"250 Years of Autism in America"

Posted on September 2, 2026

This blog is for an autism event in late October, which I will be attending and will be one of several guest speakers. The event is called “250 Years of Autism in America”.

As I begin this blog, I would like to first thank my dear friend Claire, the head of the Lebanon Adult Autism Support Group and the Employment Foundation, for putting this event together. Claire has seen me rise in the ranks in the greater Harrisburg region autism community. Last year, I was given the opportunity to have my photo and biography displayed on a wall of important people with autism at Knoebels Amusement Park. Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch with my photo, it did not happen, but still many of my friends came out to see me deliver an acceptance speech. This year I finally have my photo and bio displayed on that wall, and some of my other friends, including Claire, were in attendance at that event. I think I will start from the beginning of my disability and autism journey. I was first diagnosed with a learning disability, probably in my late teens. This testing was done up in the Scranton, PA area.

In the late 1980s, I was able to go to college, where I was able to earn my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1993 from College Misericordia, now Misericordia University. This was through what was called the Alternative Learners Program for those students with learning difficulties. This program was started by Dr Joseph Rogan, who is no longer here, but the A.L.P. Program is still in existence today. This program had note takers for each class, plus untimed tests, and you saw your guidance counselor once a week. After graduation, I had a hard time finding employment. I must have gone to over 100 job interviews; all I could get was working in a toy warehouse, and then I worked at one of the Smithsonian museums where I was let go after a very short period. Plus, I also was a volunteer at the B & O Railroad Museum.

After returning to Pennsylvania to live, I had to have major abdominal surgery for a double hernia at Hershey Medical Center. Before the surgery, they found I had pulmonary hypertension. After my stay at the hospital, I was transported to a rehab center in Carlisle for a couple of more months before I was able to return home. After seeing a cardiologist, I was put on oxygen therapy and medication to control the hypertension, and I have been under my physician’s care for many years.

Now I am going to present to you all the different projects, volunteering, and awards that I have been personally involved with:

· 2008 -present -volunteer Mechanicsburg Museum

· 2009-present Volunteer, National Civil War Museum – Harrisburg

· 2010 -Present – Member of Spectrum Friends

· 2011 – Present – Autism Society Greater Harrisburg Area affiliate board of directors

· 2015 Autism Society Greater Harrisburg Affiliate Day of Inspiration event-guest speaker

· 2015 Philadelphia Autism Project Conference- guest speaker

· 2015 Autism event – Transition from Childhood to adulthood – guest speaker

· 2016 Everyday Lives Conference – Hershey – panelist

· 2017 Philadelphia Autism Project GHRAAS Awards

· 2017 Dennis O’Brien Autism Advocacy Award recipient

· 2017-2025 Head of the Spectrum Friends support group

· 2018 Autism subcommittee member

· 2018 Im4q committee member

· 2019 Autism Society Greater Harrisburg Area affiliate Support and education meeting – guest speaker

· 2020 Autism Society Greater Harrisburg Area affiliate – Zoom meeting -guest speaker

· 2020-2022 United for Autism Board Member

· 2021 Autism and the Courts webinar -panelist

· 2021 Penn State Harrisburg College Play Advisor – Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night

· 2021 American Public Health Association Disability Section Advocacy Award

· 2021-2026 PA employment work group

· 2022 -present Philadelphia Employment Forum Member

· 2022 PA Disability Counsel Autism Self Advocate Spotlight interview

· 2022 Spectrum Friends PA Supreme Court room tour with Justice Kevin Dougherty

· 2022-2023 PA Gathering forum co-host

· 2023 Empower Me Panel of Pros

· 2023-present P.H.A.S.E.S – Public Health and Autism Science Advancing Equitable Strategies Across the Life Course community participant – A.J Drexel Autism Institute research project

· 2023 ASC Advancing the System of Care for Older Autistic Adults -University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Autism Research Project community participant

· 2023 Advisor to Self-Advocates United as 1 board

· 2024 A.S.E.R.T. webinar “Support Groups in Every Community” panelist

· 2024-present Autism/disability podcafe

· 2024 PA Disability Council Self-Advocacy Network Conference member

· 2024 Gave talk to students at Merakey Autism school

· 2024 Atlanta Autism Consortium

· 2025 Misericordia University Neurodiverse & higher Education Series Guest Speaker

· 2025 Knoebels Amusement Park Autism Day event: gave acceptance speech

· 2026 Diagnosed at 44 the Thomas Hassell story – my Sibling is autistic podcast

· 2026 Knoebels Amusement Park Autism Day event: got to see my photo/bio on the wall

· 2026 Inclusion Bites podcast

I can’t believe I have had the good fortune to be able to do all these things since 2008; it has helped to make my name respected in the autism community. America should not be divided by a line between neurotypicals and autistics. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home; there’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value, you and me. What we are fighting for is for each other. I think if we lose this fight, we lose the war. So, if you care to join us in this fight for autistic rights and acceptance, I will be personally very grateful.