ICAN-B

Meet Gracie: "Gracie is 7 years old, she is beautiful and smart! She is nonverbal but I like to say preverbal! She learns best visually. Gracie was diagnosed ri...ght on her 3rd birthday with autism. She loves music, and loves to learn. She is currently homeschooled and thriving! Gracie struggled a lot with behaviors and meltdowns but as her ability to communicate with her AAC device she has been doing so much better and is a very happy & loved little girl. The advice we have is to get started early on giving your child the ability to communicate whether with signing, pecs, or AAC. Our favorite memory with Gracie is when she learned how to swim! She was so proud of herself, and so were we!" -Gracie's Mom See more

Meet Carter: "Hi, my name is Carter. I am 20 years old and live in a small town in New York. I was placed on the autism spectrum at 3 years old although I wasn'...t aware of my diagnosis until I was 14. There have been many struggles that I've dealt with because of my disability whether it's struggling with keeping eye contact, preference of being in solitude, difficulty understanding others' feelings and language, and intense reactions to sounds like fire alarms. My biggest challenge is my resistance to minor changes in routines; if something is planned and gets changed moments before, I can't control myself properly. One thing that I have found to help me get through my struggles is the sport of running. I have been running since the 8th grade. At first, it was just considered a hobby. I never would've thought I would be doing this as a collegiate sport. I am a member of the @manhattanville_college Cross Country & Track and Field team and I wake up every day still in disbelief that I am out here improving my skills and being surrounded by great teammates and an awesome coach, besides the challenges I face. I might be a bit different from the rest of the crowd, but that is what makes us special and unique; the help we might need and the people there working hard for us is what makes us all so unique. I've been harassed and bullied throughout elementary, middle, and high school. It made me feel like I didn't belong or fit in, but thanks to all of my special ED teachers and my family, I was able to realize that having autism isn't a curse, it's a total blessing. When I was diagnosed on the spectrum, the doctor stated to my mom that I would never speak, not have any friends, and not go past the 1st grade. Well, I am able to speak clearly and create conversations, have people around me that I have considered friends, and I am just about to finish my junior year in college. Let's just say I have come a long way." - Carter See more

Meet Skyler: "My name is Skyler I am 19 years old and I was diagnosed with autism at 18. Some things that are hard for me are being around loud noises and eye c...ontact. Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of friends and that was hard on my self-esteem. My goal is to never let other kids feel that way. I hope someday to become a paraprofessional and help kids like me to make friends." -Skyler See more

Meet Brandon: "When Brandon was diagnosed, our son was 2 and I had just found out I was pregnant with my second baby. He started speech therapy and occupational... therapy. He's been doing it for 2 years now and has come a long way. He can now put together 3-5 words compared to when he started where he only had 5-10 words in his vocabulary. He's done amazing work with therapy, school, and being a great big brother. His success is our success and we always celebrate it as a family. The little details others take for granted, we celebrate very proudly." -Brandon's Parents. See more