Shedding a light: Cristen making powerful statement with his glove (2024)

WAHOO- Throughout his life, Kaden Christen has seen the effects a disability can have on somebody that you love. That person is his kid brother Carter, who has been Autistic his whole life and was diagnosed with it around the age of 5.

In an effort to bring more awareness to the disorder, the star pitcher for the Wahoo/Bishop Neumann Co-op and the Wahoo Juniors and Seniors Legion Teams created a glove in support of his brother and all people who suffer from Autism.

“It just brings awareness to Autism,” Kaden said. “I feel like some people don’t get what Autism is and how it does affect people. I think a little more awareness should be brought to that.”

According to the website “Autism Speaks” one in 36 children in the United States has Autism. That is up from the previous rate of 1 in 44.

From the same site, comes the startling statistic that boys are nearly four times more likely to be diagnosed with Autism than girls are.

A reason why Autism is so prevalent in our society, is because it comes in many varieties. The definition for the disorder from “Autism Speaks is “A broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.”

Because the spectrum varies, some people with Autism manage to function as normal adults with the disorder, whereas others have more severe symptoms that require them to have a caretaker throughout their lives.

The idea came to Kaden earlier this year to create a special blue pitching glove which is the color for Autism Awareness in honor of his brother. He let Carter put his personal touch on it with a lightning bolt and his initials embroidered on it.

For Kaden, the glove is a constant reminder of how fortunate he is to live the life that he does. He has struggles, but nothing like the hardships that somebody else goes through dealing with Autism in their daily life.

“When I am struggling on the mound, I look down at it and remember there are way bigger struggles in life that people could be going through,” Kaden said. “What I am going through on the mound is nowhere close to what some people are going through in life.”

Even with the issues that Carter’s disorder can cause, Kaden said he loves having a brother with Autism. He has learned a lot of valuable lessons from Carter that he otherwise wouldn’t have learned.

The duo share a very tight connection and love doing things together in their yard and around their house. Their only difference according to Kaden is Carter isn’t a sports fan where he is.

“People have asked me if I am embarrassed having a brother with Autism,” Kaden said. “I tell them no, it’s better than having one without it because it teaches you so many more lessons in life that you wouldn’t get from any other sibling. It has taught me to be grateful for what I have and not take things for granted.”

Another aspect of the glove for Kaden is it’s helped him to become an advocate for people with Autism. In the time that he has used the glove, many people have given him praise for it and have asked him where he got the idea from.

It allows him the opportunity to tell his own story of having a brother with Autism and inform others why people with the disorder act the way they do.

“A lot of people tell me that they like my glove or ask me where I got the idea from,” Kaden said. “It is really cool to tell people the story of how I got it and why I wear it. A lot of people who ask don’t know what Autism is, so I can explain to them what it is, which is also cool. That is just one more person who knows about it and can spread information about what it is.”