2012
Hello there,
My name is Darin Frye, I am a husband and a father of three,
my wife Kandy,
oldest son Dustin ( 21), Daughter Elisia ( 17) and youngest son Damon ( 15).
I was born and raised in Wickliffe
Ohio a small town right on Lake
Erie. I was adopted when I was 6 months old by my wonderful
parents who raised me right and provided a great childhood for my sister and I
. Growing up my parents would take us all over the country to camp, ride dirt
bikes, fish and go boating. They always had us outdoors and you could say we
lived an “outdoors “type of a life growing up. I have had so many great
memories as a kid that I could go on forever listing all the great places we
visited and all the great things my parents provided for us. We were always
doing something outside or in the woods or on the lakes boating.
When I was 19 I met my wife Kandy. We got married pretty fast after we
met and she had a son ( Dustin) from a previous marriage . I raised Dustin from
the age of 2 and consider him my son. We soon after had Elisia and Damon a
couple years later. I am blessed with great kids and a great wife.
When Damon was a baby he did things and had characteristics
that were different from our other 2 children, at first we really didn’t think
much of it because each child develops differently and has their own
characteristics. By the time Damon was 1 he seemed to regress in his speech and
other functions and by the time he hit 1 and a half he started to regress to
the point that we were concerned so we started to visit different doctors and
got many opinions on what may be going on in his life. We soon learned that
Damon was Autistic. When Damon was 2 he started early intervention at a local
school and program called Broadmore. They really did a great job with Damon and
we are very grateful we started him at such an early age. Damon does not have
nay speech and is constant supervision, he does not understand reality like a
typical child, he does not have any fears or understand that if you run into
the street you can get run over by a car or picked up by a stranger etc.
Damon is bright young man now and still has very little
speech and still requires around the clock care and constant supervision at all
times. 4 years ago we built a custom home to accommodate his special needs and
to keep him safe and a happy environment on his terms. We modified many things
here to keep his tress levels as low as possible and safety as a priority.
Everyday is a challenge for us and him, but we take one day at a time and
provide a great life for him.
Damon has always loved the outdoors and anything to do the
woods or water and mud!
I myself have been riding dirt bikes and 4-wheelers for over
30 years and when Damon was young he always wanted me to ride him on our 4
wheeler. We used to ride almost everyday for years in our yard and then when we
moved to the country it became a serious hobby for him, he is not able to tell
us in words how much he enjoys it , but you can see it in his face and actions
that it is his world ! About 4 years ago we started traveling around the
country and making this hobby a big part of our lives and I am so grateful and
proud that I can provide such a great life for him being that he is so limited
on the things he can do and the things that he really enjoys, he does not enjoy
many activities and does not like technology or to be in doors, he loves to be
in the woods ! I will always go to any length to provide him his wants, needs
and desires.
Atv’s have become such a big part of our lives that we now
travel 8 months out of the year to different places across the country to
explore new trails and meet new people. This brings me to my next conversation
of ATV Therapy “
Our ATV adventures have become a big part of his therapy in
such that he gets so much out of it. Damon has never wanted to be around other
people of noise or any kind of chaos at all. He now enjoys being part of our
club and being around other people as long as its ATV related, he still will
not do birthdays, gatherings, Christmas, etc… but if it involves outdoors, he
does. He seems to be so relaxed when we are riding that he comes out of his
shell and shows everyone who he really is. Damon is not potty trained or does
not use utensils when eating or act what some would consider appropriate in
public, but we when we are trip, he is now saying some words , using forks and
starting to use the potty. So much has happened in recent years and we all
believe is because of two things: the Autism program he is in is such a great
program with great teachers and our ATV adventures. Damon will sit and watch
videos of riding and others riding as well, he loves to see pictures of our
adventures.
Damon has never been affectionate at all to anyone, infact
he does not like to be touch or hugged in anyway shape or form, it over
stimulates him and will create behaviors . Damon can easily go on overload from
this.
I could go on forever of all the stories and memories we
have made over the years on our ATV adventures, there are so many break
throughs with Damon as a direct result of what we do.
I wanted to start this blog to start sharing our adventures
so others can see that this is a therapy and how much Damon enjoys this. I
believe many others can enjoy these opportunities as well.
I am so grateful for all how support Damon and his special
needs and I am so proud of my son for how far he has come in his life, to some
it may not seem like much but to us it is huge !
It would take me years to blog all of our adventures and
amazing times we have had, so I will post some highlights here and there. I
want t share these times with everyone because I am so proud of my son and so
grateful for all the supports we have.
Damon still struggles daily with many things and still does
not speak except for sight words here and there but he has come so far in so
many areas that we know he is happy and that is all that really matters.
I will continue to post on here and share Damon’s progress
and happiness and the great friends we have and will have as the days go on. I
thank you for reading our story, this is in a nutshell, but this is the outline
of what we do. I have dedicated my life to Damon because I love him and needs
it.
Here is an article that was done last October that was
published in ATV World Magazine:
ATV World :
My name is Darin Frye. I am a father of three, one of whom is my son Damon. When Damon was 2 years old, he was diagnosed with severe autism. He is now 14 years old and requires around the clock care. He has always loved to be in the great outdoors, and I have made sure he has had every opportunity to do so.
I am also an avid ATV fan. I received my first dirt bike back in the 70′s at the age of 5. I was hooked the first day. I learned quickly, thanks to my father. I grew up in an “outdoors” household and every spring, summer, and fall we were either camping, riding dirt bikes, or boating. ATVing has been a passion of mine ever since.
It’s 11 years later and DJ is now 14 years old, 6 feet tall, and 275 pounds. He still loves to ride more than anything in the world. We travel the country finding new places to ride. This has become a major part of our family. We put on anywhere from3500-6500 miles per season on the quad. It also provides good therapy for him and helps with his communication barriers.
I have had to make many alterations and modifications on the ATV to support his weight and to keep him safe while riding on the back. We have gone to great lengths to provide him fond memories of his childhood years. He does not speak, but we all know how much he enjoys it.
Lodging preparations must be made ahead of time for these trips. DJ will not tent camp; he does not like small enclosed spaces. We search for a cabin wherever we go then modify it for his safety. Much forethought must go into these trips to ensure his safety and to provide a good time for him.
”Pops” is part of DJ’s riding life is. He is also a dear friend of ours and both DJ and I have grown very close to him. We ride with Pops a lot.
Some of our routine places to ride include , Allegany National Forest, Majestic Trails, Mines and Meadows, Southern Ohio, West Virginia, and many more.
We continue to travel the country in hopes of finding new places to ride and keep this wonderful hobby going. So many people along the way have bent over backwards to make sure all goes well with DJ on our road trips.