Visions of Community Conference

Featured on WCVB Boston’s A+ Segment

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Recently, I was featured in a news segment known as the “A+ Report” on WCVB, Boston’s ABC affiliate:

The A+ Report is a segment about students in New England doing exceptional things in and out of school.

WCVB picked up my story after watching my Keynote speech at the Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) Visions of Community conference.

At the conference, I told the story of how I got into sportscasting and overcame adversity after being diagnosed as autistic.

You can see some clips of the speech below:

Since the feature on WCVB, Stitch has also picked up my story.  They included a shortened version of my A+ segment as well as an article about me and my story.

I’d like to thank Kristin LaRose and FCSN, Antoinette Antonio and WCVB, and Stitch for allowing me to share my story.  I look forward to more opportunities to share my story in the future.

Delivering Keynote Speech at Visions of Community Conference

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For those of you who did not know, I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Autistic people often face numerous challenges throughout their life – they often struggle socially, and it often takes them longer to learn life skills than most, which can hold them back from becoming independent.

Though I have faced many challenges, I believe I can do anything I put my mind to, and there are plenty of benefits of autism. I will always be autistic, and I am willing to embrace that.

Like many on the autism spectrum, I tend to grow obsessed with things I enjoy. One thing I have been obsessed with for most of my life is sports.

Obsessions are often portrayed as a bad thing. But obsessions can be a good thing. Almost 5 years ago, I took my obsession and turned it into a passion – this sports blog. I’ve grown to really enjoy writing this blog, and over the years, I have gained valuable sportscasting experiences from it. Now, I hope that this passion can lead me to a career in sports journalism.

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This Saturday, I will be telling the story of my autistic struggles and my budding sports career as the keynote speaker at the Visions of Community Conference, an annual special education conference hosted by the Federation for Children with Special Needs at the World Trade Center in Boston.

Check out my bio on their website.

After the conference, I will be posting a video of my speech that will go on the FCSN website and on my blog.

I am really looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience, and I’d like to thank my former preschool aide, Kristin LaRose for providing me with this amazing opportunity!  Kristin now works for the FCSN – she was inspired by my story, and in October, she asked me if I was interested in being the Youth Keynote at this conference.  Much like when I was given the opportunity to be a NESN junior announcer, I couldn’t turn the opportunity down, and I would like to thank Kristin and the rest of the Federation for thinking of me.