Chad Kleis

Autism Light #413 is Chad Kleis. 

Hudson, Chad, Amy, Hunter

Special Father's Day Honoree.

Chad Kleis is 40 years old and is an Autism Father from McKinney, Texas. Chad and his wife Amy have a 9 year old son named Hunter and a 7 year old son named Hudson. His son Hunter has autism. Chad Kleis is the Founder and Director of Hunters Autism Specials. Chad Kleis is an ideal Autism Light for this Father's Day, because of how he raises awareness for autism through Hunters Autism Specials, and because he loves his son so much that he orchestrated on social media a fantastic birthday present for his son Hunter, helping him receive almost 10,000 birthday cards from around the world when he turned 9 on March 15, 2015.

In March of 2015, Chad asked his 400 friends on Facebook to help him wish Hunter a Happy Birthday by sending him cards, since while Hunter is nonverbal he enjoys reading. The message went viral and was shared thousands of times. Hunter received almost 10,000 cards from all over the world, including places as far away as Ireland, the Netherlands, and Hawaii (Dad's Birthday Request for His Son With Autism Goes Viral, WFAA, March 5, 2015).

The story of Hunter receiving surprise birthday cards from around the world was reported on by ABC, CBS, Yahoo, Dallas Morning News, KISS FM, and the New York Daily News. Here is the news story done by ABC News.

Chad Kleis shared his love for his son Hunter in the following hope. "The life ahead of him is what scares me. I don't care if he never talks. I wish he did, but I just want to make sure he's happy (Dad's Birthday Request for His Son With Autism Goes Viral, WFAA, March 5, 2015)."

The Autism Flag by Hunters Autism Specials

Hunters Autism Specials: Chad Kleis is the Founder and Director of Hunters Autism Specials. The goal of Hunters Autism Specials is to provide "unique products/services for families and businesses in the efforts of becoming more unified society under the Autism umbrella (Hunters Autism Specials Website)." The business offers reviews and resources on autism friendly services and information on potential discounts.  In addition to the services, they designed and offer the full size “U.S.Autism Flag” that you see pictured to the right for  purchase.

Contact and Social Media: The best way to contact Chad Kleis is at the Contact Us secton of the Hunters Autism Specials Website  or on the Hunters Autism Specials Facebook Page. They would really appreciate your social media support by "liking" their Facebook Page. You can also follow them on Twitter @HASpecials.

Hobbies: Chad Kleis is originally from Minnesota and cheers on the Minnesota Vikings from Texas. He enjoys being with his family, watching movies, swimming, and jumping on the trampoline.

Encouragement to other Autism Fathers: Chad Kleis wrote the following perspective in an email to Autism Light on June 19, 2015.

Everything in this world happens for a reason, we might not know or understand why NOW... But one day, it will all make sense (Chad Kleis).

Chad also shared this perspective on his son Hunter, "I try to help people understand how Hunter is.The best way to explain it is; Hunter is the CEO of his world, and my wife and I are on the board of directors. We can ONLY make recommendations to the CEO, it will be up to Hunter if he wants to accept or reject those recommendations. We won't force anything on Hunter, that includes people. So, allow him to get to know you at his pace, and you will have a much better chance of being accepted and joining the board..."

Hunter: Hunter is very blessed to have a caring father and mother on his Board of Directors. His parents have found that ABA and Speech therapy have worked the best with him. They are considering trying Music Therapy too. Hunter has previously been through Horse therapy, but he lost interests in that.

Future Plans: Chad Kleis is working on a program which will connect families with autism to other families that want to connect, and provide OUTSIDE love and affection (Even if it's from a distance) so that others might experience something similar to what Hunter did when he received those thousands of Birthday cards.

Chad is also working on getting Hunters Autism Specials from places all over the world. In addition, he would like to long term establish a self-funded insurance program to cover ALL related needs regarding Autism services in order to reduce the stress, hassle, and red tape that autism families frequently experience related to relationships with insurance companies.

