Cool thing Deron Williams is doing: Williams will host 65 families affected by autism in quiet suites at Barclays Center on April 11th, according to the Associated Press. From the report:
“If people don’t know about the disease, it’s hard to control some of the kids,” Williams said. “There’s different levels of the spectrum and some kids are bothered by loud noise and ruckus, and so if they can get in a setting where they can kind of be away from it, it makes it a little easier and allows the parents to relax a little bit more and just allow them to enjoy it.”
Williams and wife Amy adopted D.J., who turns 5 next month, while the former Jazz star was still playing in Utah. D.J. was diagnosed with autism nearly three years ago, and Williams shifted much of the focus of his Point of Hope foundation toward raising awareness and funding for research of the disorder.
An ambassador for Autism Speaks, Williams has taped a spot for NBA Cares that will run during all nationally televised games Tuesday and Wednesday, which is World Autism Awareness Day. The Empire State Building is among a number of landmarks and NBA arenas that will be lit blue that night, while Williams and the Nets are playing the Knicks at the nearby Madison Square Garden.
Williams will wear blue sneakers in April and auction them off to benefit Autism Speaks at the end of the month.
Williams’s five-year-old adopted son D.J. was diagnosed with autism three years ago.
Associated Press – Nets’ Williams hosting families affected by autism
