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Parents build train-themed tiny house in backyard for 21-year-old son with autism

"His own space, his own choices and agency. That’s so regulating!"

bobbystinyhouseworld/TikTok

Parents build 21-year-old autistic son a tiny home for independent living.

Tiny houses are an incredible living option. Compact yet complete with everything needed to live a full, independent life, living in a tiny home has been a game changer for Bobby, an autistic 21-year-old in West Virginia whose parents built him his own train-themed tiny home in their backyard.

Bobby, who has intellectual autism, a seizure disorder, and OCD, has been living in the home for over nine months. His parents have documented his tiny home living on TikTok, where they share what life is like for Bobby and the positive impact it has had in his life and theirs.

"Our solution to give some independence to our 20 year old son with profound autism is this backyard tiny home," his mother wrote in the video.

@bobbystinyhouseworld

Our solution to give some independence to our 20 year old son with profound autism is this backyard tiny home. He’s been living here for over 4 months and it’s going better than we could have ever imagined! #autism #profoundautism #autismadult #autismparenting #independentliving #tinyhouse

In the video, she gives a full tour of the exterior and interior of Bobby's tiny home. It is a 12 foot by 30 foot home that has enabled Bobby more freedom and independence.

But it's also been a game changer for her life as the parent of a child with autism as well. In another video, she explained the profound impact Bobby's tiny house move has had. "Our situation was dire. OCD had taken over every part of our life," she shared in a video explaining why they built Bobby his tiny house. "I told my husband, 'I'm done. I cannot do this,'" adding that their lives had become incredibly chaotic when the tiny house idea just came to her.

@bobbystinyhouseworld

#autism #profoundautism #autismadult #autismparenting #independentliving #tinyhouse

She continued by sharing, "I've let go of the control I've needed to have over his life for the past 20 years...from what I'm getting from his reaction of living on his own in that tiny home is that I think that control was so overwhelming for him. I know it was overwhelming for me. I didn't know how to deal with any of it."

On top of helping ease her struggles with control, the tiny house has also helped Bobby immensely. "Bobby has been living in his tiny house for 9 months. It’s been 9 months with no meltdowns, no aggression, 9 months of him eating new foods with ease. He’s happier, my husband and I are happier. By far, the best decision we’ve ever made!" she wrote in the caption of another video.

Although Bobby now has his own space, she notes that his tiny home doesn't have everything a normal "house" would, including things like a stove, a washer and dryer to do laundry, or a TV. She also adds that having security cameras inside and outside of the home has been vital to making sure Bobby is safe in his new place.

@bobbystinyhouseworld

He has his own ice maker, but prefers ours 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 #autism #profoundautism #autismparents #autismparenting #ocd #specialneeds #autismadult #independentliving #tinyhouse

And they continue to work on daily living skills, like taking out the garbage. "Working on daily living skills has been so much easier to do in his tiny house. It’s his space and he’s much more cooperative in doing these tasks," she wrote.

Bobby's viewers absolutely love following his tiny home journey and personal growth through his independent living.

"As a momma of an autistic son, this melts my heart," one wrote.

"This is a huge accomplishment for an adult on the spectrum! Giving him independence and his own space is amazing!!!❤️" said another.

Another viewer wrote, "His own space, his own choices and agency. That’s so regulating!"


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Fourth grader gives PowerPoint to her class announcing that she's autistic

The entire class broke out into applause.

tinklesherpants/Instagram

10-year-old Cam gives a PowerPoint presentation to her class about her autism diagnosis.

Fourth grader Campbell is unashamed of her autism diagnosis. The incredible 10-year-old created a PowerPoint presentation to tell her class all about it, complete with helpful information about autism to help them understand what it is and to encourage an atmosphere of acceptance.

Campbell's mom, Stephanie Hanrahan (@tinklesherpants), shared a video on Instagram of her daughter giving her presentation to a room full of attentive students. "Our daughter decided to tell her class she's autistic. We had no idea she was doing this. She decided to use her free time at school to create a presentation," she writes in the video's caption.

