By Richard Brooke My wife and I were very lucky to adopt four amazing children from China, each about 18 months apart from each other in age, and each special in their own way. But our youngest son, Brogan, brought an entirely different challenge to the table. First Signs It can be hard to tell if a child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at an early age. You start noticing little things that seem out of place or “different” than other children. A few indications could be: lack of expressions by six months, no back-and-forth gestures (like pointing or reaching) by 12 months, and no words by 16 months. We noticed Brogan was hand-shy and would pull away when we first adopted him in China. If you moved quickly, he would flinch and pull back. It was evident from the scarring on his forehead and missing front teeth that he had been abused at the orphanage, probably because he could be difficult and hard to manage. He could be manic, and he would flap his arms like a bird, twist his hands, pull his hair, and he would not make eye contact. He was different than our other children. When it came time for school, that brought its own unique challenges and pain. It was heart-wrenching to have my beautiful son come home and say, “Why doesn’t anyone like me? Why does everyone think I am weird? Why doesn’t anyone want to invite me to birthday parties or be my friend?” At age six, he was diagnosed with ASD. The doctors said he was on the high part of the functioning side of the spectrum. We were told to focus on consistency and avoid changes that would upset his standard balance and flow, and above all else, to be patient. That being said, it was paramount for us to learn different strategies to make his days a little more manageable. My wife and I know that there is no such thing as a perfect adoption, and each child will have issues and need special love and support. When Brogan arrived, it was really frustrating to see him struggle so much. Often times, those with ASD will not ask for help. My son wouldn’t raise his voice or say anything, and could easily disappear in school, scouts, or sports if we were not careful. It takes so much time, patience, energy, and love to support those with ASD because they are wired differently. For instance, when it is time for homework at our house, it can be so easy to get impatient because I find myself repeating things over and over again, and it is just human to get frustrated and tired. Patience is the key with our son as it is with most kids on the spectrum. What Brought Me to Robots4Autism After meeting with Dr. Greg Firn at RoboKind, I knew that this is where I needed to be. My decision to work with Robots4Autism was fueled by my desire to help children with ASD and their families, and provide answers and assistance to uncover the personal genius in each learner. Since working at RoboKind, I have realized that my passion truly lies in making it easier for teachers to teach, students to learn, and parents to be involved. Selling in education is a calling. It is not easy, but the rewards are tremendous. When I saw a video of Milo, I watched children truly engage with him. There is a dire need for encouraging kids with autism to develop their social, emotional, and behavioral skills and move forward. The people I work with understand the struggles ASD learners, families, and teachers experience. I empathize with them and share their passion to make a difference. I connect them with tools that set up the next generation with ASD for great success. It’s evident that these tools work, too. Research from the University of Texas at Dallas Callier Center discovered that students had engaged with Milo 87% of the time, compared to 3% of the time with therapists and teachers. Hope for the Future Brogan is 11 now and doing awesome. He’s in 5th grade, loves to play basketball, run, and go to birthday parties, sleepovers, and Boy Scouts. He makes great grades—A’s and B’s—and my other children help guide and protect him through everyday challenges. For children like Brogan, Milo is an innovative tool that can provide much-needed support in learning environments. Milo listens, speaks a little slower than humans do, is infinitely more patient than anyone, and has proven to help students stay engaged. Not every solution will be a fix for every kid, but the more support we can offer them, the better. Through therapy, medication, sports, scouts, and family, Brogan has been able to blossom. We have to really empathize with the child’s issues in each case. Those who have ASD do not understand all of their emotions, but they do feel them. Richard Brooke is a regional sales manager at RoboKind.

One father shares his story of how he helped his autistic son connect with the world, and how it inspired him to help others like him. By Jack Howarth One in 68 kids in the United States has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and my son Brandon is one of them. Brandon’s ASD was very serious, and he was completely nonverbal. As a parent, you want your kids to be happy, but my son didn’t engage with smiles, nor did he return them. He didn’t get excited the way a normal baby would get excited, but instead would just hold out his arms and shake. The neurologist told us he would never be a normal functioning person. We didn’t know what to do, particularly because back in the 80s, when Brandon was diagnosed, we knew even less about autism than we do now. My wife at the time tried to institutionalize him. As soon as I found out, I rushed to the hospital and demanded they release my son back to me. The next day my wife had packed her bags, and that’s how I became a single father of two boys, the older of whom had autism, and the younger of whom was still in diapers. I wasn’t going to give up on my boy. I knew my son was bright, that he was trapped inside of himself and needed help to get out. I’ve always worked as a technician, and I can debug computers down to a component level. At the time I worked for IBM, and I brought Brandon in to see the computers. I had access to incredibly advanced technology at the time, and I built a digital version of a human on a computer screen. Brandon would sit in front of it for hours as it talked about facial expressions over and over, teaching him by sheer repetition. I wasn’t a psychologist. I was just a dad doing whatever I could think of to help my son. Gradually, Brandon learned to communicate and speak. He started by using signs and abbreviations (for instance, he called a Ferris wheel “buckets away”). I didn’t let him keep these crutches, though. I knew he knew how to speak. I incorporated more and more vocabulary into his digital lessons. I would have the digital person repeat words and sentences over and over, and his communication improved even more. We also did a lot of science experiments at home, and Brandon loved them. Even my younger boy, Mark, appreciated them. Every day was a lesson in communication and connecting to the world around us. Today Brandon is 39, and he owns his own business manufacturing wine cellars and installing them in people’s homes. He still has his quirks, but he’s an extremely focused young man, and incredibly intelligent. He’s taught himself many incredible skills, including playing the piano and speaking Mandarin. (He can also code in Mandarin,) All of Brandon’s friends on the autism spectrum are similarly brilliant (one is converting his Honda to run on steam). I believe all kids with ASD have this kind of potential, and letting that potential go untapped is like letting a diamond sit around unpolished. I think one of these kids will find the cure for cancer. One of them will find the solution to endless energy. As a parent who used technology to help my child who was deemed non-functioning, I was fascinated when I discovered the work RoboKind was doing with their Robots4Autism curriculum. It was very similar to the program I created for my boy (of course mine was more rudimentary). I watched the video of Cole they have on their website and I cried like a baby. I thought, “I’ve got to be part of this.” When it comes to kids diagnosed with ASD, Milo is the ambassador from our world to theirs. After I had been hired by RoboKind, I was doing a demo at a school. It was in a gymnasium, and there were kids running around everywhere while I showed the adults how Milo worked. Milo gave his usual introduction: “Hello! My name is Milo. How are you?” A young boy ran right up to him and responded, “Hi, my name’s Noah.” The teachers behind me started weeping. Noah had never spoken a word until then. Noah’s mom called the school that night overjoyed, asking about her son’s new friend, Milo. As a parent, nothing makes me happier than to see my boy succeed. I want every kid like him to succeed, too. As a society, I don’t think we can afford to not help these kids. For one thing, if they can’t become contributing members of society, the money to take care of them in adulthood is going to come out of our pockets. Even more importantly we want these kids to be productive members of society because each one has something incredible to offer, if only we can give them the ability to share it. Jack Howarth is a regional sales manager at RoboKind.