RADFORD, Va. – A Radford family is turning a Facebook ad into a mission — and a 3-year-old named Oliver is leading the way.
Oliver is competing in Hasbro’s 2026 Toddler of the Year contest, a national competition that launched last year with more than 200,000 participants and raised over $13 million for Toys for Tots. This year, Oliver is closing in on the final rounds, and his parents say the $25,000 prize is only part of the point.
“We just really wanna advocate for Oliver because he has autism and can’t speak,” said Jordan Myers, Oliver’s father. “If you’re not around it, you really don’t know.”
Oliver is a level three, nonverbal autistic child. His mother, Amanda Tuttle, says the competition has given the family an unexpected platform to change that.
“I think not everybody understands autistic kids, especially level three, nonverbal, like Oliver,” Tuttle said. “I just think it’s awesome to have the opportunity to spread that awareness so people can understand that kids like this do exist and they are in your community.”
How It Started
Myers stumbled onto the contest while scrolling through Facebook and decided to enter on a whim.
“I decided to enter just to see how far we’d get,” he said. “So far we’ve got pretty far.”
With more than 100,000 children entered in this year’s competition, neither parent expected Oliver to advance as far as he has. Votes for Oliver — purchased through the contest — also benefit Toys for Tots, adding another layer of purpose to the family’s push.
A Community Showing Up
The response from Radford and beyond has overwhelmed the family.
“We have been feeling so loved and supported by everybody that’s donated, been involved, even just spread it on Facebook,” Tuttle said. “We felt an overwhelming amount of love and support and a sense of community.”
Myers has even approached strangers to ask for their vote — and says the community has come through.
“I’ll just go up and say, ‘Hey, would you like to vote for him?’ They’ll see him, they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, sure, why not?’” Myers said. “People around here are really great with them, they understand.”
The family’s church has been their biggest base of support, voting every day and spreading the word among their congregation.
What a Win Would Mean
If Oliver wins the $25,000 prize, his parents already know where the money would go.
“It’d go towards his sensory stuff, maybe a bigger place to live,” Myers said. “We live in a small two-bedroom apartment right now. It’s not really big enough space for him, but he needs extra stuff that costs a lot of money out of pocket.”
Insurance coverage for nonverbal autistic children is another barrier the family faces.
“It’s hard to get insurance to cover things that they can for nonverbal autistic kids,” Tuttle said. “There’s a lot of high expenses that we would really be grateful to be able to get those if we won.”
Beyond the Prize
For Tuttle, the contest has also been a personal lesson in visibility — and in letting go of the fear of judgment.
“There’s always that voice in the back of my head, like, ‘Oh, if you go out in public, people are going to give you looks,’” she said. “But in the end I realized it doesn’t matter. People need to understand that autistic kids exist and that they’re going to be out and about and that they deserve the same amount of love and support as every other child out there.”
To vote for Oliver to be Toddler of the Year, click here!