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Five years ago, this five-year-old with autism spoke for the first time and his pride is still inspiring

The incredible video of Micah's achievement was favorited over 730,000 times.

via Haley McGuire / TikTok

About a quarter of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are nonverbal, and while that number seems high, there's been sharp decline from a generation ago when the number was closer to half.

This positive shift is due to an increase in studies on ASD which have resulted in more effective, therapeutic strategies. Children with ASD are often nonverbal, but many go onto acquire language skills. According to a 2013 study, up to 70% of nonverbal children become fluent speakers or can use simple phrases.

Having a child that is nonverbal or speech-delayed can be terribly frustrating because you want them to be able to clearly communicate how they're feeling emotionally and physically. It's also very hard to see them interact with other children without being able to express their full selves like everyone else. So, when a child with autism spectrum disorder makes their first language breakthrough it's a monumental moment for themselves and those close to them.

Photographer Haley McGuire shared her son Micah's wonderful achievement on TikTok in the Fall of 2020, and the inspiring video was favorited over 730,000 times. Today, the video, which stays pinned at the top of McGuire's TikTok page, has been shared nearly 30,000 times and still garners attention and delight from followers and viewers.

The first video she shared was of Micah repeating the names of his family members as they cheer in the background. Every time Micah gets a name right, he leaps in excitement and beams with pure pride.

@haley_mcguire

We love you, Micah 💙 #autisim #autistiktok #fyp #learningtospeak

Since the video was first recorded, Micah has shown no signs of slowing his progress.

"It's been a day and a half now, and everything we ask him to say, he's copying," McGuire told Newsweek.

"He's not going out of his way to say anything on his own, but he's literally copying everything we say, which is crazy because he wasn't talking at all," McGuire continued. "Every now and then, he'd blurt out a word. But when I say 'wasn't talking,' he would go weeks without saying anything. This is crazy. He's been doing great."

The video of Micah repeating the names of his family members was followed up by a new recording where he says his name for the first time that received over 2 million favorites.

@haley_mcguire

Micah 💙 #autisim #speak #ohio #words #proudparents

McGuire says Micah is a very loving child and it's easy to see on the videos.

"Micah has always been a really sweet, tender-hearted, quiet kid," she said. "Obviously, he doesn't talk, but he kind of keeps to himself. He's always been extremely loving. I know that that's not necessarily normal for kids with autism. They like to not be touched and they like to be alone. But he's very affectionate and loving. It's been easy for us to be so happy and encouraging with him."

The videos have warmed a lot of people's hearts online and have been source of inspiration for the McGuire family. But, maybe the best part about the videos is they also give hope to families of children with an autism spectrum disorder, especially those who long for the day they can hear their child first speak.

Nearly five years later, Micah's progress is still going strong. Today, the McGuire family is on a journey to help Micah learn to spell, buoyed by the 2023 documentary, Spellers, inspired by the 2021 book Underestimated: An Autism Miracle (Children's Health Defense) by J.B. Handley and Jamison Handley.

Both the book and film challenge assumptions by "experts" about non-speakers with autism, namely that they're cognitively disabled. McGuire has shared clips of the documentary on her TikTok and has even begun teaching Micah S2C or "spelling to communicate." The method is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) designed to help people with autism who also have limited or no verbal abilities to communicate. S2C claims to provide non-speakers with a way to express their thoughts, needs, and feelings through spelling using a letter board or keyboard.

Watch Micah during a lesson:

@haley_mcguire

Learning this new process together #spellingtocommunicate #s2c #spellers #autismawareness #nonverbal

Already, he's moving along wonderfully and making progress.


@haley_mcguire

Working on longer pokes, less prompts and working not to “scroll” as much on his way to the correct letter, or touches the outside letters before hitting the correct one. (This is training him to use his AAC fluently, eventually, for open communication. We still work with AAC and SLP, please don’t continue to tell me what I am already aware of.)

The McGuire's advocacy for this communication method is providing hope, inspiration, and awareness for other families on the same journey. Keep up the good work, Micah!

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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Parenting

Devastated dad shares why he didn't tell his 10-year-old daughter it was her birthday

“I don’t know if we made the right decision…It’s killing us.”

@kylephilippi/TikTok

“Today’s her birthday, and we’re pretending like it’s just another day."

Kid’s birthdays are both lovely moments of celebration, and potential sources of stress for any parent, for various reasons. For dad Kyle Philippi (whom we’ve previously covered for dressing up as Jafar to cure his friend of an irrational phobia), his daughter’s 10th birthday was particularly full of anguish—since he didn’t tell her it actually was her birthday.

