10-Year Old Boy With Autism's First On-Camera Interview

Westerly is 10, has autism and shares what he would like his classmates to know, some of his goals for the future and much more!
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[@ambersoto1509]

I am a mom of a now 12-year-old boy who was diagnosed with level 2 autism at age 5. His symptoms at 5 were much more obvious and pervasive at that age. At 5, he struggled to interact with peers, had 1:1 aide support in school, couldn’t go in a public restroom because he was so afraid of the sound of toilets flushing and hand dryers, perseverated on special interests, constantly interrupted his classroom by shouting out, and had several stims. He also toe walked. Now, at 12, people say, “I don’t see Autism! He just seems like a quirky, smart, amazing kid!” He has grown and matured a lot over the years, thanks to ABA therapy and therapy in school. He also had an IEP until this year but lost his educational diagnosis, so now has a 504. Kids on the spectrum can and do look like this! Meet my son for 5 minutes and you won’t necessarily see signs of ASD, but spend enough time with him and you will recognize that he has trouble with filtering himself, reading body language, and knowing when to stop talking about special interests. He masks well at school but struggles at home. You can’t possibly tell from a 3 -minute video who a child is, how hard he has worked to appear neurotypical, and what his current challenges might be. As a special Ed teacher and as a mom of a child much like the one in this video, I can tell you that it’s important not to make assumptions or judgements based on a very small snapshot.

[@whitneyparis24]

Mom of my 2 year old son, recently diagnosed with level 2 autism. Your son’s story is so good to hear. ❤ Thank you for sharing. I hope my son will continue to thrive like yours as he gets older.

[@renewilly3659]

Thank you so much for your story and also giving specifications about what level he is, you have no idea how much that helps to give hope to other parents with ASD children.

[@testimonies1000]

Thankyou for sharing. My son is 11 turning 12 and level 2. What you said rings home for me. I hate using the word disability for my son but no it is. Autism kids rock!

[@RosieSanchez-YoungQueen]

My son has never been diagnosed he's really smart especially good in math he didn't start talking till he was 3 and with the help of speech therapy my son can talk but he gets stuck before finishing his sentence and sometimes he can hold a conversation without a problem. We were told by the school he's dyslexic and has a speech problem and that he stutters but that he's very smart we never had any problems with his behavior at school but at home he can't stay put he's constantly in and out of every room in the house he sometimes makes weird sounds very loudly like hes shouting the sounds he's also very touchy but don't like nothing touching him he can't eat anything that has texture like too chewy and he only eats certain foods. I'm not sure if this is all normal behavior but my other kids were never like this I feel it in my heart that there's something else there but idk

[@grindTIME1985]

This would pass as any normal kid...

[@Sarah-ft8jr]

What symptoms did the doctor pick up on that decided he’d diagnose him with autism? He seems totally 100% neurotypical and in my opinion has above average social queues and speech for his age. I’d hate the thought that he’d had a label slapped on him for no reason but I think he has.

[@redxoluhvie]

this comment is soooo ignorant of you oh muy gosh! youre not an expert to say that someone does not have autism or does... autims had 3 LEVELS meaning the ones with moresevere cant talk/ alk less and hte ones with less severe learnn to talk normally. ALSO talking isnt the only thing that defines if ur autistic, you cannot just assume hes not by a BARELY 3 minye long video. get educated on autism before commenting sm like this

[@cecilmagat8780]

he is so much like my 10 year old boy recently diagnosed with ASD. aside from math difficulty, which is on a kinder level, he is perfectly fine, doing things on his own…

[@lunmsy]

Brilliant. I wished my 10 year old can speak confidently in sentences like this. I would have never thought this kid doing this interview even had a slight disability in him.

[@thebusybeanhomecafe4035]

Autism is not a disability. It's just a different way of thinking.

[@lunmsy]

​@@thebusybeanhomecafe4035 I agree with what you're saying, but for some kids unfortunately, it is disabling because most of their abilities are either greatly reduced or even non existent due to being on the spectrum, and they might remain completely dependent in most aspects of their lives. It affects individuals differently.

[@takeawayfro]

Thank you, Dr. Kerry Magro, for the important work you're doing!

[@miguelpinero1034]

This kid reminds me of myself 100%. Even today as an adult.

[@RosieSanchez-YoungQueen]

So normal?? This kid didn't do anything that was different from a child without any disability

[@AROUNDDAWAY]

This young man is just that ….. don’t let drs put titles on your children

[@yelachen8076]

When did your kid starting talking my kid is 7 years old and still cant talk in sentences himself

[@preciousangelica4095]

Same po with my twin brothers

[@Thenation003]

I also want to be a scientist when I grow up

[@mithunyaligar3103]

Wow... I honestly did not find he has autism .. seems normal .

[@riyaansheikh7470]

Me too

[@stevenrobinson7900]

He probably made a lot of progress since being diagnosed

[@AF-dn2bz]

They diagnose these kids and the special educators can justify their jobs with an increased caseload, and, the parents receive disability money. The kid meanwhile has been tagged and may even be put on a pharmaceutical that is not required.

[@Thenation003]

You can seem normal and have a disability

[@AF-dn2bz]

@@Thenation003 that's the sales pitch across Special Ed today

[@Chris-bs4qy]

Hi, Do you comment back to people?

[@ananyadeepak6830]

❤️❤️

[@rnavrnav199]

What was his level of autism?

[@fulanitogonnagetu9911]

0

[@udotcarter]

Bro is normal. Was this a miss diagnosis?

[@gracembuthia7666]

No. He looks normal due to masking. A thing autistics do to appear normal to others.

[@choctailnycliqueurtruffle4357]

Maybe he’s a regular kid and all these diagnosis and medications are 100pct wrong. Having friends is not a sign of anything.

[@fulanitogonnagetu9911]

I can tell you from my experience with kids with disabilities. This kid is not autistic.

[@ambersoto1509]

I have first-hand experience as a mom of a child very similar to this boy (who was diagnosed at 5 with ASD level 2, but now has learned skills and masks well in public) and as a special education teacher and former ABA therapy provider. Autism is called a spectrum disorder for a reason. There are many people with ASD who “pass” as neurotypical. And this is a 3-minute video. You don’t get any info on what this child has overcome to get to this point, or what his struggles are now, from this video. Please, everyone, refrain from making statements like “he’s not autistic.”

[@jabberwocky4353]

​He's stimming a lot. It takes a lot of effort for him to appear like everyone else. He's clearly very intelligent. The comments on this video are depressingly ignorant of autism which perpetuate the stereotypes which causes damage to undiagnosed autistics who mask well. It prevents them from understanding that they are type 1. Everybody thinks of autism as type 3.

[@Foxfight_playz]

Absolutely disgusting comments on here the arrogance of it ! I certainly wouldn't be so arrogant as a parent to hide my child's struggles & mental health because he looks fine this is what's wrong with the world !! & I certainly wouldn't have him labeled for a payday !!! Uneducated & discrimination at its finest 😠

[@JerkingOffJoker]

Sorry but thats not really how autism works. Not everyone with autism are the same, and just from reading this comment you obviously don't know autism.