“This initiative was an inspiration to me for multiple reasons. One reason is that my younger brother, Patrick Ramos, lives with autism. I have, by virtue of being his brother, experienced what he has gone through his whole life. I saw how he struggled and how my parents worked hard to get him all the therapies and early interventions he needed. As a result of all the help he got at an early age, you would not be able to tell that he lives with autism today. In fact, in May of 2023, Patrick graduated Cum Laude from Southeastern University. Fortunately, my family was able to get Patrick the educational supports and therapies that he required to live his life to its fullest. However, many families cannot afford the expensive treatments needed for children living with autism; thus one of my goals in pursuing this event was to help financially struggling families fund their beloved children's specialized programs. Another special reason I decided to pursue this event was because I created this project my sophomore year of high school with one of my forever best friends - Sebastian Ortiz. I played baseball at the time and Sebastian was a cross-country runner. Therefore, we understood what sports had to offer and wanted to give precious children living with autism the chance to experience sports as well. Later that year, Sebastian was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer, and 14 months later he passed away. It was an inexplicably wrenching thing to say goodbye to my friend and I was determined to bring to reality the dream we shared together of serving these amazing children. I wanted to keep my friend with me, in the ways that I could, by being sure the community knew his heart for these children. Therefore, together with many by my side, I worked hard to make the event happen. It’s special indeed that on April 21, 2024 we will host the 5th Annual ‘Gear-Up for Autism’ Event.”

-Diego Ramos

Christopher Columbus High School - Class of 2018

As the Legacy continues please click on below pictures, with links embedded in them, for heart-exploding videos of prior “Gear-Up for Autism” Events.

The smiles say it all.