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Elena Freshman Schumann's avatar

When my son, Justin, was first diagnosed with autism at the age of five he did not speak and they told us he probably would not speak. A year later not only did he speak perfect English but he started to write stories (mostly Sci Fi and Fantasy) which won and win awards in contests he enters them into, now as an adult he is a high school graduate and he went trough the full program along with the other children. He is also a loving uncle with two nephews and third one on the way.

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Tara Palmeri's avatar

Amazing

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Elena Freshman Schumann's avatar

Thanks for your comment.

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Nancy Jernigan's avatar

My grandson is autistic. But he is a very good artist, he graduated high school - in regular classes. He can carry on conversations about political current events.

He is really into cars. I send him shots of nice and old cars I see on TV. He can tell me the make, year and models of 99% of them. Even old cars of days gone by. He’s really delightful company. I can’t wait to go to lunch with him again!

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Christine Tachner's avatar

So sweet. He is lucky to have you, and vice-versa. ❤️

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Lance Khrome's avatar

I give NewsNation/NexStar a hard pass, thank you very much...who needs a Fox-lite "news" anyway?

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Margaret Redus's avatar

💙💙💙

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Al Draycott's avatar

Thanks to Tara & Leland: What a beautiful story. It brought joy to my heart and a little mist to the eye. What a wonderful guest. Yes the solution for autism should be left up to the scientists and medical profession and kept out of the political spectrum. As far as I am concerned the master of victimhood is occupying the White House.

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Winter Brightly's avatar

Tara, If you want to read a good book about Autism, read Uniquely Human by Barry Prizant. Your guests childhood was hell because his Dad tied to make a square peg fit in a round hole. He did his son a huge disservice. That is why he is so defensive about finding a "cause". Your guest was taught his whole life that he was broken as a human & to deny his identity. Very upsetting to me as an Autistic person with an Autistic son. I did not like this guy's opinion. I find it harmful to the Autistic community.

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Winter Brightly's avatar

Its been proven vaccines dont cause Autism. He is questioning something already explored & proven. RFK is a QUACK who is causing much more harm. I can't understand how this guy can champion a complete quack. Both my son & I are Autistic. His childhood was hell because he had no supports other than his Dad, who sounds like an ego maniac.

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joemoneys1231's avatar

Is he a Democrat or a Republican?

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Lisa Nystrom's avatar

I like Leland Vittert and love his story of triumph. I think there are so many unknowns with autism, which is why wacky conspiracy theorists have been able to make it a hotbed issue. I love how common sense his arguments are. And his Dad is a hero.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Gail Joshua's avatar

Diagnosing Autism isn’t hard. We bring our children to doctors because their behavior is “different” - “can you see what I see?” Yes is the usual answer. What’s hard is getting help for them. My granddaughter went from preschool to kindergarten and is now in first grade. She speaks more now - but her sentences are broken and she could use help in communication skills. If she acts out - it’s mainly because she cannot communicate what she’s feeling. What can I do to help her more since they won’t give her professional help? She’s reading and writing. I think she can become like this reporter. What do I need to do to make sure she does?

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Sue Beebe's avatar

Thank you Tara, once again for an incredible interview. Listening to Lucky's life experience was important and expansive. I'm going to be more open to the discovery of what comes next with our understanding of Autism and the potential causes. Definitely worth listening to!!

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Terry Holt's avatar

Feel good story for those that don’t deal with autism on an everyday basis. Neuro-typical people patting autistic people on the head, what a great person you are, even if you’re weird.

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David Dreyer's avatar

This is great. In the last century, I worked for then-Congressman Tony Coelho, the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While he is a fervent partisan, he built coalitions with Republicans to pass the ADA because disabilities affect all people and all parties. Under the current administration, as the Center for American Progress cited earlier this year, Americans with disabilities have lost employment opportunities, accommodations support, job protections, and more. Thank you for shining a light on Mr. Vittert.

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Hawaii Brewer's avatar

Great story and interview. We have a long way to go as a nation regarding attitudes towards people with autism or people that stutter....particularly when our top leader leads the way by mocking them.

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