I’m a fifteen-year-old autistic kid who wants to change the world’s understanding of what it means to be autistic. I am a handsome, witty, less basic version of your average teenager, who is going to have a major impact on how the world sees people like me. Having autism has not stopped me from feeling optimistic about life’s endless possibilities, despite my inability to talk. Everything is going to change now because I am able to communicate and shape my future into something that allows me to make a living.
I like having my hair yanked really hard because nothing makes me calmer than that exquisite pain. I am usually a lover, not a fighter. I am a man who kids around a lot when I have a chance to spell, getting funnier by the day. Having autism gives me the ability not to care about the minor stuff—a winning strategy for life.
Earning second place in a New York Times writing contest for middle schoolers was one of the proudest moments of my life and the beginning of my writing career. I’m planning to use my not insubstantial autistic voice to radically alter my life’s trajectory in ways I’m still figuring out. One day I hope to create a social network that helps people without a voice have meaningful relationships and experiences.