Autism Light Classic
Updated on May 21, 2015.
Autism Light #200 is Jeremy Sicile-Kira.
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| Jeremy and his dog Handsome |
Jeremy Sicile-Kira is a 26 year old artist from San Diego, California. Jeremy has autism and is nonverbal. At birth Jeremy was diagnosed as severely autistic and mentally handicapped, but as he learned to communicate nonverbally he demonstrated to his educators how much he had learned and was able to learn. He is the co-author of the book A Life Full With Autism (Macmillan, 2012). Jeremy Sicile-Kira is an Autism Light because of how his life, writings, and art have served to inspire others with autism and all those that love someone with autism and want to see them have A LIFE FULL WITH AUTISM. His amazing life bears some wonderful similarities to that of Carly Fleischmann who was Autism Light #1.
EDUCATION
The following video is from the 2010 graduation ceremony for Torrey Pines High School that featured Jeremy speaking through his assisted communication device. The event was covered by NBC and Fox.
College: After high school Jeremy Sicile-Kira went on to take some classes at Mira Costa College and did well in them. He withdrew from school in order to pursue his passion as an artist.
Author: Jeremy Sicile-Kira and his mother Chantal wrote the book A Full Life with Autism together. The book was released on March 27, 2012. In A Full Life with Autism Jeremy and his mother Chantal address the seldom discussed issues related to young people with autism transitioning into adulthood. Jeremy's website describes the book like this:
There has been praise for Jeremy's book from respected leaders across the autism community. Dr. Temple Grandin who was Autism Light #38 wrote the Forward. Dr. Stephen Edelson who was Autism Light #52 said, "A Full Life with Autism is a must-read book for parents and professionals in the autism field (Jeremy's Vision Website)." You can order this important autism book from Amazon or read more about it at Jeremy's Vision.
TALENTS
Artist: Jeremy has become an artist and is beginning to make a living doing what he loves to do. A portfolio of his artwork is available on his website. On May 17, 2015, Jeremy wrote on his @Jeremyisms Twitter page: "Truly painting and art gives me great hope for my future and nicely the future of the world."Author: Jeremy Sicile-Kira and his mother Chantal wrote the book A Full Life with Autism together. The book was released on March 27, 2012. In A Full Life with Autism Jeremy and his mother Chantal address the seldom discussed issues related to young people with autism transitioning into adulthood. Jeremy's website describes the book like this:
Jeremy’s first book, A Full Life with Autism, is a guide for helping our children on the spectrum lead meaningful and independent lives as they reach adulthood. In the next five years, hundreds of thousands of children with autism spectrum disorder will reach adulthood. And while diagnosis and treatment for children has improved in recent years, parents want to know: What happens to my child when I am no longer able to care for or assist him?
Advice for Parents: Jeremy has this advice to share with parents from his book, A Full Life with Autism (Macmillan 2012): "Believe in yourself. Do not doubt that you are the expert on your son or daughter. You have done your best so far, and you can be their guiding light for their future."
Autism Research Institute Youth Representative: Jeremy has been appointed as Autism Research Institute's Youth Representative to the United Nations. He also serves as the California Youth Leader for the Autistic Global Initiative, a project of the Autism Research Institute.
CHANTAL SICILE-KIRA (JEREMY'S MOTHER)
It has not been easy to raise Jeremy, to advocate for him. But it has been much harder for Jeremy. Imagine not being able to speak or to have challenges with motor planning and initiation - necessary for every day life. And he is learning to advocate for himself, and for others like him. Jeremy inspires me because he wants to use his writing skills to help others and to make the world a better place--Chantal Sicile-Kira.How Autism Uniquely Impacts Jeremy: Jeremy's mother Chantal Sicile-Kira discovered that he has synesthesia, which means he associates colors with emotions. To learn more about how synesthesia impacts Jeremy read the The Huffington Post article that his mother Chantal Sicile-Kira wrote on July 25, 2013. In addition, Jeremy Sicile-Kira has wrote an important piece on his website on autism. He explains how his body is effected by sensory processing difficulties.
JEREMY TODAY
Jeremy Sicile-Kira gave this update to Autism Light on what is taking place in his life in 2015, 3 years after the original post was done on his life. Jeremy says,
Truly my life has changed very truly for the better. I justly live now pleasantly in my own apartment with a roommate. I have great support staff. Really my life changed when nicely my mom discovered I had synesthesia. My mother inspired me to dearly paint the portraits I was painting in my dreams. Truly this has made a huge difference in my life. Now I paint at my art studio in my city (San Diego) in an art co-op where I was accepted for my talent. I love to paint and people are happy to get their personalized painting based on their colors. This is how I am beginning to earn a living.
Living in an apartment with a roommate means I have to do more chores but I have the opportunity to go out more and see people that I know in the neighborhood. I volunteer twice a week setting up the beach to help the lifeguards and I meet people greatly there. I go to local pubs and there are the same people from the beach. Usually I just like to hang out but my beautiful support staff help me believe in my ability to communicate with my newfound friends.
Nicely truly people all people need to be accepted for their different abilities (Jeremy Sicile-Kira)
ONLINE PRESENCE
One of Jeremy's poignant statements on autism in his life is the following:
"Autism is an important influence in my life. The hardest part is not being able to talk. God must have been out of voices when he made me.--Jeremy Sicile-Kira."
Social Media: You can follow Jeremy on the following social media areas.
The following is a recent posting on @Jeremyisms on Twitter.
— Jeremy Sicile-Kira (@Jeremyisms) April 26, 2015
Special thanks for Jeremy Sicile-Kira for being an Autism Light. His progress and development is an inspiration to the autism community. His dynamic maturity gives hope to parents who have children who are the most severely impacted by their autism. We expect to hear a lot from Jeremy in the future as he develops his work as an artist and continues to be an autism advocate. If you wish to keep track of Jeremy's life you can sign up on his website (www.jeremysvision.com) to receive his Email newsletter.
Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.
Photo: The photo of Jeremy in this post was used with permission.
Dear Alan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this well-written, thoughtful blog about Jeremy. Hopefully it will inspire parents to never give up on their children.
Sincerely,
Chantal Sicile-Kira