FWCC Member Profile - Brayton Luginbill

 

If actions speak louder than words — and most people will agree they do — then Brayton Luginbill is coming through, loudly and clearly, to his friends at the Fort Wayne Curling Club.

Brayton has Autism and is non-verbal, so his statements have been made through his performances on the curling ice over the past 10 years. Through the Down’s Syndrome Association of Northeast Indiana (DSANI), Brayton’s parents, Jill and Scott Luginbill, learned about the club and its team competition for those with disabilities.



“We knew what curling was, but we didn’t know much about it,” Jill, who is a quality engineer for a Berne automotive parts manufacturer, said of those early days. In a recent interview, she related that she and Scott were initially reluctant to make the hour-long drive to Fort Wayne from the family farm Scott manages in rural Willshire, Ohio. But they knew it would provide a chance for their son, then 12 years old, to try something new and different, so they gave the ice a chance. It’s a decision they’ve never regretted.

“It’s a phenomenal program,” Jill said of the club’s adaptive curling choice, which has ice time reserved on Sunday afternoons. “We’re so excited that Brayton has had this opportunity.  From the start, we knew he was enjoying it because he was always up and ready to go on Sunday. It is recreational therapy for him.”

Brayton enjoys sports. He has played challenger baseball in Mercer County and has been active in basketball, pairs golf, and powerlifting in the Special Olympics program. All three Luginbills relish Brayton’s opportunity to compete and value the friendship and support they’ve found from people at the Curling Club.

“It’s so positive there,” she said of the atmosphere at the club’s facility on Wells Street. “From the moment we first walked through the door we’ve felt welcome there.”

Brayton uses a push stick to propel the 40-pound curling stone and wields the broom when he’s sweeper for his four-person team. That assistance is the “adaptive” aspect of play. Club members are the coaches, and Brayton competes with and against his peers.

“He has built some phenomenal relationships,” Jill said. “The afternoons are kind of an open-gym format — busy but very relaxed. We’re so grateful that Brayton has been able to develop connections with people outside the core group that’s with him away from the club. It’s important to his well-being.”

And having members like Brayton Luginbill is, obviously, just as meaningful to everyone at the Fort Wayne Curling Club.

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