In a video posted to his TikTok that amassed close to 3 million views, the concerned dad shared his unique plight that brought him to this unusual decision: his daughter’s birthday falls on Jan 2, over winter break, meaning most kids wouldn’t be able to attend her birthday party. Two years prior, the Philippi found this out the hard way, when they tried to throw a party on the day, and no one showed.

“She was devastated,” Philippi let out through a sigh.

@kylephilippi We’re about 60/40 on whether this was a good idea… #birthday #parenting #parentingtips#autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #auditoryprocessingdisorder #surprisebirthday #birthdayparty ♬ original sound - Kyle Philippi

Then last year, they tried a different approach. Instead of a big social gathering on Jan 2, they had a more intimate environment of just the family and one close friend, followed by a proper party once winter break was finished. At this point Philippi explained that his daughter is on the spectrum and had auditory processing disorder—so even though she had fun at both events, she still couldn’t understand why her friend couldn’t show up on her actual birthday, and was still disappointed. That’s never what any parent wants for their kid.

To make matters more sensitive, Philippi shared that his daughter was beginning to not be invited to other classmates' parties, and suspected that part of why she yearns to have a party with all her friends there was because “she knows she’s not getting to go to everyone else’s birthday.”

Hence why Philippi and his wife decided to try something new by simply not acknowledging the birthday until they can do a party with his daughter’s school friends. Understandably, though the choice was made with the best of intentions, when Jan 2 came, there were tons of conflicting feelings.

Photo credit: Canva

“I don’t know if we made the right decision. But here we are,” Philippi shared. “Today’s her birthday, and we’re pretending like it’s just another day…and it’s killing us.”

Down in the comments people—especially those with special needs kids, or were autistics themselves—were quick to reassure Philippi that he made a tough, but right call.

“As an autistic person who struggles with birthdays, you’re doing the right thing. it’s a little unconventional, but so are kids like us!! keep it up,” one person wrote.

Another added, “these ‘decisions’ are so hard but you are doing great by taking it all into consideration and trying to do what will help her feel great on her birthday.”

It seems the real thing worth noting here is that Philippi and his wife are trying to make their kid’s birthday the best it can be for her, and that’s truly admirable. Odds are nearly every parent can relate to this on some level. And for parents with neurodivergent kiddos, that can often mean navigating uncharted territory. Maybe they’ll try a different approach next year. Maybe not. What matters is they’re trying.

And from the looks of it, the actual birthday wasn’t a total wash. In a follow up video, we see that Philippi’s daughter got her favorite chicken wings for dinner, and got to plan her upcoming birthday…which will apparently be Raggedy Ann themed.

@kylephilippi Replying to @mamamcsorley1 She ate her favorite meal today and we continued to plan out her ultimate birthday party in 9 days 🙂 #birthday #parenting #parentingtips #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #auditoryprocessingdisorder #surprisebirthday #birthdayparty ♬ original sound - Kyle Philippi

Naturally, Philippi will be going as Raggedy Andy, per his daughter's request.

This article originally appeared in January.

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Autistic woman praises parents who dress their disabled children in age appropriate clothes

"Let them have drip."

Photo credit: Canva

Woman praise parents of disabled teens who dress them their age

It's not uncommon to see teens and young adults who are cognitively or physically disabled in clothing that looks like it's more appropriate for elementary aged children. Of course there are different reasons for this, such as the teen preferring to wear younger clothes or it being the person's special interest at the moment. But sometimes it can be that the adults around them still view them as an elementary aged child though they are chronologically and sometimes developmentally much older.

Recently, Clare, an autistic woman took to social media to express her excitement over stumbling across a mother's page that features her nonverbal autistic teenage son. Clare wasn't excited simply because the mom was documenting her life with an autistic child, she took note of something she doesn't see often.

In the background behind the woman's video is a picture of a teenage boy dressed in a pair of of skinny jeans, a Nike zip-up and a blue puffer jacket. By all appearances he looks like a typical teen boy heading to school or the mall but that's what caught Clare's eye.

Style Swag GIF by ComplexGiphy

"So this post was saying they have a non-verbal autistic son and that they dress them like this and I just...I love when parents of special needs children understand that they are still people, that probably wouldn't want to dress like children for their entire life. I love when you see special needs parents of teenagers that dress their kids like teenagers or special needs parents of adults that dress their kids like adults and not just someone repressed in time," the woman shares.

