Youth presenter has message go viral on social media, World Autism Awareness Day

“Throughout my Autism, one of the things that I have struggled with is definitely socializing..."

BRANTFORD - On April 2, at a flag raising ceremony in Harmony Square, Lansdowne Children's Centre youth client Karrvin Misener, 18, spoke about his experience as a person with Autism; he was diagnosed at the age of three.

“Throughout my Autism, one of the things that I have struggled with is definitely socializing,” he said. However, he was able to develop those skills through the Teen Group program at Lansdowne. “After that, I have made friends outside of Teen Group,” he said.

Karrvin noted that his Autism has benefitted him in that “it helps me analyze small details, that allow me to pursue my passion of drawing.”

He closed with a special message for anyone else who has Autism: “Please do not be ashamed; you will get through it.”

It’s clear that Karrvin’s words resonated with the Lansdowne community and well beyond; within 24 hours of a video of him speaking being posted on Lansdowne’s social media (@LansdowneChildrens), it had 20,000 views, and 97 per cent of the viewers were not Lansdowne followers. At the time of this publication, the video has generated over 55,000 views on Instagram, earned nearly 1,000 likes, and has been shared more than 600 times.

Thank you, Karrvin for your great courage and excellent presentation!