When Doug and Maureen Reilly first became Healthplex^® Sports Club members, they had simple fitness goals they hoped the Center would help them meet.  “We still have those goals,” says Doug, “but we now have important goals for our children, especially (6-year-old) Ben, who has some occupational therapy issues.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Ben is one child in every 166 who is diagnosed with autism. His condition has changed Doug and Maureen’s lives in ways they never would have expected.

When you ask Ben what his dad does for a living, he will tell you that his dad builds helicopters for Boeing – the coolest job in the world. Doug is quick to add that he not only is proud to be an engineer on Boeing’s Osprey program, but also is dedicated to his unpaid job as volunteer president of the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Chapter of the Cure Autism Now (CAN) Foundation. The chapter – in its fourth year – is one of 12 across the country and one of the largest with over 5,000 members.

Doug and Maureen, an attorney at Sungard Corporation, need the energy that exercise at the Healthplex® gives them as they prepare for the biggest fund-raising event of the year – the Walk Now Philadelphia 5K Walk, which took place on Oct. 1 in Philadelphia (and attracted 10,000 people).

“After I get home from Boeing and put the kids to bed, I begin my volunteer work as president of our CAN chapter,” Doug says.

These days, that work consists of building the chapter and organizing teams for the walk.  “It’s our biggest event to raise money for autism research.” 

Ben and Maureen are appreciative of the support Healthplex^® gives to the local CAN Chapter and to Ben; their 4-year-old daughter, Maddie; and themselves.

The Fischers originally chose Healthplex^® because of its cleanliness and the expertise and friendliness of the staff. Now, there are even more reasons. 

According to Maureen: “The people at the center have been very receptive to our therapy needs. They even worked with us to bring in Ben’s therapist.”

“That was huge,” adds Doug. “Without their understanding and willingness to help, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve some of the occupational therapy goals we had for our son.”  

Maureen offers an example:  “Children with autism get a lot of sensory feedback by being in the water. But originally, getting Ben into the pool was a challenge. Ben’s therapist came with us to the Center to see if she could help.” 

The therapist had an idea. She knew Ben was obsessed with letters and numbers, and she got him into the pool by tossing foam-backed letters and numbers in the water and convinced him to go swimming “just like what the letters are doing.”

The idea worked, and now Ben enjoys the pool as much as he enjoys tennis, running, climbing the rock wall, and playing ski ball in the kid’s room.

That means a lot to Doug and Maureen. “The Healthplex^® Sports Club is supporting our family, as well as other people in the autism community. We spend a lot of time at the Healthplex^®, and it’s good to know we’re welcome and supported here.”