Siblings

 

 

Hannah Barukh. MSW Intern

 I could sit here and write about all the ways that having a brother with autism has changed my life and shaped how I see the world. It would all be true. But what I really want to share about my family’s story is how the impact my brother has had on so many. And the reason I was inspired to pursue social work also came from the messiness. Like so many families, my parents, 25 years ago, were scrambling to understand what an autism diagnosis meant and how to best support their newly diagnosed son. To be honest, when my parents first learned of my brother’s diagnosis, they were devastated. They were terrified of what his future would look like; their understanding of autism clouded by stereotypes and misinformation.

 

     As a little girl, I didn’t see Alex as different. Sure, he was quiet, flapped his hands, and screamed sometimes, but I was more curious than anything. I wanted to figure out what those behaviors meant, seeing them as another way he communicated. We became extremely close, playing together every day. When I realized other people saw him as different, I would sit with him every night, teaching him the alphabet or how to pronounce words. I desperately wanted the world to understand him the way I did.

     Looking back, I think that, even at seven years old, as a sibling, I knew Alex in a way no therapist, no matter how experienced, ever could. I knew his limits, his sense of humor, and who he was before his diagnosis. I think that’s the special bond siblings share: we grow up together, navigating the world side by side without labels or frameworks.

     As I grew older, I became increasingly aware of the privilege Alex had in accessing services at a young age that my parents had to fight tirelessly for. I also saw how many of these interventions were focused on making him appear more neurotypical. Now, knowing how essential his behaviors are to self-regulation, it’s hard to imagine what he endured. Watching therapists come and go from his life made me reflect deeply on which therapies truly helped him communicate and regulate versus those that existed to ease society’s discomfort with neurodiversity.

     Over time, I came to realize that families like mine deserved so much more: more understanding of autism, more accessible and effective support, more public awareness and accommodation. This realization drove me to pursue my MSW, which led me to Cheerful Helpers. From the moment I arrived, I noticed a constant curiosity and respect for understanding neurodivergent children—a mindset that mirrored my own instincts as a child trying to understand Alex. I felt overwhelmed with joy as I learned to sit patiently with children, wonder about their behaviors, and help them identify and communicate their feelings.

     Every day, I’m inspired by the progress I see in the children as they meet their goals. After the parents leave, when we spend hours discussing how to better support each child, I often think about how much Alex could have benefited from a place like this. Cheerful Helpers is a community where children and families can grow, connect, and feel truly supported in ways that matter most. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this journey, to offer the kind of support I wish my family had, and to help families navigate their path with hope and understanding.

Music

 

Isaac Leibowitz, Alumni Student 2011

Music is my first language. English is more like my second language.

 

Music brings a lot of joy to me, and is a way for me to express myself better than expressing myself in words.

 

Expressing myself in words is much harder. It’s a lot harder for me to be social, but I have made a lot of friends in the marching band at my college from all the time we spend rehearsing together.

 

I have mild autism. There are some cables in my brain that are broken, which make everything a bit more challenging for me – except music.

 

Sometimes, I have a ton of stuck thoughts in my head. These thoughts can get stuck in my brain, which makes it a lot harder for me to let go of them.  

 

When I play music, it really brings me into the present.  I don’t get anxious. I find it so engaging that it makes me lose track of time. My body gets calm. I smile. The stuck thoughts don’t all go away but they get quiet.  My brain gets quiet and I am present.

 

I can sight-read sheet music as easily as pie. It’s different when I read books for academic classes. It’s a bit of a struggle to understand what I’m reading because I have a reading deficit.  

 

I am at Pasadena City College, which has good autism support, but they also make you take all these academic courses that are required. Because I have a reading deficit, these courses will be frustrating and take a lot of time from learning music.

 

Pasadena City College is a great music school for me for many reasons.

 

First of all, there are great percussion teachers who teach there, like Ken McGrath, Tad Carpenter, and Kyle Luck.

 

PCC makes you take all these academic classes that aren’t about music at all like the universities do. And they provide support for autism.

 

Pasadena City College does give strong support for students like me. The school is really serious about that.  Pasadena City College can support my mild autism that I have, and my music. 

 

At Pasadena City College, I will have to spend some time struggling with the academics. I will still have quite a bit of time to play with the students and make new friends playing together. The PCC teachers have taught me so much. They’ve helped me to express myself a lot better in my first language, which is the language of music. 

 

At Cheerful Helpers, I first drew and it made me feel very calm inside. I really liked creating my own art and posters, and journaling about my weekends on different sheets of colored paper. I really like the true meaning of art behind songs. I also like how album covers are decorated in different types of colors. It’s fun for me to paint and draw with different colors.

 

Thank you!

Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

1986 W. Jefferson | Los Angeles, CA 90018 US

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.