BY CLIFF SMELLEY
“To infinity and beyond!”
If you’re not familiar with that quote, it’s from the Pixar movie “Toy Story,” which happens to be one of Nigel Clance’s favorite movies.
Nigel and a large group of family and friends — collectively known as Nigel’s Crew — are hoping to take local awareness of autism to infinity and beyond as part of an annual skeet-shooting event and the willingness to share Nigel’s story.
When Nigel, 20, was diagnosed with autism, his parents, Angela and Donnie Clance, embarked on a life they never envisioned for themselves, but it’s the life they have, and they’re making the most of it. Angela said, “I think that we love each other so much, it’s like, ‘It’ll be fine. It’s the three of us. It’ll be OK. It’s not the end of the world. We’ll figure it out.’”
Along the way, the Clance family and those in Nigel’s Crew have wanted to help others figure it out when it comes to autism, a neurological and developmental disorder that doesn’t affect all who have it in the same way. As Kim Jolley, who teaches in the autism unit at McRae Elementary School, put it, some with autism may always need help from others and be unable to communicate, while others may be like Dustin Hoffman’s character in the movie “Rain Man,” exhibiting exceptional aptitude in some areas.
“It’s a spectrum — like a number line,” Jolley said. “I think that’s the hardest thing for people to understand. That was one of the hardest things for me to wrap my head around.”
The bottom line, though, is it doesn’t matter where someone falls on the autism spectrum. They’re still human beings like the rest of us.
“I just want people to approach people with autism kind of like there’s nothing wrong with them,” Angela said, adding, “Just let them know that they might have different quirks about them, like sensory issues, but they’re just regular kids or adults.”
Jolley said, “They’re not babies. We don’t need to talk to them like they’re babies.”
“They have a lot more going on up there than people give them credit for,” Angela said.
Living with autism
Nigel was 18 months of age when his parents noticed that he wasn’t progressing in his communication skills. He was taken to his developmental pediatrician, which led to his eventual diagnosis of autism.
“It was heartbreaking,” Donnie said, while Angela added, “It was tough. If you think about it, we’ll take care of him the rest of our lives and then hope we find someone who’s going to be able to take care of him after we’re no longer here.”
Communication is hard for Nigel. His parents utilized charts throughout their home to teach Nigel simple words like “eat” and “drink” when he was younger. Angela said that worked well, with Nigel being able to point to things he wanted.
Nigel has progressed to the point where his parents can leave him at home by himself during the summer — with others periodically checking on him — while they’re at work.
“We’ll make a sandwich and put a snack out — that type of thing,” Angela said. “If he wants a drink or a Pop-Tart, then he can grab something. We feel comfortable enough that he can be able to take care of himself for a couple of hours.”
Nigel even does chores around the home now, such as feeding the dogs, taking the trash out and watering plants.
Those with autism can experience sensory overload, being affected by sounds, smells and lights. At times, Nigel will wear sunglasses or noise-cancelling headphones.
Angela recalls instances when a weighted blanket had to be placed on Nigel to calm him down. Sometimes, it was simply her and Donnie providing physical contact.
“(Donnie) would lay on the floor next to him, and I would lay on top of him,” Angela said. “We would just talk him through it. ‘We’ve got this. We’re going to get through this.’”
Angela and Donnie have learned through trial and error what types of situations and places will make Nigel uncomfortable. Simply keeping Nigel at home, though, was never an option. Angela said she never wanted Nigel to wonder why he never got the chance to do certain things.
Keystone Heights High School Transition Teacher Patti Singletary, who’s taught Nigel since 2016, said he wouldn’t be the person he is today if not for his parents pushing him. Singletary recalled the first time Nigel attended the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Night to Shine, a prom-style event for youth with special needs. Nigel became upset and didn’t want to go, but his parents insisted he go. Singletary said Nigel went and ended up having a good time.
“If they had given in to him because he was resistant…he would’ve missed out on that experience,” Singletary said. “Now, we go every year. He looks forward to it.”
Angela said she and Donnie want to push Nigel out of his comfort zone.
“If he doesn’t like it, we won’t do it again,” Angela said, “but that’s the only way to know if he’s going to like something or not.”
Enjoying life
What does Nigel like?
Well, he’s a big movie buff, for starters. When he and his family go to the theater to see one movie, they walk away with Nigel having created a future schedule of movie watching based on the previews they watched prior to the main feature.
“When you go to a movie, and they show three or four movies that are coming out, that’s when we’re in trouble,” Donnie said.
Angela said, “He already has them lined up for the next six months.”
Nigel watches movies at home, but rarely watches completely from beginning to end.
“He finds scenes that he likes and goes through them 100 times,” Donnie said.
Nigel prefers to watch movies at home on VHS tapes as opposed to DVDs (he likes the previews better on VHS tapes) and enjoys watching the credits scroll by. He knows the name of every actor or voice actor in his favorite movies and also likes to use some of those names as nicknames for people he knows.
“He loves movies,” Angela said. “I think it just makes him come out of his shell.”
Nigel enjoys playing online video games, shooting his air rifle and taking annual trips to Disney World with his cousins. His favorite Disney ride is Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Another thing Nigel likes to do is to drive a tractor. His parents, as Angela described it, have watched him progress in that activity to where it’s now nothing for him to “start it up, back up and take off.’”
“We practiced and practiced and practiced,” Angela said, explaining that Nigel is good about eventually being able to do things on his own through repetition.
Nigel has also found joy in interacting with others.
‘Social butterfly’
Donnie said Nigel has “a pile of people on his phone” that he communicates with.
“All he does is text ‘good morning’ and ‘good night,’” Donnie said. “I try to tell (the people Nigel communicates with), ‘When he does that, make it go farther. Ask him a question.’”
