Fredericton Best Buddies family receives Champions of Inclusion award

All seven members of a Fredericton family have been given an award to recognize their commitment to inclusion for children with disabilities.

The Pyke family has made inclusion part of their high school experience.

Liam Pyke is the co-president of Best Buddies at Leo Hayes High School.

The program pairs students without disabilities with those who have them. Together they share lunch and go to events outside of school.

"We make sure they have someone to hang out with, and make sure they have a peer," Pyke said. "It makes their lives a lot easier, it makes their parents' lives a lot easier, because their parents know that they come to school, involved."

Leo Hayes High School has the largest Best Buddies program in Atlantic Canada with 100 students involved.

Liam is one of five siblings who have thrown themselves into the program, pushing for inclusion.

His older sister made a video about getting rid of the word "retarded" and his parents helped get the Best Buddies program started.

The Pyke family so impressed faculty advisor Tanya McBride, she nominated them for the Champions of Inclusion award from the New Brunswick Association for Community Living.

They won.

Brother has severe autism

"I've known the Pyke family since I started working here at Leo Hayes," McBride said.

"So it has been several years, and for the eight years we've had Best Buddies, there's always been at least one Pyke member in Best Buddies club. Two have been presidents, all of them have been fabulous contributors to the program."

Liam's older brother Ethan has severe autism. Their mother, Theresa Pyke, says the Best Buddies program introduced Ethan to his first real friend, Kaitlyn.

Theresa Pyke says Ethan set the tone for the family and she's proud of all her kids.

"I think they're all much stronger, they're better people because of Ethan," she said. "I think the child that needed so much, was really the one that taught all of us so much more about life."

The Pyke family was given the Champions of Inclusion award Friday night at Fredericton's Crowne Plaza.