Speeding to the Finish Line: Boy with Autism Races like a Pro
Wynne Bloom poses with his midget racing car at Oaklane Quarter Midget Racing club in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Photo by Melina Walling from Bucks County Courier Times.
After his Asperger’s diagnosis at the age of four, Wynne Bloom’s parents began noticing his fascination with cars.
His mom Jennifer Bloom would buy him car magazines to peak his interests and even his elementary school kept him curious with an assembly on racing. She also recalls the spark in his eyes when he was retelling what he learned. Then, Bloom had an idea following a trip to a midget racing car event: Let her son try racing.
Years later, the 9-year-old has multiple first-place trophies for his racing in the Oaklane Quarter Midget Racing club in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
“Racing has given him a direction,” Bloom said in an interview with Bucks County Courier Times. “Watching him grow and accomplish things, and seeing him smile, is just everything.”
In the beginning of his training, Bloom said she worried about her son managing his anxiety.
Emily Witter, Wynne’s driving teacher, said that although he did encounter some frightening encounters regarding his safety while driving–he pushed through and didn’t give up.
“I’ve never seen a kid figure something out so quick like that,” Witter shared with the Bucks County Courier Times. “Normally it takes kids two or three weeks to really get going, but the minute he got in the car it just clicked.”
Wynne explained to the Bucks County Courier Times that he didn’t feel scared in his early days of racing. “When I was in rookie school, as soon as I went out onto the track I felt better,” Wynne told the Bucks County Courier Times. “It was just so fun to do.”
Since kick-starting his racing career, Bloom replied that her son has improved his social interactions by communicating with other junior drivers like himself and his peers at his elementary school.
From the bleachers, onlookers can spot Wynne’s car from the stickers he’s decorated it with–including a red autism awareness ribbon.
“People with Asperger’s can be overlooked—people don’t know how to approach the subject,” Bloom expressed in an interview published on Bucks County Courier Times. “[But Wynne] is extraordinary. And he has that magnetism that draws people to him. That makes him extra special.”