The Gesture Worth a Thousand Words

Maddux Graham hadn’t inherited his father’s gift of gab. He wasn’t blessed with Danny’s quintessential Southern penchant for weaving a colorful yarn. He couldn’t have everyday conversations, much less pepper them with the kind of metaphors that have you pulling your chair closer to hang on every melodic note and chord.

Maddux was minimally verbal, a characteristic of his brand of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). And yet, that didn’t stop him from reaching across the aisle — figuratively speaking — to the neurotypical. Neither did it keep him from being the silent, driving force behind Ag for Autism, an organization that’s giving pathways — and hope — to families like the Grahams.

“For someone who didn’t say much, he impacted a whole lot of people,” Danny says.

It was sometime around 2012 when a physician confirmed what Danny and Nicole Graham had suspected about their firstborn son. It nevertheless came as a “punch to the gut,” Danny recalls. Maddux was autistic.

“All you get is a diagnosis, a pat on the back and a ‘good luck with it,’” Danny says. “There’s no road map.”

Or at least there wasn’t. Danny and a few others set their sights on helping other families navigate the challenges of the disorder. As the owner of DNG Seed in Paragould, Arkansas, he had the ability to pitch their idea to his friends and customers in the agriculture community — that was the springboard to Ag for Autism, an organization that offers support, guidance and the all-important “road map” to families dealing with ASD.

To date, Ag for Autism has raised more than $1 million, handed out hundreds of grants and taken countless phone calls, regardless of when they come in. A testament to Danny and the others who are its lifeblood, Ag for Autism has gone well beyond agriculture. Case in point: A motorcycle club is now on board after deciding, “This is as good a wagon as I can hook my horse to,” Danny says.

He’s humbled by those acts of kindness. “When you don’t have a dog in the fight, but you still put forth the effort ….” His voice trails off.

It’s the kind of grassroots advocacy that’s reshaping ASD services in northeast Arkansas. It’s also lifting up Carter Graham, Danny and Nicole’s younger son. More than one sibling can be afflicted — it’s not uncommon — Danny explains. Carter, who will turn 15 in May, isn’t as “severe” as his brother, but he nevertheless is on the spectrum.

“Each one of them is unique. That’s where we recognized the struggle,” Danny says.

Indeed, if anyone knows an uphill climb when he sees one, it’s Danny. Maddux succumbed last year to a drowning accident.

“He’s missed by the whole community,” Danny says, his voice unusually quiet now.

Danny and Nicole have given each other grace to process their grief as they need to. For Nicole, that means time alone. For Danny, there is comfort in amping up his work with Ag for Autism.

“It has sparked me to do more,” he says. “It’s one of the few things that gives me enjoyment.