How father, son with autism bonded through riding roller coasters

Tom Callsen calls it “one of the greatest gifts of fatherhood.”

There’s nothing particularly deep or philosophical about Callsen’s take on the key joys of being a father. This strictly has to do with the thrill of riding on hundreds of roller coasters with son Thomas over the past 20 years.

The “gift” part is emphasized because Tom was able to find something that brought joy to his nonverbal autistic son. Once it was apparent Thomas loved roller coasters after his first ride as a 5-year-old, father and son eventually began a mission to ride as many roller coasters as possible.

“The stereotype is that people with autism love trains and know everything about them, but I don’t think there was any connection like that for Thomas regarding roller coasters,” Tom said.

“The way I describe it to people is, for him, it’s just the wind in the face, the drops, and the speed — the physical stimulus of that.”

As a youngster, Thomas expressed excitement by flapping his arms. So, there’s been a lot of arm flapping since that first ride in 2005 at a “Special Needs Night” at South Elgin’s Riverfest Express. He hopped on the “Dragon Wagon” with his sister Shannon — and their photo, with Thomas smiling broadly, turned up in a local newspaper the next day.

As Tom tells it, “None of us had any idea that ride would spark a lifelong passion.”

Tom lives in Mount Prospect, while the 25-year-old Thomas now lives in Elgin. It has not stopped them from continuing the roller coaster journey, which turned into joining an online roller coaster community in 2020 during the pandemic. That’s when Tom learned about tabulating and earning “coaster credits” for each different coaster ride.

As of August 2025, Thomas has ridden 471 different roller coasters, after visits to amusement parks across the country. That would include every Six Flags and Cedar Point park in the country, as well as rides at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Legoland parks, Dollywood, Hershey Park, Silver Dollar City and “countless smaller parks,” according to Tom.

Rides at small city festivals or county fairs don’t count toward credits, but smaller “kiddie” rides at amusement parks do.

Tom and Thomas circled back to some smaller parks they had previously visited in order for Thomas to earn credits.

“One of the stories I like to tell people is that, because of height restrictions on some of the smaller rides, we sometimes had to ask another family to have one of their kids ride with Thomas, so he could get his credits,” Tom explained of a system to earn credits on kids’ rides as Thomas got older — and much taller.

“When we explain to them what Thomas is trying to do, other families have been happy to help,” he added.

Along the way, the Callsens have learned a lot about roller coasters.

“There are certain rides that do not classify as a roller coaster,” Tom said. “They have to have a track, and they have to roll and, at some point, they have to coast. It can’t be continuously powered.

“A lot of these coasters have become incredibly extreme, as with the engineering that goes into these, people could major in this stuff in college,” he added. “In the last 15 years, roller coasters have come a long way. They now have wooden roller coasters that are smooth as glass, some that can have you floating upside down.”

Along the way, the two have experienced some fast rides, with the Kingda Ka roller coaster (at Six Flags) timing at 128 mph and the Top Thrill Dragster (at Cedar Point) at 120 mph.

When LeMarcus Adna Thompson designed the first U.S. roller coast in 1884 at Coney Island, he likely had the vision of people of all ages enjoying this significant upgrade in amusement park thrills for years to come.

Tom and Thomas Callsen are living proof of such enjoyment, developing this “greatest gift” of a connection for a father and his son.

Businesses ‘rolling’ again

Years ago, businesses and restaurants from across the Fox Valley region and parts of DuPage County got together for an annual event called “Rolling Down the River.”

It was a large business expo at the Mega Center at Pheasant Run, and it had about a five- or six-year run.

In that sort of spirit, the chambers of commerce in the Tri-Cities held their first Tri-City Business Expo at Eaglebrook Country Club in Geneva last week. The event, in the country club’s ballroom, was open to the public and drew a nice crowd with nearly 40 businesses and service providers represented.

“We are hoping this can become an annual event,” said Robyn Chione, membership and sponsorship director for the Geneva Chamber of Commerce. “The idea actually started with Eaglebrook and the club facilitated it, and all of the chambers agreed to participate.”

It’s always interesting to roam around these events and learn about various businesses, some of which you were not familiar.

Portillo’s community efforts

The Portillo’s exhibit table at the Tri-City Business Expo last week was sure to draw my attention, because anything to do with Portillo’s usually does.

The fact that I love Portillo’s Italian beef, chocolate cake and other fare was the initial draw, but my conversation with Don May, the catering coordinator at Portillo’s in Batavia, that night was more important.

May mentioned contributions Portillo’s has been making to various organizations in the Tri-Cities, most notably Lazarus House in St. Charles, Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry in Geneva, Mercy Housing in North Aurora and United Way in Batavia.

“When I first started here in Batavia last year, general manager Manny Bautista wanted me to get out and help the community with our catering service,” May said. “He allowed me to go out and try to find the need — and it has really made a difference.”

May had never heard of the Lazarus House homeless shelter in St. Charles, but after a food tasting event at Portillo’s, an attendee suggested any leftover food could be donated to Lazarus House.

“After that, I checked it out and got a tour of Lazarus House and was amazed how the community had responded to that need,” May said. “We wanted to help and started donating food once a month, then in 2025, twice a month.”

That effort has resulted in more than 1,000 meals being delivered to the homeless shelter so far this year.

“The manager at Lazarus House was telling us that many of the kids there may go to school and hear about Portillo’s from other students, but never have had the opportunity to experience it,” May said. “Giving them the opportunity makes you feel good. You do what you can for the those who need it the most.”

Portillo’s has supported the meal that is offered after the Shepherd’s Heart weekly grocery shopping events at the pantry, making that donation for 80 to 100 people twice a month.

In working with United Way in Batavia, Portillo’s supplied 200 slices of chocolate cake at the agency’s community dinner fundraiser, its largest of the year. “People love that chocolate cake from Portillo’s, it has built a name (reputation) of its own out there,” May noted.

At Mercy Housing in North Aurora, Portillo’s provided the meal at the senior care facility during a “Senior Prom Night” event that rekindles the joy of high school dances.

“We provided dinner for 60 seniors at this prom, with a lot of them maybe not having the chance otherwise to experience Portillo’s,” May said. “They were all decked out like a school dance, and it was just a great experience.”

It’s all helped get Portillo’s name and its catering service for events and parties out in the community, of course. May sees good things happening for everyone in that scenario.

“When the community responds more to us, then there is more we can do in the community. That is how things come together, and it is great to see,” May noted.

An immigration journey

Last week I mentioned having seen a document in my family’s possession from Ellis Island in the early 1900s indicating my ancestor’s arrival at the New York immigration port.

This week, I will mention that St. Charles resident Vito Graziano will present “An Italian Immigrant’s Journey” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at the St. Charles Public Library.

He’ll trace the path of a young man from Sicily coming to the United States in the late 1890s, exploring the challenges faced by immigrants during that era.

It’s a timely topic, given the country’s current struggles with immigration, given that key things haven’t changed much in terms of an immigrant’s experience with language barriers, cultural changes and understanding new laws.

To register, call the library at (630) 584-0076.

50th for craft fair

Is it too early to mention a holiday shopping event? People don't get around to shop like they did before the days of online shopping, but this is an event we do support and often buy some decorations.

The Geneva Women's Club will host its 50th Holiday Craft Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at Geneva High School.

Oh, yes, we don't walk out of this event without also stopping to pick up some goodies at the bake sale in the school cafeteria.

dheun@sbcglobal.net