The video begins with Cam standing in front of the class starting her presentation. "My name is Cam, and I have autism. Autism is a disability that affects socializing with people, learning, and other stuff. It can make life hard, but I am very open sharing about it," she begins. "I like to call autism my invisible disability."


Cam goes on to explain all the things that autism can affect, before moving on to describing how all autism is not the same. She shares that she has a younger brother with autism named Eli who is in second grade. "We have the same disability, but we don't have the same special needs," she says.

Another slide features 'Famous People with Autism', where she included photos of Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and more...including herself in a funny nod. The next slide is about basic autism facts, before she highlights another slide about stimming. She shares that stimming is a natural way that people with autism move or fidget with their bodies. Common stims may be flopping, knee bobbing, repetition, and humming. "Stimming is absolutely not okay to make fun of or copy," she says.

At the end of her presentation, the entire class gives her a rousing round of applause and Cam wears a large, proud smile on her face.

Her mom Stephanie added in the caption, "Do not discount this generation. I know there are bad seeds in every bunch, but in my experience, children are often way more open-minded and inclusive than adults. And it’s all because of classrooms like these where an autistic girl is given the chance to stand with pride and say, 'This is me.' Raise your kids to be proud of every stripe. Raise your kids to embrace everyone’s story."

Cam's powerful presentation got tons of positive comments from viewers, including a teacher who knows her. The teacher wrote, "I’m one of the fourth grade teachers lucky enough to know Cam and the gift she is to us all. I boo hoo cried during her whole presentation out of admiration for her and pride in her peers. There is so much beauty in kids and we learn so much from them. If the world could mirror our fourth graders, it’d be a much more beautiful place. Thank you for sharing the gift of Cam with us, and the world! She is a deeply beautiful soul and we all have so much to learn from her. ❤️"

Others chimed in, saying:

"AND she started a trend at school of kids talking about their differences. That was awesome on so many levels!"

"This is so brave and her peers response is so beautiful 👏🥹❤️."

"She did such a great job of explaining Autism, stimming and several other aspects of the condition. She was funny and confident, and her classmates seem to have enjoyed and learned a lot. This really helps get conversations started and makes the entire environment a lot more inclusive! Way to go🔥."

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This 'Sesame Street' theme park is making history for kids and families with autism.

A Pennsylvania theme park has just been awarded an important distinction.

Sesame Place, a children's theme and water park based on the television program "Sesame Street," was declared a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).

As part of its detailed certification process, Sesame Place requires at least 80% of its staff to complete rigorous training on autism sensitivity and awareness. The park also installed "quiet rooms" as safe spaces for visitors who may be experiencing sensory overload and offers noise-canceling headphones to attendees throughout the park.

"Sesame Street" character Julia, who has autism, is also on-hand at the park to provide a familiar face and help educate guests who might not be as familiar with autism.

Image via Sesame Street/YouTube.

"It is our goal to provide every family with an enjoyable and memorable visit to Sesame Place, and we are proud to offer specialized services to guests with autism and other special needs," the company announced in a statement on its website.

The changes go beyond the actual park as well. It revamped its online resources and the planning process for families too.

In addition, Sesame Place provides information and strategies for guests to better prepare for their visit to the park, with detailed planning tips on their website, including a sensory ranking system for rides, low-sensory parade routes, and other details for related services like travel and dining.

The end result is to give guests and their families "peace of mind" even before they enter the park.

Photo by Shawn Collins/Flickr.

Sesame Place isn't the only park making strides in accessibility either.

While Sesame Place is the first park to earn the Certified Autism Center distinction, other parks are making inclusive strides as well.

Disneyland has received praise for its efforts to expand disability services to guests, including those with autism. And in late 2017, a video went viral showing a young guest interacting with a park employee in sign language.

Also in 2017, a $17 million dollar water park in San Antonio called Morgan's Inspiration Island opened with the goal of being accessible to all people with disabilities.

However, what's actually "magical" about moments like these are how there's nothing magical at all required — just awareness, hard work, and recognizing the value of accessibility and representation for all children and families.

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Every April, Egypt's great monuments turn blue. This woman's hard work is why.

