Charlotte Fire fundraises to support father’s mission helping children with autism

CHARLOTTE — Nate Powell is a Charlotte Firefighter with a mission that the fire department is supporting him on this Autism Awareness Month.

Powell’s son Ben was diagnosed with autism at 2-years-old and they didn’t know where to start.

“When we went through the diagnosis process with Ben, we were alone,” he said. “We didn’t know anything about autism.”

But Powell said it has been a process filled with love, learning, patience, and incredible progress.

“Ben was nonverbal for a very long time,” Powell said. “He didn’t start talking until probably five, maybe a little bit before five. In therapy, he had an AAC device, which was an iPad with a program on it, and it had pictures, words, and you’d hit it, it would talk...but Ben has since learned to talk, spell, read, all off of that device.”

Powell said Ben is incredible, through his progress and in his spirit.

“[He’s] just your average, crazy, wild, high energy, always on-the-go, seven year old,” Powell said.

Now, as the Powells navigate their own journey, they are hoping to help others who are walking the same path.

“We want to let people know that it’s going to be okay, and that there are resources out there,” Powell said.

And that is why the Fire Department is rallying behind his efforts and selling t-shirts to raise money for therapeutic devices for other families.

“Therapy really is the best thing for for children on the spectrum, whether, whether it’s OT, it’s speech, it’s ABA, it’s physical therapy, they need that to thrive,” Powell said.

As the family continues to support the community, Powell is encouraging for everyone to give a little grace because sometimes the challenged they face are public.

“Benjamin does get overstimulated, and that can cause meltdowns,” Powell said. “He doesn’t quite have the ability to regulate it... I would love if people would just be a little more open minded.”

He says his goal is to spread awareness to all.

“Some days we have great days,” Powell said. “Some days we have not so great days, but we take it all in stride.”

Anyone hoping to buy one of the fire department’s t-shirts can do so at this link. All proceeds go to Ignited Minds ABA, a local clinic in Gaston County.

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