Day-to-day life for a young boy with autism (includes photo essay)

By
Samantha Gutierrez, Dennisse Diaz, Marcelo Morales and Hermann Diehl
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A soccer field that isn’t mainly about scoring goals or winning games transforms the hearts and minds of the youthful participants, who navigate the challenges of autism.

Meet Valentino, a non-verbal autistic child who struggles to communicate and get along with others At a young age, he’s faced several battles alongside his supportive and caring mom, Valeria. 

Valentino’s reactions while soccer practice with children in the autism spectrum continued in progress.

Valentino’s reactions while soccer practice with children in the autism spectrum continued in progress. 

Valentino’s mother and head coach and son giving support to Valentino to continue with his sport practice.  

The attentive Valentino in his therapy room. 

Books, toys, and more appliances at Valentino’s behavioral room. 

Valentino practicing learning skills with his behavioral therapist. 

Valentino’s mealtime. 

Valentino gnawed on his teething toy.

Valentino lost in his thoughts chewing his teether toy in his backyard.

Valentino and his behavioral therapist playing basketball in the backyard. 

Valentino’s look was captured from the eye of the camera while he was jumping at the backyard trampoline. 

Valentino’s personalized backyard park. 

Valeria (Valentino’s mother) comforts him during a temperamental distress.

Samantha Gutierrez is a student journalist majoring in Digital Communication and Media. As a bilingual reporter, she enjoys covering stories about her diverse Miami community. With a strong passion for broadcasting, she aspires to pursue a career as a multimedia journalist in South Florida.

Dennisse Diaz is a senior majoring in Digital Broadcasting Media and minoring in entrepreneurship. She is originally from Venezuela. Since her arrival to the United States in 2017, she has never stopped pursuing her dreams of becoming a news anchor, correspondent, or investigative reporter. She is passionate about traveling, photography, culture, responsible knowledge, marketing, and content creation.

Marcelo is a transfer student from the University of Central Florida, majoring in Digital and Interactive Media. Born in Cuba, he plans to pursue a career in videography and video editing. His experience, openness, and bilingual skills make him a valuable asset to any news organization. In addition to his expertise in video editing, he is also interested in journalism and its related industries.

Hermann Diehl is a Cuban Guatemalan born and raised in Miami, Florida. He is majoring in digital media and communication at Florida International University. Hermann loves to bring stories to life with videography and photography and aspires to create a production company that shoots things such as
commercials through to movies and shows.

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