voiceless, collectively working alongside clubs and coaches we are being able to make students aware of what Autism is, and also working to wards creating autism friendly classes around the word, as well as being to highlight success stories of Athletes on the spectrum and raise some much needed Autism Awareness, we wouldn't be able to do what we do without these amazing people.

Paddy can be followed on Twitter www.twitter.com/PatrickPimblett
or over on  Instagram  www.Instagram.com/PaddyTheBaddy



Children on the Autistic Spectrum are more likely to suffer from being bullied.
No two people on The Autistic Spectrum are the same and the symptoms of each particular persons Autism differ often massively.
Autism is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders but is the most underfunded.
If the Statistic of 1 in 100 is on the Autistic Spectrum in the UK is to be believed ( we believe it is more than 1 in 100 and more in line with the USA statistic of 1 in 68) , and the population in the UK is 65,000,000 that means that 650,000 people reside in the UK who are on the Spectrum-enough to fill Wembley Stadium 7 times over.
For more facts on Autism please check out our website www.fightingforautism.com

we can be found on twitter  www.Twitter.com/FightForAutism and over on Instagram too www.Instagram.com/FightForAutism and Facebook www.Facebook.com/FightingForAutism