Anton Jones, a sophomore at Hazelwood East High School, is a young man of few words when it comes to his favorite sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good\u201d is what he said about why he likes basketball, but he also likes basketball because he has a lot of friends on his team.<\/p>\n
In July, Jones, who is autistic, is going to Lincoln, Neb., for the Special Olympics National Games as a member of Team Missouri. He had a little more to say about the upcoming experience. \u201cI\u2019m excited about Nebraska because I want to win the game,\u201d Jones said with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
His mother, Christie Mitchum, said he has been playing basketball since he was nine years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, Anton\u2019s team has had the same players, for the most part. They play well together. There is a variety of needed skills that each player possesses on his team. They are a good group of kids who have shown good sportsmanship with each other and the opposition,\u201d said Mitchum.<\/p>\n
She also spoke of the impact that Special Olympics has had on her son.<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside of sports, Special Olympics has affected his communication and social skills in a positive way. His personality has changed dramatically over the years, he\u2019s friendly and is not afraid to talk to people or give them a hug,\u201d said Mitchum.<\/p>\n
At school, Jones has a few favorite classes, such as science, modern media and gym. He likes to read Greek mythology when he goes to the library, and he\u2019s taking drama as an elective.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a great speaking voice,\u201d said his teacher Ann Wilkins of Special School District. \u201cHe has fabulous reading skills and a strong voice, so he\u2019s often our narrator during performances.\u201d She said he will \u201cread anything you put in front of him and he has an amazing memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilkins started working with Jones as a freshman. She describes his character as always positive and ready with a smile. \u201cHe works well with his peers and especially enjoys talking to teachers and staff. Many staff will say that Anton makes them smile, which is something that is always appreciated with our hectic jobs. He has that kind of effect on people. He has really grown over the last two years and is willing to try and learn different things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnton does a great job of keeping everyone on track, including myself. He is forever reminding us about events at school, upcoming holidays, etc. He has a very business-like approach to work and he will often redirect us if we get distracted or move to another subject during a lesson. He\u2019ll say \u2018OK, enough, time to get back to work now,\u2019\u201d said Wilkins.<\/p>\n
His involvement in the classroom and sports \u201cshows him as a teenager and a student,\u201d said Wilkins. \u201cHe has things he\u2019s good at, he has interests, extracurricular things he does, so he\u2019s not just someone who is autistic. Autism looks different in each individual,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Recently, a trivia night fundraiser was held at the Knights of Columbus to raise money for Team Missouri. Wilkins and other staff members from Hazelwood East High participated to support Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe seemed to have a great time and was very happy about all of the people who were there to support him,\u201d said Wilkins. \u00a0(story courtesy of Hazelwood Communications Dept.) <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anton Jones, a sophomore at Hazelwood East High School, is a young man of few words when it comes to his favorite sport. \u201cIt\u2019s good\u201d is what he said about why he likes basketball, but he also likes basketball because he has a lot of friends on his team. In July, Jones, who is autistic, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-school-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n