TULSA, Okla. — While there's a lot of misunderstanding about autism out there in the world, some people with the disorder whom 2 News listened to face that world with a big smile.
2 News is not only championing those who live with autism every day, but also clearing up common misconceptions by speaking with a professor.
The Autism Foundation of Oklahoma and Family and Children's Services hosted its first-ever Heroes and Families event on April 26.
Held in partnership with local first responders and community organizations, the event brought together AFO’s Project Safe Stop, resource vendors, and public safety heroes to promote safer interactions, increase understanding, and strengthen community ties.
"It's a way for officers to engage with the autistic individuals in our community and a way for our people to interact with officers and promote safety and awareness for both sides," Kyle Britt, program manager at the AFO, told us.
University of Tulsa professor Lora Garrison told 2 News, "Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder."
She explained that the disorder is characterized by two separate categories of differences: One is social differences and communication, and the second is restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.
"That's why autism is called a spectrum,” she also said, “because the differences that could be manifested in those categories are almost an infinite combination or constellations of ways that people can be different."
When asked what she thinks the biggest misconceptions about autism are, the PhD candidate for Industrial & Organizational Psychology replied, "I think that some of the most prevalent and maybe hurtful misconceptions are those that relate to that social piece of functioning.”
“Some people think that people with autism don't want social connections or don't want relationships or are not able to have them,” she said. “And both of those things are just completely untrue."
Garrison told us another misconception is that autistic people don't experience the full range of human emotions or don't have empathy or care about other people's feelings.
When asked to describe his autism, Jacob Howell replied, "I am joyful. I am adventurous, I'm kind, I am considerate of other people."
The autistic people we listened to spat in the face of those misconceptions.
"They think that autism destroys families,” Howell told 2 News. “Well, to me, it doesn't at all.”
This is in reference to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent comments that autism "destroys families."
Kennedy also told reporters at a press conference last week, "These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date."
Howell emphasized, “There are some challenges in my life, but it doesn't prevent me from being the best self I can be."
The 23-year-old from Tuttle, OK can hold a job just like any other grown-up. He works for a couple of organizations that help people with disabilities and also works as a dishwasher during the summers.
It’s hard to catch him without a smile. When we asked him what keeps him smiling, he replied, "Getting to see my best friends and family."
"For me, I thought it was just a curse,” 13-year-old Raddax Foster told us. “Like, I think differently. It was weird."
"I hated it so bad when I was little,” he added. “Now I like it 'cause I think it's now cool."
Foster, who is Britt’s son, said he likes how he learns differently and can read and remember stuff incredibly well. When he grows up, he wants to be a marine biologist and a paleontologist.
"I just wanna say to everyone watching this and anyone who has autism and thinks it's a curse, it's not,” said Foster. “It's just something you have, and it makes you different from everyone else, and that's not bad."
Howell urged people to get to know people with autism and "get to know what their abilities are and see 'em as their ability, not just the disability."
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
