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 KENT, Ohio - Kent State University has become the first university in the country to sign a student with autism to play division one sports. 
 
 Kalin Bennett, a 6' 10" Little Rock Arkansas native, has signed a letter of intent to play with the Golden Flashes after playing high school basketball for Little Rock Christian Academy and, most recently, for Link Year Prep in Branson, Missouri. 
 
 Bennett's high school coach, Clarence Finley, said that Bennett was special in many ways. He believes he was successful, in part, because he was not treated differently than any of the other students in his school. 
 
 "If someone has autism they will let them get away with the little bitty things, no. We held him accountable on the court, we held him accountable in the classroom and I think that's what made him so super," said Finley. 
 
 His high school coach also credited Bennett's mother for making sure he was given the opportunity to succeed. 
 
 "By the time he left, it was no doubt that he was going to be very special, that he was going to be able to compete at any level he wanted to compete in, both academically and athletically," said Finley. 
 
 Kent State would not talk about Bennett specifically, citing NCAA rules, because he is still considered a recruit. 
 
 Gina Campana, the Assistant Director of Assessment and Research for the University's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion did talk directly with Bennett and his mother during their selection process. 
 
 "I've talked to a lot of students that choose Kent State because of the initiatives that we have here for students who are on the spectrum," said Campana. 
 
 These efforts include providing a quiet space for students to study and a student group that pairs students with autism up with other students in an environment where they are equals. 
 
 As a mother of a Kent student with autism herself, Campana said she can communicate with parents of other students who have autism in a way that only they can completely understand. 
 
 She said she does not like to see autism as a disability but as a "super power" and said there is no doubt that students who are on the autistic spectrum can succeed at anything, including basketball. 
 
 "If they want to be in video design, computer science or art, or whatever they want to do. absolutely anybody who is on an autism spectrum can get a college degree. And, they can come and get that done here, at Kent State, and we will support them," said Campana. 
 
 Bennett is currently enrolled at Link Year Prep in Branson, Missouri. He was playing basketball on the road in Arkansas and could not be reached on Wednesday. 
 
 In online videos he said he would like to use his opportunity to inspire others. 
 
 He is expected to be enrolled at Kent in the summer of 2019. 
 
 More on Kent State University, here. ||||| Dribbling during warm ups, Kalin Bennett flashes a smile before a game Nov. 10, 2018, against Labette Community College at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Bennett plays at Link Year Prep and has committed to playing next season at Kent State. (Ryan Weaver, Special to The Plain Dealer) 
 
 KENT, Ohio - Kalin Bennett may not be a game-changer at Kent State University. But Kent State could be a life-changer for Kalin Bennett. And if he has his way, he’ll change the lives of others, too. 
 
 
 
 Bennett is a 6-10, 300-pound basketball recruit from Little Rock, Arkansas, and he has autism. Once labeled a child who might never speak or walk, he is readying himself to break new ground. Earlier this month, Bennett became the first student-athlete with autism to sign a national letter of intent to play a team sport at the NCAA Division I level, according to the NCAA. He’ll enroll at Kent State next summer. 
 
 He is coming with more than basketball on his mind. 
 
 
 
 “I want to make an impact not just on the court, but with kids that are struggling with the same things I am,’’ Bennett said. “I want to use this platform to inspire other kids with autism and non-autism. I want to let them know, hey, if I can do this, you can do it, too. A lot of times they feel alone and by themselves, and I felt that same way growing up.’’ 
 
 
 
 Recruited by several other colleges, he chose Kent State in large part because of its growing initiative with autism support on its campus. 
 
 
 
 “Going there and seeing that (support) opened some doors I haven’t really thought about in a while,’’ Bennett said of a recruiting visit in September during which he wowed Kent coaches and officials as much as they impressed him. 
 
 
 
 “He is really a phenomenal human being,’’ said Gina Campana, Kent State’s assistant director of the Autism Initiative for Research, Education and Outreach. 
 
 
 
 “A light emanates from this young man. We’re going to be lucky to get him at Kent State.’’ 
 
 
 
 Bennett has been supported closely for all of his life by an encouraging mother, Sonja Bennett, while attending Little Rock Christian, a small, close-knit school in his hometown. Moving 900 miles to live among 23,000 students in Kent is a collective leap of faith for Bennett, Kent State and the KSU basketball program. 
 
 
 
 Yet there is no trepidation from any of them for the journey ahead.
– Kalin Bennett is 6-foot-10, weighs 300 pounds, and has proven to be a force on the basketball court throughout his high school playing days in Little Rock, Ark. No surprise, then, that he's signed a letter of intent to play Division I basketball with Kent State. But as Cleveland.com reports, Bennett stands out for one more reason: He has autism. In fact, Bennett is the first autistic student-athlete to sign on for a team sport of any kind on the Division I level, according to the NCAA. The 18-year-old, who didn't start talking until age 7, says he hopes to be a role model. "I want to make an impact not just on the court, but with kids that are struggling with the same things I am," he tells the newspaper. "I want to let them know, hey, if I can do this, you can do it, too." (See an interview with him here.) Bennett will live in a dorm, though his mother is moving to Kent, Ohio, to be closer to him and help with the transition. The university is known for its support of autistic students, including an initiative to pair each one with a non-autistic student, notes Fox 8 Cleveland. (Brain scans might help with earlier diagnoses.)