His interactions aren’t limited to text messages. Nigel enjoys making trips to Carquest Auto Parts and Keystone Power Equipment.
“He loves (owner) Clint (Gillen),” Donnie said.
Nigel likes to make trips to the waste-collection site. Part of the reason why was the woman who worked there.
“She loved seeing him,” Donnie said.
That woman no longer works there, but that’s OK. Angela said it’s just an opportunity for Nigel to make a new friend.
Jolley can attest to the fact that it’s quite a change from how Nigel used to be. As she was being interviewed for this story, she often had Nigel by her side, wanting to talk to her or show her something.
“He went from not wanting to be around anyone to this, wanting to be right next to you and show you everything on his phone — just being a social butterfly,” Jolley said.
For Singletary, the change has been “absolutely amazing.” She saw Nigel arrive on the KHHS campus as a shy individual to one who walked down the hallways making eye contact with others and fist bumping them.
“He’ll say things to them. He’ll introduce himself now,” Singletary said, adding, “He’s very friendly. He was always friendly, but maybe just a little timid until he got comfortable with everybody.”
Angela said, “That’s one thing he likes to do, communicating with others and trying to make friends. That makes us very happy. That gets us excited.”
Awareness and classroom support
Nigel can be observed displaying his willingness to socialize with others at Nigel’s Crew annual Skeet Shoot for Autism Awareness. Donnie said when the event first began, Nigel would sit in the car throughout its duration.
“Now, he’s wanting to meet everybody,” Donnie said.
This past April was the 12th year of the skeet shoot, which is held at Keystone Heights Sportsmen Club, but Nigel’s parents have been putting a spotlight on autism since before the start of the skeet shoot. Following Nigel’s diagnosis, they set up a booth at Keystone’s annual Our Country Day, selling bottles of water, having prize drawings and talking about autism. Angela said it was a resource for other parents with autistic children.
“It was nice to be able to have somebody for them to go to or to have a friend,” Angela said.
Nigel’s Crew got its start as a group of family and friends participating in the Autism Speaks Walk in Jacksonville.
“We wanted to do something in this community, to give back to our community,” Angela said, “so we kind of stopped participating in (the Autism Speaks Walk) and started doing our skeet shoot.”
The skeet shoot involves more than shooting participants. It consists of vendors and booths offering activities and games for children with autism. Jolley and Singletary are there to talk to any parents about what they and their autistic children can expect on their journey through school.
Jolley said the event benefits those parents who are in the same shoes that Angela and Donnie were in when Nigel was diagnosed with autism — parents who are seeking knowledge about living with an autistic child and who are seeking companionship of others “who are walking the same walk.”
“It’s all about raising awareness, but it’s also about developing a community in which you have resources to pull from,” Jolley said.
More awareness will hopefully lead to more employment opportunities for those with autism (or any disability) when they become adults.
“In the bigger towns, there are more opportunities that there are in Keystone,” Singletary said.
Angela asked, “What’s the next thing we can do to employ all the disabled kids in this town? What can we do?”
Besides awareness, the skeet shoot also raises money to support Jolley and Singletary and the special-needs students they teach.
“We don’t raise tens of thousands of dollars, but we do good,” Angela said. “One year, we did $10,000, but we usually average about $6,000 a year. We just split it in half between the two teachers.”
Whatever the amount, it’s a big help.
“With the school system, our funds are very limited,” Singletary said. “This is giving me extra funds to do different things.”
Such as pay for a bus to take students to Night to Shine or to add things to her classroom, such as covers for the fluorescent lights so that autistic students don’t experience sensory overload.
“We have a lot of lights in our room,” Singletary said, explaining that paying for the covers would’ve gone way beyond her school budget.
Jolley has been able to purchase such items for autistic students as a spinning chair and sensory tables — items that are typically $100-plus and wouldn’t be able to be purchased with her classroom budget.
“I want to buy stuff that’s going to mean something for these kids,” Jolley said.
Skeet-shoot funds have helped her created a sensory area outside of her classroom, transforming an area that was grass and sandspurs to one with a concrete base, tarps and sensory items.
“When they’re just too overwhelmed — even in our controlled environment — they can go outside,” Jolley said.
As you would imagine, the teachers are grateful. Angela talked about visiting Jolley’s classroom to see what she’s been able to buy because of the skeet-shoot funds, saying, “It’s fun to see (Jolley’s) face. She’s excited. She’s like a little kid.”
An inspiration
Nigel received a special recognition at the May 13 Clay County Athletics Awards Show as he was presented with an Inspirational Achievement Award for his participation in Special Olympics.
Donnie remembers Nigel’s first year in Special Olympics. He wouldn’t compete in front of his parents, so they had to be out of his sight.
“The next year, we didn’t have to hide to get him to participate,” Donnie said.
Nigel’s parents were sure he’d want to be close to them during the Clay County Athletics Awards Show, which took place at Orange Park’s Thrasher-Horne Center, but he sat with Singletary away from his parents.
Singletary said Nigel wouldn’t walk onto the stage without her accompanying him, but the fact he even did so in front a packed house was yet another example of how far Nigel has progressed and how he has become comfortable in situations that would’ve bothered him in the past.
“That was definitely a teary moment for me,” Singletary said.
Nigel’s parents, of course, would gladly give him an award for being an inspiration. He has helped put life in perspective.
“It’s kind of, ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff,’” Angela said. “Regular, everyday stuff we take for granted is a big accomplishment for him.”
The journey hasn’t been easy. Donnie described it as being on a roller coaster, but Angela added, “It’s been good.”
“The best part is trying to be a happy family,” Donnie said.
If you’d like to keep up with Nigel and learn more about autism, visit the “Nigel’s Crew 4 Autism Awareness” Facebook page.
