CT athlete starts basketball organization to spread autism awareness

A 22-year-old Norwalk woman with a love for basketball is promoting inclusivity on the court.

Carsyn Langhorn, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 10, started Carsyn’s Corner in 2023 to advocate for and connect with neurodivergent athletes like herself.

Through the organization, which is in the planning stages, Langhorn plans to host basketball clinics and team-building exercises, and give talks at schools to teach teachers and students how to be more inclusive toward neurodivergent athletes.

“(The goal is to) get everyone to come together and make new friends that are a little more unique,” ​​she said.

Langhorn says she started the sport at age 2 when her father put a small basketball in her hand. She trained with a personal coach in Bridgeport and played on the Norwalk High School team.

“It makes me feel like I can just be myself and do what I love,” she said of basketball.

However, Carsyn felt there was a ‘disconnect’ between her and her teammates due to her social skills and said being excluded from training damaged her self-esteem. That culminated senior year when she was the only senior on the team not nominated for captain.

“I feel like maybe they (her coaches) could have (taken) the time to talk to me and try to get to know me and keep an open mind,” she said.

Now earning her associate degree from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, she built Carsyn’s Corner independently with her neurodiversity/disability advisor, Vinnie Stars.

They are currently building the website and raising money for the organization.

“Carson just has such a way of speaking and articulating thoughtfully, purposefully and passionately. And she represents the voices of so many people who are losing connection with what they love,” said Stars.

Langhorn’s advocacy for athletes with autism began long before Carsyn’s Corner. In April 2021, she told her story in a video interview with National Basketball Association All-Star and former New York Knicks player John Starks for his foundation, which provides grants to high school students going to college.

“I remember the first time I saw you play. And I saw you warming up, and you were practically shooting from half court. Downing shots,” he told her in the video.

Langhorn said she had the honor of shooting hoops and having an honest conversation with Starks, who she connected with through a mutual friend.

“I felt inspired by him,” she said.

Stars said the goal of Carsyn’s Corner basketball workshops is to help neurodivergent people build their self-confidence and learn how to deal with obstacles.

Many people with autism, she said, make interests part of their identity because it’s their way of navigating the world. But people’s lack of understanding about what it’s like to be on the spectrum can leave them feeling isolated.

“I just want people to know they are not alone. And I don’t want people to ever in their lives feel the same way I felt during my basketball career or my teaching career,” she said.