Christina O'Connor | The Roanoke Times

Gateway Christian Academy senior Wesley Heckendorn helps teach classes at the American Martial Arts Center in Blacksburg, holding a bag as children practice jump kicks in class. Heckendorn, who had autism as a child, recently earned his black belt in martial arts and is no longer considered autistic.

BLACKSBURG -- Wesley Heckendorn struggled in learning how to ride a bike. Interpreting facial expressions proved challenging. Gripping a pencil and mastering the art of jumping jacks were just as difficult.

"Nothing was typical," said his mother, Nancy Heckendorn. "Everything was delayed."

Wesley first underwent occupational and physical therapy for autism at three years old. With time and continued therapy for motor and sensory skills, his condition, one of several classified by the American Psychiatric Association as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), improved.

As adolescence approached, so did a new challenge.

"The physical therapist said she had done everything that she could do for him, pretty much," said Nancy Heckendorn, "so it was time to move on to something else."

Something else for Heckendorn turned out to be martial arts lessons at the American Martial Arts Center in Blacksburg. Heckendorn, now 18, typically spends three nights a week there -- two taking lessons and one teaching preschool-aged children. Just over five years into the program, Heckendorn, whose instructor Dave Ramsey says he still "has it a little tougher" than most of his students, earned a black belt.

He was awarded the distinction over the summer and presented a certificate by Ramsey at a ceremony in September.

"To me, Wesley's a very exceptional individual," said Ramsey, who has about 100 students ranging from teens to adults. "I can see how much he has to overcome compared to other students coming into the class."

Heckendorn admits that the lessons were tough at first, especially considering the nature of the sport. Martial arts, known in their simplest form as systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat, demands a high level of efficiency in motor coordination and body movements -- the main physical limitations Nancy Heckendorn said her son experienced the most as a child.

Martial arts did as much for Wesley Heckendorn's spirit as his motor skills.

"I've stuck to it just because it really helps with my focus," he said. "It helps with my determination. All in all, it makes me, I guess, a more improved person, you can say."

Heckendorn, a senior at Gateway Christian Academy in Blacksburg, improved almost from the very beginning, his instructor said. A black belt may have been a long shot, but it was one worth shooting for.

"I definitely knew he had a lot of hard work ahead of him," Ramsey said. "I could tell by what he put into it he was going to able to achieve that level."

Before Heckendorn could reach the next level in martial arts, he reached a different level in his prognosis. But it didn't happen overnight.

Signs of Wesley's condition began in infancy. Nancy Heckendorn said she first became worried about her son when she noticed his sleeping habits.

"Right away, he never slept," said Heckendorn, who added that her son was all but restless for the first six or seven years of his life. "So I'd have to hold him down in the crib to make him stop moving long enough so he could fall asleep."

When he reached preschool age, things got more complicated. Children with a PDD often experience delays in social development. Wesley was no exception.

"The preschool said they didn't want to take him anymore," his mother said. "They said they couldn't handle him because he wasn't interacting with the other kids and stuff."

By age 11, Heckendorn's life was closer to normal. Gradual improvements through various therapies over the years led to a new diagnosis: specific learning disabilities in certain subjects.

Today, he is no longer considered autistic. He drives a car, takes guitar lessons and will attempt to make the Gateway Christian basketball team when try-outs begin in a few weeks. He plans to attend New River Valley Community College next fall after graduation.

He believes his biggest physical challenges are a thing of the past.

"Most people that had that, they've had it their entire lives," he said. "I've ran into some people of a medical background ,and they've heard about it and they're surprised. They said really nobody recovers from that and you actually did."

Earning a black belt was a major testament to that recovery.

"It's something I've been working towards for a large part of my life. I mean, you know, it was finally there in September. It was a little bit of a shock: Wow, I actually have this now."