Scott Phillips

Autism Light #394 is Scott Phillips. 

Scott Phillips

Scott Phillips is an Autism Father from Eugene, Oregon. His eight year old son Luke has autism.  He works in video production for the University of Oregon Athletic Department. Scott Phillips is an Autism Light because he is using his talents in video production to draw attention to the role of autism fathers through Fan Blade Films. 

Scott Phillips has a degree in Cinema Studies from the University of Oregon. He has ten years experience of shooting and editing film and currently works in video production for the University of Oregon Athletic Department. 

Fan Blade Films: Scott Phillips began looking for resources to help him as an father of a child with autism after he received his son's diagnosis. He writes, "I started looking for information on autism from a father's point-of-view. There wasn't much to be found so I decided to do something about it. I started Fan Blade Films and began work on a film that would offer comfort and hope to the thousands of fathers who find themselves in the same situation that I found myself in (Fan Blade Films)."

Through Fan Blade Films, Scott Phillips directed, produced, edited, and shot the film Do It Differently, a documentary about the unique role of autism fathers. Mike Whitty, Damian Goble, Jonathan Ayers, and Mike Guido have one thing in common, they are all fathers raising a child with autism. In Do It Differently they share their struggles and successes...fears and hopes...while projecting a quiet strength. Through the film they can inspire others to do it differently. You can watch a trailer of Do It Differently or view the entire film below. 

Scott Phillips says, "An autism diagnosis can shake the foundation of any family, but it isn't the end, it's just a different path. For all fathers who feel lost, scared, and helpless I hope the film "Do it Differently" inspires you to want to do more for your child who is different than expected. You are not alone (Fan Blade Films)." 

Scott Phillips is currently working on a follow-up film to Do It Differently. He tells Autism Light that, "Although it will be a narrative film and not a documentary, the subject matter will be similar and I hope to bring even more attention to the fathers who work hard every day raising their children and doing the right thing." There is currently a GoFundMe Page seeking to raise $6,800 for a camera to create more autism films. 

Social Media:  You can follow Scott Phillips at the following social media areas.

• Twitter @FanBladeFilms
• YouTube Channel for Scott Phillips

Special thanks to Scott Phillips for sharing his gift of video production to raise autism awareness. We wish Scott all the best in the future as an autism father and autism advocate. We look forward to future films coming from Fan Blade Films. 

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photo: The photos in this post were used with permission of Scott Phillips.

Taylor Myatt

Autism Light #393 is Taylor Myatt.

Taylor Myatt is a 4 year old boy who has autism and cannot speak. He lives in Birches Head, Stoke-on-Trent in Straffordshire, England. On April 9, 2015, there was a gas leak in his home in the middle of the night and he woke up his parents to alert them to the danger. Taylor Myatt is an Autism Light because by alerting is parents he was a hero that prevented the gas leak from harming his family.

'Hero' 4 yr-old who cannot speak saved parents' lives following gas leak | Stoke Sentinel http://t.co/DrxWhdOYEi @SentinelStaffs #autism
— Christine Heeren (@thrillcats) April 15, 2015

Taylor's parents Rebecca Coogan and Lee Myatt were sound asleep in the middle of the night of April 9, 2015. Taylor went into their room and woke them up and he was able to convince his father to go downstairs. The gas leak was discovered and they were able to call their emergency after hours number for a gas leak.

Taylor's mother Rebecca Coogan said that Talor, "was trying to pull Lee out of bed and he wouldn't go back into his own room. Taylor can't talk, he just points when he wants something, but he was adamant he was going downstairs (As quoted by Laura James, Stokes Sentinel, April 14, 2015) ."

Rebecca Coogan added, "Taylor always has his door open at night so I guess thats why he could smell the gas and not us. I don't know how he knew something was wrong. I guess it was just his instincts. But there's no doubt in my mind that he saved our lives (As quoted by Laura James, Stokes Sentinel, April 14, 2015)."

Special thanks to Taylor Myatt for being an Autism Light and demonstrating that one doesn't have to be able to speak to be a hero. Taylor is representative of the many individuals with autism that in the right situation are the first person to sense danger and they are able to find way to get help from others. We wish Taylor Myatt all the best as he develops and grows up.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Ian Hinton

Autism Light #392 is Ian Hinton.

Ian Hinton is a 37 year old homeless man from Garden Grove, California. Ian Hinton is an Autism Light because he helped the Garden Grove Police Department locate a missing teenager with autism named Charles Truong on April 14, 2015.

Charles Truong who is 17 and has autism wandered off on April 14, 2015, when shopping with his mother at the Binh Supermarket in Garden Grove, California. Officer David Chang with the Garden Grove Police Department showed his picture to Ian Hinton in hopes he might recognize the teenager out in the community.

The effort by Officer Chang to reach out to Ian Hinton who lived on the streets of the community was successful. A few hours later Ian Hinton did see Charles Truong out on the streets flapping his hands at a busy intersection. Ian asked people to help him call the police to assist getting Charles back to his family. He was ignored by the first two people he asked, but the third person Ian asked for help assisted him by calling 911. Charles Truong was then returned safely to his family without harm.

