Carter's Story
When Carter was born it was blissful! We were so happy to finally have our son. Everything seemed perfect. Carter met all his developmental milestones without any problems, and he seemed to be growing and adjusting like a “normal” happy baby boy. It was not until Carter was about 10 months old when his doctor first diagnosed him with Asperger's Syndrome.
At first, I completely denied the doctor’s diagnosis because we did not believe it was possible to diagnose him with Asperger’s Syndrome at such a young age. As a mother, I just kept thinking what I could have possibly done wrong to cause my son to receive this diagnosis. I began to blame myself for his condition and wrapped myself in a blanket of denial.
After further research, I finally began to think that maybe his doctor could be right. Carter exhibited all the common symptoms for babies on the autistic spectrum. His symptoms included:
Even though all the symptoms were there, I was still in denial. How could such a young baby be diagnosed with something as life changing as autism? It was still hard for me to allow his doctor to label my son as autistic. His pediatrician tried to reassure me of his diagnosis by explaining that Carter's symptoms were similar to his own. He disclosed to me that he himself was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and that a lot of the behaviors that Carter demonstrated were very familiar to him. He continued to explain to me that Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of high functioning autism.
It wasn't until Carter was about 12 months old that I finally accepted his diagnosis and allowed him to begin treatment. He started all the intensive therapies that were recommended by his doctor. He began speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy twice a week for 4 years. Our entire life revolved around all of Carter's therapy sessions and providing him with the assistance he needed to grow and develop into the best version of himself. This included supportive psychotherapy for me.
When Carter turned five-years-old his therapy sessions were discontinued, I was told, they were no longer deemed medically necessary, and he began kindergarten. Carter continued to struggle with his symptoms and became very aggressive at school. He would fight, hit his teachers, and even attempt to leave school grounds. I was frequently called to come to his school to calm him down. During this time, his doctor recommended that Carter should be put on medication to help him manage his behavior. For three years, I rejected all the medication that was recommended.
From age 5 to 7 we enrolled Carter into sports to build social skills. He tried soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, and football. He successfully completed each season of all four sports, however, would tell me that he did not want to play the sport anymore.
When Carter was eight, I received a call from his school that changed everything. Carter was having a very rough day and was unable to contain his emotions. He was unhappy with how he was being treated by his peers and told his teacher that if one more thing went wrong in his day, he was going to kill himself!
It was heartbreaking to hear his teacher tell me what happened. My son’s sadness, anger and unhappiness were completely out of my and his control. I did not know he was beginning to have such distressing thoughts. I began to think that maybe this could have been avoided if I were more open minded to other solutions for his emotional, and behavior management. It was then that I decided to follow the doctor's recommendations and have him assessed by a psychiatrist for medication management.
As difficult as it was, putting him on medication, it improved his life and behavior. Carter made the honor roll for the first time! He was able to concentrate, he said and he no longer had invasive negative thoughts or physical altercations at school. It felt like he finally gotten to a place of peace and balance.
Shortly after, Carter was able to express that he wanted to play sports, he just did not want to play a sport where other people would touch him. We enrolled him in no-contact sports to help him become more sociable. It helped Carter tremendously! He began playing tennis and golf, which he now loves. Golf helps Carter focus on something that he is good at and for him that is the most rewarding feeling in the world!
Helping Carter meant finding what soothed him. Using his symptoms and focusing his skills on activities that sparked his interest helped him to gain better emotion regulation. We allowed him to indulge in his obsessive fixations, high energy, and desire to play with others (yet still solo) by choosing sports where his cations alone controlled his outcome. We began to see positive change and him heal! The use of non-contact sports, 1-on-1 activities, traditional psychotherapy sessions and non-traditional therapies proved to be affective in Carter's social-emotional developmental progression.
Because Carter still struggled with social-awkwardness, he began to develop anxiety about his future. "If people do not want to be my friend, who will ever hire me?" he asked me.
Watching me as an entrepreneur sparked the same drive in him. He asked if he could open his own business. I told him sure he could, when he grew up. He then ask, why he had to wait until he was an adult to start a business. "I'm ready now" he said. I told him he was right! He did not have to wait. He could start a business now, he just needed to decide what he wanted to do and develop a business plan. After many ideas that were not feasible, Carter is the proud owner of Spectrum Golf, a company dedicated to providing quality golf apparel and inspiring others to embrace their differences and work hard to achieve their dreams.
Thank you for reading Carter's story.
