SFN Dad To Dad 424 - Pat Wire of Crystal Lake, IL High School Teacher, Varsity Baseball Coach & Father of 4, Including One With Autism

SFN Dad To Dad 424 - Pat Wire of Crystal Lake, IL High School Teacher, Varsity Baseball Coach & Father of 4, Including One With Autism

From Dad to Dad Podcast by David Hirsch

April 3, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

Pat Wire shares his experiences as a father of a child with autism and a high school baseball coach.

Our guest this week is Pat Wire, of Crystal Lake, IL a social studies teacher at Barrington High School, long-time head coach of the Barrington Broncos High School varsity baseball team and father of four, including a son with autism. Pat and his wife, Leane, are the proud parents of four children: Gabrielle (19), Bobbi (17), Shaelyn (12) and Preston (11) who is autistic and non-verbal. Pat has been coaching for nearly three decades and at the high school level for more than two decades. Pat reflects on how much Preston has taught him about; parenting, patience, himself and what's important in life. The big take away? Parents of a child with special abilities need to use the child's yardstick to measure the child's progress vs. the one they might have used for themselves. We’ll hear all about Pat, his open and transparent views on parenting and life, all on this episode of the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast. Show Notes - Phone – (847) 754-0138 Email – PWire@barrington220.org Order your copy of the new 21CD book: Dads Raising Chidlren With Special Needs & Disabilities: A Guide For 21st Century Dads on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4tdvjcv Join 21CD on the SFN U.S. Tour , a 30 day, 50 state…

People in this episode

Host: David Hirsch

Guest: Pat Wire

Topics covered

  • parenting
  • autism
  • coaching
  • special needs
  • family

Keywords

  • autism
  • parenting
  • special needs
  • coaching
  • family

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Barrington High School, Special Fathers Network

Places: Crystal Lake, IL, Barrington

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