Later she further explains that she appreciates when parents dress their children with special needs like they think they would want to dress and not how they think they should dress due to their disability. Clare says, "cause I see so often teenagers that are special needs that are dressed in like clothing in a style that looks similar to like a four or five year old still. I just love when parents make that effort to try to dress their child in a way that they think that their child would be comfortable even if they cannot express how they would wanna dress."

@lacroix_goth #greenscreen parents that give their children a sense of style and self even if they can’t for themselves 😮💨 the best G_twins_baby is the original post and mom btw!! #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #specialneedmom #specialneedschild #fashion #autistic #nonverbal ♬ original sound - Clare♉️

The teenager that inspired the video praising his mom is 16-year-old Gi'Avonnie-year-old Gi'Avonnie who is always dressed like he could walk onto the set of any high school tv show as the new cool kid. In the caption of the post that caught Clare's attention reads, "it's all about aura when you're nonverbal I won't talk but you will feel the vibe."

One commenter shares with Clare about a woman who became the caregiver of her adult God brother with autism who has since had a "glow up" due to being seen as an adult. John West, aka Mr. West is a man in his mid-thirties who is now under the guardianship of his God sister Des. Prior to Mr. West coming under the care of Des he was denied treats like soda, had severe dental hygiene struggles and seemed to not have much filling his days but things quickly changed with his new caregiver.

@g_twins_baby It’s all about Aura when you’re nonverbal😅 I won’t talk but you will feel the vibe #autismmom #nonverbalautism #autism #bekind ♬ original sound - shah

Since having a voice in his choices, Mr. West not only revamped his entire style but has since started college, started dating and even took his first solo trip. The man appears to be enjoying all of his new freedoms and since Des has been caring for him, he now has his own place right next door to hers.

People seem to agree that teens and adults with disabilities should be dressed and treated like their numerical age whenever appropriate with one person writing, "I think if the child WANTS to dress like their special interest them go for it. But if they don’t care, dress them age appropriate."

"My boss has a kid with autism and he uses an ipad to talk (acc device) and she is slowly putting small curse words since hes getting older i loveee it," another writes.

@waxesbydes John had an amazing 1st day back🫶🏽 #travel #familytime #caregiver #love #travelingwithkids #autisticadult #autismoftiktok #adultwithautism #autistic #autism #autismfamily #familyfun #family #autistictiktok #asd #autismawareness #autismacceptance ♬ original sound - Des❤️

Someone else says, "for real! disabled people deserve dignity. i wish it was more normalized for parents to treat disabled people as presumed competent but with reasonable accommodation."

One person reminds others, "special needs is a spectrum. Some are at the accurate mental age and others aren’t. Many special needs clients are still interested in “kid” things, many aren’t."

Everyone's personality is different and special needs children, teens and adults are no different, this means some teens may only want to wear Disney princess outfits while others want typical high school drip. Some adults may prefer sweatpants and Sponge Bob t-shirts while others want to wear styles that feel closer to their age. Others may not be able to communicate how they want to dress or to be treated at all and rely on their caregiver to decide. No matter what the personal style or developmental level may be, the focus for all seems to be what's best for the child which is what the majority of parents care about the most.

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Barber finds calling walking neurodivergent children through haircuts free of charge

"As a special education teacher, YES YES YES TO EVERYTHING."

Photo credit: Canva

Barber walks autistic boy through first haircut in years

Haircuts are a pretty typical part of life but the mundane activity can be overwhelming for some people, especially children who are neurodivergent. Some kids have a hard time sitting still for the length of time it takes to get a proper haircut while others are overstimulated by the lights, sounds and feelings that come with a haircut.

Getting a quick trim may be much easier for some because it doesn't require the use of clippers which can be loud and tickle. Vernon Jackson, owner of The Gifted Event has become known for his ability to cut neurodivergent children's hair in a way that allows them to feel safe. The Gifted Event is a program Jackson runs from his barbershop allowing him to provide haircuts hair free of charge for the families of neurodivergent and special needs children.

Recently, Jackson uploaded a video that shows exactly how he walks his young clients through getting their haircut and it's really striking a chord with people. The barber is in his shop ready to go when a young autistic boy, Harry is brought in for a haircut. The boy has very long hair that's pulled back in a ponytail. You can visibly see Harry's hesitation along with the nerves of his mom, Brittany.

Scarlett Johansson GIF by NETFLIXGiphy

"He's had haircuts in the past but it was when he was much younger and definitely more into it but now even brushing his hair, washing his hair is difficult," Brittany explains to Jackson before sharing that Harry normally wants "no part" of clippers or scissors.