Sincerely,
Carter's MOM - Dr. Thelma Tennie
At first, I completely denied the doctor’s diagnosis because we did not believe it was possible to diagnose him with Asperger’s Syndrome at such a young age. As a mother, I just kept thinking what I could have possibly done wrong to cause my son to receive this diagnosis. I began to blame myself for his condition and wrapped myself in a blanket of denial.
After further research, I finally began to think that maybe his doctor could be right. Carter exhibited all the common symptoms for babies on the autistic spectrum. His symptoms included:
- Delayed speech and language skills
- Not responding to his name by his first birthday
- Not using common gestures (pointing or waving) and not responding to them
- Avoiding or rejecting physical contact
- Exhibited repetitive behaviors such as hand-flapping or rocking
- Excessive fixations on certain activities, routines, or objects
- Extreme sensitivity to touch, light, and sound
Even though all the symptoms were there, I was still in denial. How could such a young baby be diagnosed with something as life changing as autism? It was still hard for me to allow his doctor to label my son as autistic. His pediatrician tried to reassure me of his diagnosis by explaining that Carter's symptoms were similar to his own. He disclosed to me that he himself was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and that a lot of the behaviors that Carter demonstrated were very familiar to him. He continued to explain to me that Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of high functioning autism.
It wasn't until Carter was about 12 months old that I finally accepted his diagnosis and allowed him to begin treatment. He started all the intensive therapies that were recommended by his doctor. He began speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy twice a week for 4 years. Our entire life revolved around all of Carter's therapy sessions and providing him with the assistance he needed to grow and develop into the best version of himself. This included supportive psychotherapy for me.
When Carter turned five-years-old his therapy sessions were discontinued, I was told, they were no longer deemed medically necessary, and he began kindergarten. Carter continued to struggle with his symptoms and became very aggressive at school. He would fight, hit his teachers, and even attempt to leave school grounds. I was frequently called to come to his school to calm him down. During this time, his doctor recommended that Carter should be put on medication to help him manage his behavior. For three years, I rejected all the medication that was recommended.
From age 5 to 7 we enrolled Carter into sports to build social skills. He tried soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, and football. He successfully completed each season of all four sports, however, would tell me that he did not want to play the sport anymore.
When Carter was eight, I received a call from his school that changed everything. Carter was having a very rough day and was unable to contain his emotions. He was unhappy with how he was being treated by his peers and told his teacher that if one more thing went wrong in his day, he was going to kill himself!
It was heartbreaking to hear his teacher tell me what happened. My son’s sadness, anger and unhappiness were completely out of my and his control. I did not know he was beginning to have such distressing thoughts. I began to think that maybe this could have been avoided if I were more open minded to other solutions for his emotional, and behavior management. It was then that I decided to follow the doctor's recommendations and have him assessed by a psychiatrist for medication management.
As difficult as it was, putting him on medication, it improved his life and behavior. Carter made the honor roll for the first time! He was able to concentrate, he said and he no longer had invasive negative thoughts or physical altercations at school. It felt like he finally gotten to a place of peace and balance.
Shortly after, Carter was able to express that he wanted to play sports, he just did not want to play a sport where other people would touch him. We enrolled him in no-contact sports to help him become more sociable. It helped Carter tremendously! He began playing tennis and golf, which he now loves. Golf helps Carter focus on something that he is good at and for him that is the most rewarding feeling in the world!
Helping Carter meant finding what soothed him. Using his symptoms and focusing his skills on activities that sparked his interest helped him to gain better emotion regulation. We allowed him to indulge in his obsessive fixations, high energy, and desire to play with others (yet still solo) by choosing sports where his cations alone controlled his outcome. We began to see positive change and him heal! The use of non-contact sports, 1-on-1 activities, traditional psychotherapy sessions and non-traditional therapies proved to be affective in Carter's social-emotional developmental progression.
Because Carter still struggled with social-awkwardness, he began to develop anxiety about his future. "If people do not want to be my friend, who will ever hire me?" he asked me.
Watching me as an entrepreneur sparked the same drive in him. He asked if he could open his own business. I told him sure he could, when he grew up. He then ask, why he had to wait until he was an adult to start a business. "I'm ready now" he said. I told him he was right! He did not have to wait. He could start a business now, he just needed to decide what he wanted to do and develop a business plan. After many ideas that were not feasible, Carter is the proud owner of Spectrum Golf, a company dedicated to providing quality golf apparel and inspiring others to embrace their differences and work hard to achieve their dreams.
Thank you for reading Carter's story.
Sincerely,
Carter's MOM - Dr. Thelma Tennie
Carter's Bio
11-year-old Carter Bonas of Coral Springs, Florida is an up-and-coming golfer who founded Spectrum Golf Apparel at the age of 10.
