South Pointe’s Strait Herron ready for his championship hug

Immediately after a game, South Pointe football coach Strait Herron’s mind is swimming with thoughts about penalty flags, game plan execution, how his players acted in defeat or victory, and a hundred other issues.

Then his son, Dalton, appears. He leans in with his head turned to the side and embraces his dad.

Dalton is 14 years old and it’s been about 12 years since he was diagnosed with autism. Experts say many people with autism struggle expressing emotion and can’t tolerate physical contact, but the second half of that is not the case with Dalton. He’s an example of the array of ways autism manifests itself.

Any hug between Dalton and another person can mean one thing to Dalton and another to the recipient.

“There are some kids that don’t like touch. It’s a sensory thing,” said Brigitte Herron, Dalton’s mom and the coach’s wife. “But Dalton, we’re lucky, lucky, because he is a loving child. He’s almost too loving sometimes. If he sees somebody he likes, he’ll go up and give them a hug. The older he gets, the less appropriate it is.”

Dalton’s hugs are one of his few forms of expression. He’s nonverbal, outside of a few words, and uses about 50 sign language words and phrases to do most of his communicating. The Herrons have come to grips with his not speaking. Strait has stopped imploring his son to speak for fear that it may stunt his development.

But there are times when it’s very difficult, like when Dalton doesn’t feel well. Brigitte compared it to parents of newborns wishing their crying child would just tell them the problem.

“That is how we still feel with him,” she said. “Even with communication devices, emotion is the hardest thing for him to describe.”

A solid game plan

Herron knew something was different about Dalton very early on. He first thought it was a hearing problem, but Brigitte already suspected autism. One day as Dalton toddled past the kitchen table, Strait slammed his palm down. Dalton didn’t flinch.

After extensive testing in Columbia, 16-month-old Dalton was given his diagnosis.

There was initial shock, but there wasn’t an emotional breakdown or wallowing in grief from either parent. Strait Herron approached autism like he would any opposition, by constructing a game plan.

Long nights were spent in front of a glowing computer screen combing the internet, reaching out to support agencies and autism groups, and trying to learn.

“You want to get all the help you can because you want them to be functioning,” Brigitte said.

Now, Dalton participates in a special needs sports league, swims, and rides horses. He loves Disney movies and can spend hours on a couch captivated, if his parents would allow it. He also loves music, which seems to soothe him, and tantrums -- another hallmark of many children with autism -- are rare. A litany of medicines limit his stemming -- the compulsive actions that autistic people often display -- and help with his cranky stomach and attention issues.

Special education teachers in the Clover school district have played a huge role in his development, as has his sister, Sydney, who has been a crucial support for her parents but also treated her brother no differently than any non-autistic kid.

“He is functional. It took a good while to get there,” said Brigitte. “But just asking him stuff like, ‘how do you feel?’ That’s the kind of stuff I don’t know that we’ll know.”

Everything in perspective

Another common trait among children with autism is sensitivity to noise and light -- all things found in abundance at football games. Fortunately, the Friday night football environments don’t seem to bother Dalton.

His face lights up as the car pulls up to the stadium. He gets a Sprite and a bag of Skittles and can sit relatively still and watch the game with his mom.

Strait Herron will never coach his son on a football field. But Dalton’s presence at the games is a consolation.

“You’re in the game and things are going on and you’re focused on all that,” Strait said. “And when I see him, I hate to use the cliché, but it puts everything in perspective. It just reminds you of how lucky and blessed your players are, what you’re getting to do, knowing that he’s not gonna get that opportunity.”

If South Pointe beats Hartsville in the 4A state championship game in Columbia, there will be lots of hugs on the field after the game. And if the Stallions lose, their coach will be looking for one particular hug.

Dalton has made his parents and sister better people along the way. He’s raised their patience levels and helps keep life in stark perspective.

“The little things that people take for granted every day, we get excited when Dalton does them,” Brigitte said. “He’s taught us a lot.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "South Pointe’s Strait Herron ready for his championship hug."