Heavenly snowboard instructor gives autistic South Lake Tahoe boy "time of his life"

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The friendship between a Heavenly Mountain resort snowboard instructor and a 10-year-old autistic South Lake Tahoe boy has flourished on the slopes this winter.

Kai Simon-Litton is in the fourth grade at Sierra House Elementary School and has always enjoyed snowboarding. His dad and grandpa take him up on the hill when they can, so he has good skills. Autism is a social and communication disorder, but those with it can have amazing gross motor skills as Kai does.

Sierra House and the other South Lake Tahoe elementary schools have a partnership with Heavenly, and students in the fourth grade get a few days on the slopes with an instructor. Since Kai had skills, he was able to pair off one-on-one with an instructor instead of being part of a bigger group.

Kai's instructor was Cailyr Blackstock of the Heavenly Ski and Snowboard School.

What transformed on the slopes gave Kai the time of his life thanks to Cailyr's dedication and friendship.

"Cailyr was so rad, he believed in me," exclaimed Kai.

Kai's mom Amanda Simon said Kai had the best two days of his life during the Sierra House time on the slopes.

Those two days have turned into a season of friendship on the slopes between the pair. One day the family ran into Cailyr and Kai noticed him right away. Kai asked his mentor for his phone number. Cailyr told the family how good of a snowboarder Kai was, but since he cannot be on a team due to his autism he offered to take Kai back up on the hill for two or three hours at no charge.

That first day has turned into many, all continuing to change the life of Kai.

Cailyr let Heavenly know what he was doing during his free time with Kai. He had experience with Special Olympics in his home state of Arizona and Amanda says he has "amazing skills by being a kind guy."

"He rides with him, teaches him like a big brother relationship, and I know he is safe," said Amanda, who is a special education teacher at Sierra House and autism advocate. "Their relationship has grown, and Cailyr has learned to communicate with Kai on the level he is at."

Amanda said Kai is flourishing and learning how to navigate better because of the winter with Cailyr.

"He may not know exactly how much he impacted my son's life," she said.

It has been a tough few years for Kai. Navigating through COVID-19 was tough for someone with Autism. The family moved to a smaller school district in Smith Valley, Nevada at the time, but the district got rid of their special needs classes, and the teachers Kai had grown fond of all left (Amanda has been dating South Lake Tahoe Fire Battalion Chief Karl Koeppen for the last six-plus years).

"He is still traumatized by it," said Amanda of the experience.

They moved back to South Lake Tahoe where they could reintroduce Kai into a proper environment.

Most autistic and other special needs students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District attend Sierra House. They have a dedicated staff for the kids, and the other students in the school have embraced them.

Being with Cailyr this year has given Kai a chance to heal. It has been healing to be outside and he will remember the feelings and emotions he had with his friend.

"This has been an awesome experience," said Amanda.