The Autism News | English
By Lisa Roose-Church | Livingston Daily
UPDATED AT 9:45 A.M. Michigan State Police announced this morning that 10-year-old Chuck Schulke III’s stolen golf cart was found.
The golf cart, which the family used as a therapy tool for Schulke, who has autism, was located in the ditch on Grant Road near Gregory Road in Conway Township.
The cart was “extensively damaged” and had various parts, including the tires missing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the thief or thieves to call the Brighton post at 810-227-1051.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:
Ten-year-old Chuck Schulke III, who has autism, found riding his golf cart in his neighborhood a relaxing way to calm his nerves when life became frustrating.
Unfortunately, a thief or thieves have robbed Chuck, who is known as Little Chuck, of his therapy tool by stealing his golf cart from the family’s home in the area of Grand River Avenue and Golf Club Road in Oceola Township.
“(Tuesday) was his first day without it; he had a meltdown,” Little Chuck’s father, Chuck Schulke Jr., said. “He has a photographic memory, and he knew the cart wasn’t there. He was saying, ‘Ride, ride, ride.’ He was in a world of hurts. Nothing made him happy, and he cried when he realized the cart was gone.”
Little Chuck is a human Energizer bunny, his father said. From the moment the boy wakes up and his feet hit the floor, he goes and doesn’t stop.
Little Chuck does not have a lot of things in life that are important to him, his father said. The boy enjoys swinging and playing in his fort in the house, and he loves plants and flowers.
Neighbors often give Little Chuck plants or flowers from their gardens, and he waves to them when riding around the neighborhood.
About four or five years ago, the family learned by accident that riding on a golf cart calms their son when a friend gave him a ride on his golf cart and his face lit up.
Every year since, Little Chuck’s friends and family would add a new feature to the family’s golf cart to make it nicer for him. There were plans to add new tires as well as an electrical plug so Little Chuck could enjoy a DVD while riding around. Plans also included adding a radio in the top visor, his dad said.
The boy’s life often operates on routine, which includes riding his golf cart when he becomes frustrated or has difficulty coping with a situation, but that cart was stolen Monday night or Tuesday morning from the family’s backyard.
Little Chuck’s father said the thief or thieves “came through the fence and pushed it 50 feet out of the yard.”
“This wasn’t random,” he said. “Someone deliberately knew the cart was there. (The thief or thieves) came in at night, in the middle of the storm and took it out of the yard.
“The fence,” he added, “is never open due to Little Chuck and the dog.
“It’s sad that society has come to a point where my stuff is mine and yours is mine,” the father said. “(The thief) will never get the enjoyment out of it that someone who worked for it will ever get.”
The gas-operated golf cart is a green 1994 Club Cart with a white front bench and a cream rear seat, which was added to accommodate Little Chuck’s older sisters, who enjoyed riding with their brother.
The cart has a custom lift kit. The front tires are all-terrain-vehicle tires, and there are stock gold cart tires in the rear. It has a Harley-Davidson sticker across the front with a newer cart top.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Trooper Denis McCarthy at (810) 227-1051.
Source: http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20100624/NEWS01/6240306/Autistic-boy-s-golf-cart-swiped
Please share this news with friends, family and also with your contact list on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
No comments:
Post a Comment