With Autism Awareness Month winding down, the Wyler Racing #60 Wyler.com Toyota will carry special Autism Speaks logos during the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 race weekend at Kansas Speedway on April 25 and 26. One of the team members that is affected personally by autism is driver Terry Cook. Cook’s son Cody has recently been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified, or PDD-NOS. “It is very personal for us because of our son Cody,” Cook said. “We are very fortunate because Cody’s diagnosis isn’t as severe as other cases. But when we heard the doctor tell us that he was on the autism spectrum, it was very scary. Like a lot of people in our generation, our only exposure to autism was the movie ” Rain Man. ” But we’ve done a lot of research and educated ourselves. The key thing for us was early intervention. Because of that the doctors and specialists we’ve seen say our son has a much better chance at living a ‘normal’ life. That’s part of the message we want to deliver. If you think there is the slightest issue with your child, please get it checked out. It could be that there’s nothing wrong, but if there is it’s not something that will get better by itself. Early intervention is very important.(Wyler Racing PR)(4-16-2008)
