This is the story of our amazing son, the challenges that we have faced as a family, and the hope that we have for his future.

Every parent dreams of their child’s future. When you hold a precious newborn baby in your arms, you are flooded with the "what ifs” and the hopes and dreams for this lovely child. For many years, we waited for this "child.” When the time arrived, we felt so fortunate. God had blessed us with not just one, but THREE children.

In June of 2003, we were blessed with the birth of our triplets. 2 girls and a boy! Noelle, Meredith, and Kirby. We thought then that our lives had changed forever. Little did we know what was in store for our family. At the age of 2, our precious son Kirby was diagnosed with Autism. Our whole world changed on that day. We were told to adjust our goals and dreams for Kirby, that most likely he would never leave home, and that we would have to "settle” for what his limitations would be. We were devastated. We felt that there was no hope. All of our dreams for our son seemed to vanish, all because of one word, AUTISM. Driving him home that day, we just felt so hopeless. It seemed like our family would never be able to do the things that we had dreamed of doing together. We wanted to cry, and in the days to come, we did cry. We knew that the statistics for those affected by Autism are quite bleak.

• Autism is the second most common developmental disability.
• Autism affects 1 in 150 children, some studies show that it is 1 in 94 boys.
• Autism increased by 172% in the 1990’s, while the U.S. population grew by 13%.
• Autism affects 30,000 individuals in N.C.

Well, that was just not good enough for us. We knew that Kirby could exceed any expectations, and we did not want to place limitations on him. For one year, we struggled through decisions about what was the best "therapy” for Kirby. Along the way, he had some great teachers and therapists, to whom we will always be grateful. His original speech therapist still works with him today, and we are so appreciative of all that she has done for Kirby. However, we still felt that we as his parents were not able to tap into his true potential. We did not feel that there were things that we could do to help him on a daily basis. Fortunately, we discovered a new therapy called RDI (Relationship Developmental Intervention, www.rdiconnect.com) and began this at age 3. RDI is a parent-based program in which the parents work with a consultant to guide their child through objectives which mirror typical child development. Through RDI, the child with autism is provided targeted opportunities for growth and development, through mindful parenting, and throughout the family’s lifestyle. We have worked with our RDI consultant for nearly 5 years and what a wonderful change we have seen in Kirby’s life! We and those around us who have observed Kirby over the past several years have been amazed at his developmental growth. He has proven that he is capable of exceeding expectations, and we believe that his future is very bright. He is currently a second grader at West Clayton Elementary School, who loves to play soccer, go camping and visit Disney World, and he is currently taking piano lessons. He gets to participate in the same activities that any little boy would enjoy.

As a family, we have loved to play golf. As many of you know, Blake just loves to be at the golf course! The babies went to the golf course for the first time at 5 weeks old, at that time we were members at Morehead City Country Club. Blake chose to become a stay at home Dad, and he took the babies in their stroller to the driving range several days each week. As they became toddlers, he took them to the driving range in their superyard with their toys. When we moved to Clayton he joined River Ridge Golf Club, and the children continued to go there several times a week until they started school. It seemed like a natural fit in 2007 for us to be able to combine this love of the game of golf with an opportunity to support FARR and research that examines quality of life issues for those with Autism. Over the past four years this has become much more than a tournament. We have developed Hit it FARR For Kirby into its own nonprofit charity. Through our event we have been able to reach out to others who are affected by autism in a very powerful way, and we have been supported along the way by wonderful friends and sponsors. It has been a great four years and we are looking forward to many more!

Thank you for your support of our family as we continue on this special journey with our son. He reminds us every day to appreciate the little things in life, as we celebrate his successes with great joy and pride. Please visit our links page for more information on RDI and FARR. We welcome your comments, feel free to contact us as needed. We hope to see you at the Fifth Annual Hit It FARR for Kirby Golf Classic!

Sincerely,

Blake, Debbie, Noelle, Meredith and Kirby Roberson