We wish Chad Kleis and all autism fathers a very Happy Father's Day. May Chad's work continue to inspire his family and the autism community around the world to grow and live a more fuller life.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photos: The photos in this post were used with permission of Chad Kleis.

Tom Fields-Meyer

Autism Light #348 is Tom Fields-Meyer.  

Special Father's Day Honoree.

Tom Fields-Meyer is a writer, journalist, and public speaker who lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer, and their three sons. His son Ezra has autism. Tom Fields-Meyer is an Autism Light for sharing about his relationship with his son Ezra with the autism community.

Writer: Tom Fields-Meyer has been a writer for three decades. He also is currently an instructor in writing at the UCLA Extension Writer's Program, the largest continuing-education writing program in the United States. He has clients such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times and he was a senior writer at People Magazine from 1995-2007. "He penned articles on some of the biggest crime stories of the day (from the O.J. Simpson trial to the murder of Matthew Shepherd), profiled prominent politicians and world leaders (Nancy Pelosi, Pope John Paul II, Sen. Ted Kennedy), and demonstrated a pitch-perfect touch writing tales of ordinary people overcoming life's challenges in inspiring and compelling ways (Read more about Tom Fields-Meyer on the Following Ezra Website)." With all those important pieces to his credit aside, Tom Fields-Meyer's most important contribution to the autism community was his memoir about life as an autism father.

Tom Fields-Meyer is the author of Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from His Extraordinary Son. The book is Tom Fields-Meyer's memoir and was published by NAL/Penguin books in September, 2011. "Following Ezra is the riveting story of a father and son on a ten-year adventure, from Ezra's diagnosis to the dawn of his adolescence. An engaging account of a father gradually uncovering layers of a puzzle, it rejoices in each new discovery and exults in the boy's evolution from a remote toddler to an extraordinary young man, connected to the world in his own astounding ways (Following Ezra Website)." You may order the book through links at the Following Ezra Website.

The following is a YouTube video where Tom Fields-Meyer talks about the book Following Ezra. If you can not view it on your mobile phone watch it directly on YouTube at this link.


Awards for Following Ezra: The following awards were bestowed on the book Following Ezra.

• Finalist - 2011 National Jewish Book Award
• Best Special-Needs Memoir of 2012 by About.com. 

Following in his father's footsteps, Ezra Fields-Meyer, is the coauthor of a children's book called  E-MERGENCY!, which the Boston Globe named one of the Ten Best Children's Books of 2011. We look forward to hearing more about Ezra's accomplishments in the years to come and his development is a tribute to his amazing father.

Jewish Faith: Describing the importance of the Jewish faith to his family in a blog post for the Jewish Book Council on November 7, 2011, Tom Fields-Meyer wrote:

As it happens, God comes up in conversation quite a bit in our household. My wife is a rabbi who teaches Jewish texts at a Jewish community high school. We attend synagogue every Shabbat, and our family life revolves around the Jewish calendar.

Ezra, who indeed craves the predictable, has always been attracted to the more concrete aspects of Judaism: the calendar, the holiday cycles, the weekly rituals. At an early age, he memorized the ten plagues, and began acting them out--dramatically, and in order--at our sedar. He has always been attracted to the Bible stories pitting good against evil: Moses vs. Pharaoh, David vs. Goliath, Mordecai vs. Haman (Autism and God, Tom Fields-Meyer, November 7, 2011).

Autism Blessing: Tom Fields-Meyer relates autism to a blessing from the Artscroll prayer book that is used "upon seeing a person who is different....It praises God, mishaneh habriyot--who 'creates variety among living beings' (The Jewish Message, Tom Fields-Meyer, November 11, 2011).

Tom Fields-Meyer finds that his Jewish faith teaches him to respect those with disabilities. He wrote,

In the book of Genesis, it says God created human beings in God's image. That means we should treat every person with dignity, respect and honor--no matter their disability, no matter what they look like, no matter how many times they remind us when the next Pixar movie is premiering (a habit of Ezra's that can be either endearing or annoying, depending on your perspective). That also means that encountering people who are different from us--from different backgrounds, different circumstances, or facing different challenges--gives us a insight into the many aspects of the divine (The Jewish Message, Tom Fields-Meyer, November 11, 2011). 