Here is an news video about Ian Hinton's role in the community finding Charles Truong safely.


"Hinton claims he's not a hero. He said he was just doing what anyone with a giving spirit would do (KTLA.com, April 19, 2015)."

Special thanks to Ian Hinton for being an Autism Light. Ian Hinton along with the person who helped him contact the police after he spotted Charles will be honored at a special reception in the future with the Police Chief of the Garden Grove Police Department.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Dorian Poe

Autism Light #391 is Dorian Poe.

 

Dorian Poe

Dorian Poe is an 11 year old boy who has autism. He lives in Burlington, Ontario in Canada. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Dorian Poe is an Autism Light for the way in which he raises autism awareness through his beloved Webkinz Polar Bear Tikko™.

According to his blog at tikko.ca, "Dorian loves Pokemon, Skylanders, video games (like Minecraft), and being creative (through drawings, story-telling, and building Lego)."

Dorian started sending his beloved Webkinz Polar Bear Tikko™ into the world when he was 9 years old in January of 2013. One of Dorian's favorite sayings is, "Autism...it's okay to be different." Thus Tikko™ wears a shirt that has a puzzle piece and those words from Dorian on it.

Each bear that is sent out comes with a letter from Dorian which encourages the owner of Tikko™ to raise autism awareness through the bear. The letter says,

Hello my name is Dorian. I am 11. I have autism and so does my pet polar bear Tikko™. Tikko™ is about to go travelling on an adventure; and I need you to take care of him. My polar bear wants to raise Autism Awareness. Just call him "Tikko the Autism Bear or Tikko™.  Guess what, this guy is much more different than the other polar bears you know. Things you should look out for:

• Tikko™ gets really angry sometimes 
• Tikko™ has anxiety  
• Tikko™ doesn't like being tickled 
• Be very patient with Tikko™ 
• Tikko™ likes school 
• Tikko™ is great at math 
• Tikko™ cries, screams, hits, kicks, and GROWLS 
• Tikko™ throws chairs and desks
• Tikko™ is very, VERY loud 
• Tikko™ wants attention, food, drinks, and someone to play with
• Most of all, Tikko™ wants LOVE 

I LOVE TIKKO™.  I would love it if you can take pictures of Tikko™ while he is gone. Help Tikko™ promote AUTISM AWARENESS to the WORLD. 

Thank You,

Dorian

Over the years Tikko™ has traveled around the world. You can view all the places that Tikko™ has been to on Tikko's Website. There are about 20 Tikko™ bears in circulation either traveling around the world or serving as a companion to one of the Ambassadors for Autism at Tikko Travels.

The following is a video of when Tikko™ went skydiving in Toronto.

The dream of Tikko Travels is to have special Ambassadors for Autism in countries all over the world who are committed to the campaign. They would loan out their bears for trips. There are already 9 people who are continuing to promote Tikko™ beyond taking him on vacation. They have received a special certificate as a Ambassador for Autism. There is currently a "Help Tikko™ Travel" Kick Starter Campaign to raise $10,000 to help toward accomplishing this dream.

Alessia Cohle's Song Make a Change: One of the special Ambassadors for Tikko Travels is Alessia Cohle. Dorian's dream inspired her and her partner Brian Donkers to write the song Make a Change (The Tikko Song). Christine Poe told Autism Light, "We feel it would make a wonderful Autism Anthem! It is inspiring! Alessia’s love for Tikko and families with autism make her a superstar in our eyes! Our dream is to see Alessia sing this song at the Toronto Blue Jay Autism Speaks “Autism Awareness” game in 2016!”

Quote from Dorian: Dorian shared these words with Autism Light that give a glimpse into the world of autism.

Life with autism is hard. Controlling emotions is difficult. We don't always know when people are joking. Sometimes we ask the same question over and over again and drive people crazy. We go on and on about something even when people tell us to stop. But we have really special gifts too; like being great at writing, singing, very creative, good at sports, very imaginative, very smart, and we all work as a team (Dorian Poe)

Social Media: You can follow Dorian Poe and the travels of Tikko™ on the following social media areas.

• Facebook Page for Tikko Travels
• Google Plus Page for Tikko Travels
• Twitter @TikkoTravels
• YouTube Channel for Tikko Travels

Dorian Poe attends a private school, because it has helped him with his education more than a public school could. From 2009-2012 he attended Woodview Learning Academy. Since 2012, Dorian has attended Missing Links Academy. You can donate online toward his family's ongoing tuition costs.

Behind many exceptional individuals with autism there is a parent, so we want to pay a huge tribute to the valuable role that Dorian's mother Christine Poe has had in helping her son fulfill his dream's for autism awareness around the world through Tikko™. It is a blessing that Dorian has such an engaging mother who cares so much to help him carry out the business of maintaining the Tikko Travels initiative.

Special thanks to Dorian Poe for being an Autism Light. The idea to raise autism awareness by having Tikko™ travel around the world on behalf of autism was a very creative initiative. Dorian desires to be a rock star someday but he is already a rock star for autism awareness. We wish Dorian Poe all the best in his autism awareness and development as a young person.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photos: The photos of Dorian Poe was used with permission of his mother Christine Poe.