Carter named his line of apparel “Spectrum Golf” and his vitamin water “Spectrum Vitamin Water” because he is considered high functioning on the Autism Spectrum Scale. Most recent Carter has followed in his mother’s footsteps and started his own 501c3 Non-Profit Carter’s Spectrum Golf “Cares” Corp. where he will be providing motivational speaking to schools and mentoring programs in addition to offering free golf lessons to youth.
Carter began to build his legacy at the age of 10, because he feared no one would hire him because of his diagnosis. Those fears were real! Carter was the target of intense bullying due to his Autism, until one day he PASSIONATELY expressed to his teachers, “I am going to kill myself if one more person bullies me."
But, through his therapy and playing golf, he gained his confidence, which ultimately led him to designing his own line of golf apparel.
Carter hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit the nonprofit Healing Arts Institute of South Florida, which was founded in his honor by his mother, Dr. Thelma Tennie licensed marriage and family therapist. The nonprofit offers No-Cost mental health services primarily to youth 22 and under and their families, across the State of Florida.
Carter began a whirlwind of media coverage after displaying his line of apparel at the PGA Show in Orlando and sharing his story, appearing on The Golf Channel, Golf Life TV, PGA magazine, Club and Result Business magazine, Europe Times News, Golf weekly and USAToday.com, Golf Central Magazine, City of Fort Lauderdale Chamber newsletter, and North Central Florida Golfer Magazine.
Carter was featured in a Spotlight Segment on, ESPN West Palm, ESPN Radio 106.3, WPTV-Channel 5 News, WSVN-Channel 7 News in Miami and 2 segments on NBC. His story led to an invite to the Chubb Classic in Naples, FL, where he received unprecedented access to Legendary Pro Golfer Ernie Els. Media from all over the world watched as Carter walked the course with the Hall of Famer, while he was playing in the tournament. Els’s son is also autistic. Carter also had a chip competition with Pro Golfer Alex Cejka, losing by just a couple inches.
Carter is also a giver. Donating swag at the Chubb Classic with Jr. golfers from the organization First Tee, who then invited him to attend the Honda Classic.
Carter enjoys sharing his story and welcomes opportunities to speak to inspire others and conduct golfing demonstrations wherever he goes.
Carter named his line of apparel “Spectrum Golf” and his vitamin water “Spectrum Vitamin Water” because he is considered high functioning on the Autism Spectrum Scale. Most recent Carter has followed in his mother’s footsteps and started his own 501c3 Non-Profit Carter’s Spectrum Golf “Cares” Corp. where he will be providing motivational speaking to schools and mentoring programs in addition to offering free golf lessons to youth.
Carter began to build his legacy at the age of 10, because he feared no one would hire him because of his diagnosis. Those fears were real! Carter was the target of intense bullying due to his Autism, until one day he PASSIONATELY expressed to his teachers, “I am going to kill myself if one more person bullies me."
But, through his therapy and playing golf, he gained his confidence, which ultimately led him to designing his own line of golf apparel.
Carter hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit the nonprofit Healing Arts Institute of South Florida, which was founded in his honor by his mother, Dr. Thelma Tennie licensed marriage and family therapist. The nonprofit offers No-Cost mental health services primarily to youth 22 and under and their families, across the State of Florida.
Carter began a whirlwind of media coverage after displaying his line of apparel at the PGA Show in Orlando and sharing his story, appearing on The Golf Channel, Golf Life TV, PGA magazine, Club and Result Business magazine, Europe Times News, Golf weekly and USAToday.com, Golf Central Magazine, City of Fort Lauderdale Chamber newsletter, and North Central Florida Golfer Magazine.
Carter was featured in a Spotlight Segment on, ESPN West Palm, ESPN Radio 106.3, WPTV-Channel 5 News, WSVN-Channel 7 News in Miami and 2 segments on NBC. His story led to an invite to the Chubb Classic in Naples, FL, where he received unprecedented access to Legendary Pro Golfer Ernie Els. Media from all over the world watched as Carter walked the course with the Hall of Famer, while he was playing in the tournament. Els’s son is also autistic. Carter also had a chip competition with Pro Golfer Alex Cejka, losing by just a couple inches.
Carter is also a giver. Donating swag at the Chubb Classic with Jr. golfers from the organization First Tee, who then invited him to attend the Honda Classic.
Carter enjoys sharing his story and welcomes opportunities to speak to inspire others and conduct golfing demonstrations wherever he goes.