Though the nervous mom assures Jackson that she understands if the haircut can't happen due to her child's response, this didn't deter the man who has found these haircuts to be a calling. Before getting Harry in the chair, Jackson softens his tone while encouraging the boy to give him a high-five. It took some coaxing of a couple high-fives, a side hug and Jackson holding him by the hand to walk him to the chair. Every step of the way, Jackson asked for the boy's permission before doing anything allowing him to be in control of the pace of the appointment.

@thegiftedeventoff 🌟✨ Watch this incredible haircut transformation! ✂️💖 I help neurodivergent kids conquer their fears, and this one is our biggest yet! Every haircut is FREE for families, thanks to your amazing donations. 🙌💙 Want to make a difference? Donate a haircut at thegiftedevent.com! Or click the link in my bio! Let’s spread the love and break barriers together! 💪💫 #HaircutHeroes #Neurodiversity #Transformations ♬ original sound - TheGiftedEventOfficial

Once the boy was in the chair, even adjusting the height of the chair was a bit of a challenge when the barber moved just a little too fast. Jackson immediately noticed Harry's fear and asked to raise the chair at a slow one pump at a time. The boy agreed and before too long the cape was on and the process was starting. To get the kids to look down when needed, Jackson allows them to pick out one of the action figures he keeps in the barber shop. Harry chose Spider Man.

But before any cutting got started, Jackson prepped the boy on what was about to happen, "alright Harry, this is called a clipper. Have you ever seen it before? Do you want to feel it? Feel it. See how it vibrates? Do you want to feel it right here?"

man shaving the boy's hair Photo by Jonathan Weiss on Unsplash

Jackson put the clipper against his own arm before putting it against Harry's arm, "That's all that does, it just vibrates, okay? It's all it does. Does it tickle? A little bit?" He then places the vibrating clipper in different spots on the boy's head asking him if it was okay. Once Jackson gets the all clear from Harry, he begins the cut.

While Harry keeps scrunching into his shoulders, he's allowing Jackson to not only use sheers to cut off his long ponytail, but to use the clippers to buzz the sides. The child's comfort level causes a woman who is attending the appointment with Harry to excitedly try to get in front of the pair to take a picture or video. This moment results in Jackson asserting a boundary for the boy and himself to keep Harry's stimulation level as low as possible in that moment.

@thegiftedeventoff 🌟✨ Watch this incredible haircut transformation! ✂️💖 I help neurodivergent kids conquer their fears, and this one is our biggest yet! Every haircut is FREE for families, thanks to your amazing donations. 🙌💙 Want to make a difference? Donate a haircut at thegiftedevent.com! Or click the link in my bio! Let’s spread the love and break barriers together! 💪💫 #HaircutHeroes #Neurodiversity #Transformations ♬ original sound - TheGiftedEventOfficial

"No, no, no. If you want to record, record from back there. I don't want you interact with him while he's still focused right now. You can record if you want to do a video. I just don't want the interaction while I got him calm," Jackson asserts.

At this point the bulk of the haircut is complete but he still needs to line up the back and edges while Harry is tolerating the buzzing, so Jackson offers the boy his hand while he cuts with the other. The end results are so amazing that while Harry doesn't speak many words, he can't contain his excitement, neither can his sister and mom. It's contagious as commenters also cant stop gushing over the patience of Jackson and the results of the haircut.

@thegiftedeventoff These moments make what i do extremely worth it! To donate a haircut • learn my techniques via my online course • or to book click the link in my bio or visit thegiftedevent.com
♬ original sound - TheGiftedEventOfficial

Someone writes, "as a special education teacher, YES YES YES TO EVERYTHING 10 ACROSS-THE-BOARD THIS is how you work!!!!!!!"

"He did soooo good. I love how he was slumped over in fear at first and then gained so much confidence and trust towards the end. You are so AWESOME," another shares.

"He looks amazing. And I love how you explained to them what you were doing and to give him space to have his own experience," one person gushes.

"I love how he stopped the woman because he knew, that might be too much right now. Not being disrespectful but being firm, for the kids own good assertive skills right there," someone else noted.

Harry's mom even chimed in with an update for the barber saying, "We couldn’t be more grateful to you for what you’ve done for us! Harry loves his cut and cannot stop admiring himself! Still cracking up over the hairdryer!"

The Gifted Event runs strictly off of donations in order to provide free appointments to the families that visit the barbershop. Anyone can donate a haircut for a family in need by going to thegiftedevent.com.

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