The Hendriks family has discovered that Thijmen also has a passion for travel. The trips to Philadelphia, London, and Atlanta gave Thijmen the confidence to openly discuss to his sixth-grade class what it's like to be on the spectrum. His school hosted a party where he brought in the HUGE Super Bowl ticket that he was presented with in London. The local newspaper did an extensive feature on Thijmen, which helped educate others in the community about autism.

"He felt less worthy because of his autism," Kim said. "He had such a struggle at school. He now does so much better. It's really touched my heart."

On Saturday, the second Eagles Autism Challenge takes place at Lincoln Financial Field. Not only did Bram and Thijmen return, but Kim made her first trip to the United States along with their second son, Pepijn, who is 8. Their youngest daughter, Sarah, is 13 months old and remained back home in the Netherlands with family. Neither Pepijn nor Sarah is on the spectrum. On Friday, the Hendriks family toured the NovaCare Complex and reconnected with Lurie and met team president Don Smolenski. Thijmen, sporting the cycling jersey that will be worn by the riders on Saturday, and Pepijn, who wore a Bryce Harper Phillies jersey, ran around the indoor facility able to enjoy being kids.

Bram and Kim have seen Thijmen smile a lot more since last year's Eagles Autism Challenge.

"We don't see him doing that a lot," Kim said. "He's usually tense. For us, it's good to see that he has such a good time here."

It is more difficult to obtain the therapy and support resources for autism back in the Netherlands. Kim works as an advocate for families who discover that their child is on the spectrum. She works with schools to make sure that they have the tools necessary to work with autistic children. They know the millions of dollars raised from the Eagles Autism Challenge won't necessarily find a cure for this generation but hope that isn't the case too far down the road.

"That's why we're so supportive of this good cause because we believe that more research is needed in different areas related to autism to get a better understanding of autism spectrum disorders, to get a better understanding of treatments that can be useful and helpful for kids on the autism spectrum," Bram said. "I hope that they are going to make significant progress over the years to come as a result of the Eagles' efforts. A lot of new research is possible because of fundraising efforts."