Cerebral Palsy

They have a child and the courage to start a program.'' That is certainly the case for Anathan, whose 7-year-old son Ajai is a high-functioning child on the autism scale.

But Anathan does not play the doting parent.

On Saturday, he and another parent secured the nets to the soccer goals before the players arrived.

Once the players and parents had gathered, Anathan had them engage in a series of warm-ups that a player could expect at any ''regular'' soccer practice.

Anathan even encouraged the children on proper striking of the ball for shooting and passing.

And these kids weren't bad.

Sean Thorpe, 7, of Orefield, blasted a shot into the side panel of the goal that drew applause from parents.

Tyler Chubenko, 14, who attends Lower Macungie Middle School, boomed his first shot over the crossbar, but buried his second shot into the netting.

Anathan is thrilled that the program has more then doubled in size for the spring season, drawing a new set of youngsters, including Jon Dika, whose father played the game in Germany.

''If I had gotten information about this earlier, Jon would have been signed up in the fall,'' said his mom, Flutura, who found out about the program from Mary Jean Stankoski, a speech therapist with Carbon-Lehigh IU 20.

Stankoski serves as the team manager, collecting photo forms and arranging pizza parties as well as r...

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