How ESPN and Dan Orlovsky’s Son, Madden, Created a Moment of ‘Pure Happiness’ in Celebration of World Autism Awareness Day

Usually the graphics of NFL Live, ESPN’s daily NFL studio show, showcase teams from around the league or topics that host Laura Rutledge or analysts such as Dan Orlovsky, Ryan Clark, Mina Kimes, or Marcus Spears are discussing.

But on Wednesday’s episode, the graphics were a bit different.

On yesterday’s episode, Orlovsky’s 13-year-old son, Madden, who is autistic, created graphics for NFL Live in celebration of World Autism Awareness Day. The graphics were made up of Madden’s drawings, which led to a full episode of beautiful moments on the ESPN broadcast.

“We got in the car yesterday and he has a piece of paper where all the emotions were drawn and I said, ‘Hey, how did you feel today?’ And he pointed to happy. And then I said, ‘When you saw your drawings, how did you feel?’ And he pointed to proud,” Orlovsky said. “I was telling people yesterday that the time we were in studio was the most present he’s been in a long time. That’s not to say he’s not present. He’s a great kid, but the most like locked in present… just pure happiness.”

The idea to use Madden’s drawings was the brainchild of Tim Farrell, the director of NFL Live, who came to Orlovsky last year with the idea.

“Last June, Dan tweeted out a video of a storyboard that his son had created. It was a drawing of the first time Woody and Buzz meet in Toy Story, and his tweet said, ‘Autism is his superpower. What’s yours?’ Having a connection with autism in my family, it just kind of resonated with me,” Farrell said. “The best way I can describe it is that a lightbulb moment occurred and I thought, ‘Wait, what if we had him design our entire studio?’ He could do it for World Autism Awareness Day and use it to celebrate the superpowers that people with autism bring to world.”

Ferrell added that it’s a “moment that will stay with me for my entire career.”

One moment, in particular, stood out. That was when Madden and his father sang a duet to the iconic “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from the Pixar animated classic.

“It was a moment when all the other things in life, which sometimes get in the way, didn’t,” Orlovsky said. “I told my wife, all the years of driving to a speech therapist, occupational therapist, a behavior therapist, all the people that have impacted Madden’s life, all the decisions, all the long moments, it was all encapsulated in that… He was so flawlessly presenting it, unashamed, totally in the moment. You see every emotion you could imagine all wrapped up into one.”

Farrell feels that this moment can help those in the autistic community and beyond.

“They each have their own superpower and it’s moments like this that they can show it off,” he said. “I hope that this inspires more autistic kids to show the world what their superpower is.”

As for Orlovsky, the moment was one of celebration for his family as well as for his community at ESPN.

“I think it highlighted the people behind the scenes at ESPN that have great visions and great hearts and are great people. It was also about being a part of a team. Madden doesn’t get there without a great team behind him. My wife, his siblings, all the teachers that he’s had,” he said. “And yesterday most definitely doesn’t happen without the team at ESPN.”