New Book Being Published in 2015: Tom Fields-Meyer is the coauthor with Barry Prizant of the forthcoming book Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism, to be published by Simon & Schuster in mid-2015. It is based on stories from Dr. Prizant's more than four decades working with individuals with autism and their families

Social Media: You can follow Tom Fields-Meyer on the following social media areas.

• Following Ezra YouTube Channel
• Facebook Page for Tom Fields-Meyer
• LinkedIn Page for Tom Fields-Meyer
• Twitter @TomFieldsMeyer

Special thanks to Tom Fields-Meyer for sharing his memoir with the autism community. He has provided inspiration to many through his writing and is especially representative of the countless other autism fathers who are seeking to be the best father they can to their sons who have autism. We are especially grateful for the insight he offers on how his Jewish faith helps him as an autism parent. Other subjects featured in the past at Autism Light related to the Jewish faith can be searched using the "Jewish Label".

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photos: The photos in this post were used with permisssion of Tom Fields-Meyer.

Arthur Fleischmann

Autism Light #281 is Arthur Fleischmann.

In honor of Father's Day 2013, we wanted to honor a very special autism father who is the co-author of the book Carly's Voice, which tells the inspirational story of his nonverbal daughter.  Arthur Fleischmann is partner and president of john st advertising and lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife Tammy Starr and their children Matthew, Taryn, and Carly. His daughter, Carly Fleischmann, was the first Autism Light and the inspiration for the start of the Autism Light blog. Arthur Fleischmann is an Autism Light because of his dedication as an autism father, and his autism advocacy through speaking and writing about Carly's breakthrough in communication.

Education: Arthur Fleischmann received his B.A. in English Literature and Economics from Brandeis University. He earned an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University (Source).

The following is a video where Arthur Fleischmann explains about Telling Carly's Story.


Carly's Voice: Arthur Fleishchmann co-authored the book Carly's Voice. Carly wrote the last chapter of the book and Arthur wrote the rest of the manuscript. It was published in April, 2012. Carly's Voice has been translated into 6 languages and may be ordered from Simon & Schuster and you can read excerpts at Carly's website at http://www.carlysvoice.com/.

Arthur Fleischmann said about his journey in the early years as an autism father: "If we had done what so many people told us to do years ago, we wouldn't have the child we have today. We would have written her off. We would have assumed the worst. We would have never seen how she could write these things —how articulate she is, how intelligent she is (Source)."

John st. advertising: Arthur Fleischmann is president and partner with the john st. advertising firm, a top advertising agency in Toronto, Canada. His staff page at john st. says:

His career included stints in sales (Xerox) and marketing (Kraft/General Foods), before deciding on a life in advertising. In starting john st. in 2001, his goal was to create a “creative collaborative” without the silos or bureaucracy or territorialism he’d seen in his previous lives. He believes creativity is a powerful business tool and has led his team to win more advertising effectiveness awards than any other agency in the last decade (Source).

Lavin Agency Speaker's Bureau: Arthur Fleischmann is a speaker through the Lavin Agency Speaker's Bureau. You can read his speaker's page at the Lavin Agency.

Autism Live: The following is a video where Arthur Fleischmann was featured on the "Let's Talk Autism" segment of Autism Live on June 20, 2012.


Social Media: You can follow Arthur Fleischmann on the following social media areas.

• Facebook
• Twitter @torontoadguy
• LinkedIn

Special thanks to Arthur Fleischmann for being an autism light. His dedication to his daughter Carly and to telling her story is promoting autism awareness around the world. Happy Father's Day to all the autism fathers working hard to make the best possible life for their children. If you wish to read about other autism fathers featured over the years at Autism Light search with the label Fathers.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

The photo in this post is used with permission of Arthur Fleischmann.