Since his return to the NFL this past year, Doug Flutie has been actively involved in the funding and research for further understanding of autism. His son, Doug, Jr. is afflicted with autism and Flutie's professional football career has given him a media-famous name through which to further this cause.
At first, it was hard to take, but we have to accept Dougie for who he is. He always has a smile on his face, and when he walks into a room, he brings a smile to your own face. He has many qualities about him that are special.
Caring for Dougie, however, is like having an infant around the house. It's a 24 hour-a-day job. We need someone looking after him constantly because he has the ability to unlock and open doors, and to climb up shelves. He's a six-year-old boy, but mentally he's still at a year-and-a-half.
Dougie developed normally until he was 2-3 years old, but at age three he started to regress. He had full speech, but within a six-month period he lost his ability to communicate to the point where he became totally withdrawn. He didn't acknowledge anyone entering the room, nor did he respond when you called out his name. Now, he says just one word here and there just "hi" or "mama" or "dada," but that's basically it.
One of our goals in starting the foundation is to raise awareness about autism and, in turn, actively do something to help Dougie. It would be nice to have his name carry forward with something like this. Chances are, he will not be playing football nor winning the Heisman Trophy.
It's also important for us to help raise money to go towards research, and to assist families who need the
extra things that help make life with an autistic child easier. For instance, we recently purchased communication buttons for Dougie's tricycle, but we're lucky because we have the means and the family support to assist in this way. There are a lot of families who can't really afford these things. We want to help them.
Doug Flutie has raised money for the Foundation through public speaking appearances, fundraisers and the sales of Flutie Flakes. Shown here, Flutie Flakes are (usually) signed commemorative boxes, proceeds are directed towards the foundation. Unfortunately, Doug Flutie will not be signing autographs OR boxes of Flutie Flakes at the Graduation Ceremonies.