Brown Side Of Autism

  Every year for Thanksgiving, my family and I go to my Grandma’s house to eat dinner and spend time with all our relatives. It’s always a day filled with laughter, love, and the kind of memories you carry with you forever. My aunts, uncles, and cousins all come together, and we head downstairs to share dinner as one big family. This year, my cousin DaMaris began by playing  “Amazing Grace”  on the piano. We all stood in a circle and sang together, and afterward my Uncle Buddy led us in prayer before the meal. With autism, moments like this—moments of connection, tradition, and peace—feel especially meaningful. And of course, after the prayer, everyone knows the rule: we line up before we dig in. For dinner we had baked Mac and cheese, turkey, ham, dressing, potato salad and a bread roll. A Thanksgiving classic. 🧡🍁 - Daniel Gillespie 

  On Thursday, November 13th, my brother David, Mom, and I joined my brother Dallas at the Erie City Mission Dining Hall (1017 French St) for presentations on financial literacy. At 5:15 PM, everyone bowed their heads in prayer before enjoying some pizza and a salad bar. The event was hosted by Urban University, where the students were taking classes on financial literacy. These classes covered topics like managing a budget, avoiding unnecessary loans, staying out of debt, and understanding how to use credit cards responsibly. The students had been attending these classes for about four weeks. Personally, I found the presentations very useful. Growing up on the autism spectrum, opportunities to learn about financial skills like these were rare. Hearing guidance on what to do—and what not to do—helped expand my knowledge, and I plan to apply several of the lessons I learned from the presentations in my own life. -Daniel Gillespie  David’s Insight: On Thursday night at the Erie ...

  As I got ready to leave on the lift To go to the Autism Social group today  I got greeted again by the staff  And my peers who were there  I got there a little bit early  But I wasn’t waiting too long  For the event to start  Because this time  We are doing Karate  With the Millcreek Karate Class today  Which I was really excited for  They we’re here at the Autism Group  To give us a mini session  To learn some Karate moves  And teach us about Karate  And before we got started  We had pizza and cinnamon buns With Icing for lunch I was talking to some of my peers Downstairs in the basement  Where we were setting up at I asked him if he was nervous  He said yes because it’s his first time  Doing this and learning a new skill  Just like me  Even though I told one of the staff  I won’t be participating because  I just had surgery done on my right foot  And I didn’t want ...