Autism Light: Matthew and Courtney Oakes
Autism Lights #451 are Matthew and Courtney Oakes.
Matthew (Matt) and Courtney Oakes are the parents of two children: Molly and Liam. Their 6 year old son Liam has autism. Matthew and Courtney Oakes are Autism Lights for their efforts to raise awareness of autism family life as parents, bloggers, and members of their community. Their blog is called 808 [the adventures].
Matthew Oakes: Matthew Oakes is an associate professor at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. In 2015, Matthew Oakes earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Illinois at Chicago (Source: Matt Oakes’ LinkedIn Page).
Courtney Oakes: Courtney Oakes serves as the Parents Talk Autism Manager for Easter Seals of Metropolitan Chicago and is a Medical Advocate for Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling, Inc. (Source: Courtney Oakes’ LinkedIn Page).
The following is a recent Twitter message from Courtney Oakes introducing an inspiring blog post.
Nothing is wasted. https://t.co/IMnu4SdK0G pic.twitter.com/dG0TGpjX80
— courtneyoakes (@courtoakes) July 18, 2016
The Fatherhood Project: The following video highlights Matt Oakes and his life as an autism father and was produced in 2014 as part of The Fatherhood Project. The Fatherhood Project was produced by Corbyn Tyson and was part of the SoulPancacke Youtube series about what it means to be a father.
Bloggers: Matthew and Courtney Oakes have a Word Press blog called 808 [the adventures]. Matthew Oakes wrote a guest blog for Autism Speaks called 5 Things Every Autism Dad Should Know.
Social Media: You can follow Matt and Courtney Oakes at the following social media areas.
- Twitter
- Twitter handle for Matt Oakes is @mattoakes.
- Twitter handle for Courtney Oakes is @courtoakes.
Special thanks to Matthew (Matt) and Courtney Oakes for being Autism Lights both in their vocations in Rockford, Illinois and to the larger autism community, as they tell their story as autism parents in a blog and video. The autism community, and especially autism parents, are encouraged as the Oakes’ family shines their light for autism.