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Show#325 Interview with Peter Fifoot Young Man with Autism

Please join us tonight at 8:00 PM EST where your Host Paul Cimins talks with Peter Fifoot a young man with Autism who is truly an inspiration to us all. He is paving the way for the autism community.He has dreams and goals of being a broadcaster and he shares that with you and after listening to him you can see he has a very bright future in the industry at such a young age. He gives us insight to his many talents and abilities.So sit back a relax and enjoy the Interview.

 

 

I have been through many obstacles throughout my life. My life has been a bit more challenging than others due to my disability. When I was 2 years old, I was diagnosed with autism. I had problems communicating with others because first I was mute and then I would stay on one topic and not change conversations. Another problem I had was with pacing back and forth and flapping my arms when I thought of something. The district of Jefferson wanted to put me in special education but my parents fought the district and took them to court. My parents settled and I have never been in special education. I learned to read when I was 3 due to intense therapy and have always been an intelligent and energetic young person.However, I was not always adept socially. So my parents had me take ABA or Applied Behavior Analysis therapy programs. This taught me life skills from eye contact in conversations to holding doors open. It has really helped me socially and as a young man. I have also grown more socially than neurotypicals my age. This may explain why I have numerous friends who are neurotypical and participate on track, cross country and basketball teams who all consist of neurotypical players. My hopes and dreams are to be a criminal defense lawyer or to be a commentator for a sport on a major station or be a commentator for a sports team, particularly football

 

 

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Show#320 Boy Learned to Speak Using Disney Movies His Name is Owen Suskind

Please join us tonight at 8:00 PM EST where your Host Paul Cimins and Co-Host Lynne Glucoft discuss a boy named Owen Suskind who was a talkative and lively child until the age of 3, when all that he had learned — speaking, eating and walking — began to slip away from him and he retreated into the lonely world of autism.We also discuss his new Documentary Life Animated.

Over time, Owen became lost in a library of animated Disney movies, rewinding and replaying them, and his parents, journalists Ron and Cornelia Suskind, worried about their son being sucked into the social isolation of the television.

“They vanish in front of you,” told ABC News.com, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company.

But it was the Disney characters, whose lines and songs Owen could repeat back with ease, that ultimately gave his parents the entryway to his hidden thoughts and emotions and brought him back into the world, he said.

Over time, through repeated viewings of Disney classics like THE LITTLE MERMAID and THE LION KING, Owen found useful tools to help him to understand complex social cues and to re-connect with the world around him.

LIFE, ANIMATED evocatively interweaves classic Disney sequences with verite scenes from Owen’s life in order to explore how his identification and empathy for characters like Simba, Jafar, and Ariel gave him a means to understand his feelings and allowed him to interpret reality. Beautiful, original animations offer rich insights into Owen’s fruitful dialogue with the Disney oeuvre as he imagines himself heroically facing adversity as a member in a tribe of sidekicks.

Owen’s story is a moving testament to the many ways in which stories can serve as a means of persevering through the dark times, leading us all toward the light.

 

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