Hi there! My name is Taylor Duncan, it's very nice to meet you! I'm an American motivational speaker, baseball coach, autism activist, award-winning nonprofit leader, and founder of Alternative Baseball: one of the fastest growing organizations providing an authentic baseball experience for teens and adults ages 15+ with autism and other special needs for social and physical skills enrichment for life on and off the baseball diamond.

Growing up in a rural-suburban community wasn’t always easy for me. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 4. When I was much younger, I experienced a lot of sensory issues, speech issues, and anxiety issues which kept me out of traditional sports due to a lot of those developmental delays. As I got older, I would face a lot of social stigma where I had to persevere through the perceptions of what one with autism can accomplish from both classmates and youth athletic coaches. I was often denied opportunities, cut from teams, and encouraged to quit on several occasions growing up. With the help of my Mother, teachers, mentors, and the Lord Jesus Christ, I have powered through most of those obstacles… and have POWERED THROUGH THE PERCEPTION!

I would then travel across the Southeast region seeking instruction and knowledge from some of the best in baseball and slowpitch softball. As I came back from a slowpitch Spring Training with the Pros camp in Kissimmee, Florida in 2014, an idea soon hit that would become reality… I asked, “Why are there not more opportunities for people like myself on the autism spectrum to play traditional baseball?” I soon realized it was time to stand up for a population who, in many areas, are severely underserved for equal opportunity. It was time to start a new movement and inspire change within the sport of baseball.

I started the first ALTERNATIVE BASEBALL practice during the first week of March, 2016. Some had a lot of prior experience playing, others had never played before… and that was absolutely OK. The goal was (and still, to this day, is) to provide a new environment which accepts players for who they are, encourages them to be the best they can be, and instills the confidence to fulfill dreams. Today, the program has expanded to serve those in many more communities. The program boasts 25+ teams in 13 states and we're always looking for new players and volunteers to bring the program to other communities.

Today, I travel across the United States promoting the importance of inclusion and the opportunity for others, like myself, with autism (and other special needs) to experience traditional baseball for the very first time. My goal is to inspire those individuals to take a chance and try something new, to convince those who’ve always been told “can’t” that they can, and to promote the importance of inclusion in sports and beyond into other facets of everyday life…. I’d love to come to your community to spread the word…

You may ask, WHY!?

BECAUSE INCLUSION MATTERS…