She started the conversation almost 20 years ago, but now people are really listening.

On April 2, the pyramids of Giza were lit up a beautiful shade of blue. Why?

Photo by David Degner/Getty Images.

The pyramids are often lit up for a number of various holidays and causes. In this case, the bright blue lights shone in honor of Autism Awareness Month — marking a relatively recent recognition of the condition in Egypt.

Thanks to Dr. Dahlia Soliman, founder of the Egyptian Autistic Society, autism is finally being talked about openly there.

For the longest time, autism was considered taboo in Egypt. In some areas, it was even called a curse.

"In the rural areas, due to lack of education, when [people saw] a child/adult spinning or doing any of the stereotypical behavior displayed by an autistic person they [thought] this child is possessed," Solimon told Upworthy.

Soliman set out to change that notion 18 years ago, and as of today, the Egyptian Autistic Society (EAS) has diagnosed thousands of children as being "on the spectrum."

Egyptian children in the Egypt Autistic Society program. Image via Egypt Autistic Society/Facebook, used with permission.

The "spectrum" refers to the wide range of behaviors/symptoms a person can exhibit when they are autistic. Unfortunately, this can also make autism difficult to diagnose, which is why, early on, more than 80% of Soliman's patients had been misdiagnosed prior to coming to her.

"Very few doctors and specialists [had] heard of it. It is not taught in our university curriculums (not even in faculty of medicine)," Soliman explained.

One of the greatest challenges Soliman faced when opening the Egypt Autistic Society was getting approval for the group's name because it included the word "autistic" and officials had no idea what it meant.

EAS' main goal is to provide "early intervention" services that are uniquely tailored to each autistic child and their parents, but keeping a program like it running isn't easy — or cheap.

The younger a child is diagnosed, the more receptive they will be to programs that can help curb behavioral and social issues caused by autism. The hope is that such training will make it easier to "mainstream" autistic children in the Egyptian eduction system.

Image via Egyptian Autistic Society/Facebook, used with permission.

This has been exceedingly difficult, especially during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 when the administration kept changing.

Programs for people with autism are expensive for the average Egyptian family. EAS subsidizes tuition for one-third of its students, but such nonprofit work requires significant help from donors, beyond what grateful parents can give.

However, Soliman's meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been instrumental in raising funds and awareness. Fattah el-Sisi has connected EAS with a number of dignitaries, some of whom have personal connections to autism.

In March 2016, Admiral Mohab Mamish, head of the Suez Canal Authority, publicly declared that his grandson has autism. For a country that not long ago thought autism was possession, that's a huge step forward in reducing the stigma.

Getting Egypt's great monuments lit up in bright blue is, strangely enough, one of the most challenging aspects of Soliman's work to destigmatize autism.

"It is actually a huge hassle!" Soliman wrote in an email. "We have to write official formal letters to each minister or authority in charge of that particular monument. Then hand deliver it to the head of that authority and then nag by phone or in person that it gets put on his desk and he signs it!"

Photo by David Degner/Getty Images.

Despite the hassle, however, she's managed to light up at least one Egyptian landmark every year since 2012.

For Autism Awareness Month in 2016, 21 landmarks, including the pyramids, blazed blue.


While the bureaucracy might be a pain, Soliman says her work with the children makes it all worth it.

Photo via Dahlia Soliman/Facebook, used with permission.

According to her blog, from age 11 on, Soliman knew she wanted to work with children with special needs.

When asked why she loves working with autistic kids, she replied, "I love children in general, but special needs children to me are slightly more special. Each tiny bit of progress is like climbing mount everest and that fulfills me."

Keeping the conversation around autism moving forward in Egypt is of utmost importance.

Photo via Egyptian Autistic Society/Facebook, used with permission.

No matter where you're from, if you've had experience with autism, Soliman and the EAS are encouraging you to share your story using the hashtag #iamthefirststep.

They hope that if more Egyptians see how prevalent autism is around the world, and how manageable it can be, pretty soon the original stigma that once influenced the country to keep people living with autism hidden away will fall away entirely.

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