Danny Whitty – Nonspeaking Autistic Writer & Advocate
Dear Friends,
Wow. I am 36 today! It has been the most amazing year. Beyond my still newly accessible words. But I want to express my immense joy for your friendship and support of my astounding journey so far. I am only just beginning!
Love,
Danny
by Danny K. Whitty
So all my all my all my
Time in this form
Spent in mostly
Trapped
Purgatory and only now
Am I arrived
And years seem so
Bright from here.
Wow, Friends! I am now a published author! This is so meaningful to me – Bon Appetit and Food & Wine magazines have been an important source of joy and inspiration to me for most of my life! I am over the moon to have my story shared in Bon Appetit!
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/communicate-through-food
(The illustration is by Martina Fischmeister)
Please read and enjoy and share! I am so so so proud and thrilled.
Your Friend,
Danny
Tara and I had an absolutely fantastic trip to NYC last month. This was our first trip with just the two of us, and so it was a huge milestone for me. We were a bit worried about my regulation, but I usually am so captivated by travel that I am generally more regulated while traveling than at home. This was true for this trip, and Tara was absolutely fantastic at helping me manage my small flare-ups. I feel so much more confident in my regulation and traveling capacity now!
I wrote these poems in Central Park and Bryant Park among such pulsating energy and I hope you enjoy.
Subways go whoosh
Here energy of crowds
Throbs and heaves
And swirls and its updraft
Lifts spirits and dreams
Above its gritty pavement.
Tourists in a big city
Here I am with you
Far from our native habitat
And in such different surroundings
And immersed in unfamiliar crowds
And yet feeling unifying truths
Whirl around the
Corners of each block.
No time for Times Square
Here we rest among restlessness
Among chaos thinly constrained
By surficial niceties
Among trees that are somehow
Still reaching skyward
Earnestly
Despite their rigid and forced and
Contrived
Habitat.
Today I think of my Papa as I most love to remember him: My best cheerleader! He was so full of vibrant joy and optimism, and so enthusiastic about our little routines. He staunchly defended me at all times. He was delighted by our friendship. He made me feel worthy of genuine interest. He was an irreplaceable light in my life. As an autistic boy, his friendship meant the world to me.
I miss his physical presence beyond anything I have ever felt. But I have his spirit with me. This poem is about his spirit in my life.
Happy Father’s Day. I love you, Papa!
So much, so much, so much
You are so much
In my life
In your life
In your afterlife
Between our past and future.
Danny K. Whitty
I wrote a blog post on friendship and communication for I-ASC. I hope you enjoy it!
Friends! I am so thrilled to be back with another episode! Meet Dr. Melania Guerra, an oceanographer, engineer, and science diplomat. She shares her amazing breadth of experiences from outer space to the poles, thoughts on science diplomacy, pride for her home country Costa Rica, and her dream of being the ocean’s ambassador. Thank you, gracias, Melania for a beautiful conversation!
Earlier this year, I was very excited to be interviewed by Meghan (Not An Autism Mom) for the wonderful group That Au-Some Book Club! Tara and I were invited to share a bit about The Ocean & Us Podcast, but also mainly to talk about our experiences with Spelling to Communicate and how it has changed out lives. Meghan is such a thoughtful interviewer and the That Au-Some Book Club community is so welcoming. I so enjoyed this!
Please enjoy this recording of our interview!
Friends! Something very exciting has just launched: Our new online magazine, Leo in Bloom! We are so thrilled to share this heartfelt project with you!
Leo in Bloom is a monthly publication about empathy in its varied forms across diverse realms. I am the Editor-in-Chief and contributor, along with my brilliant sisters. The first issue’s theme is From Awareness to Acceptance, published at the end of April to encourage continued focus on Autism Acceptance beyond this month.
Please take a look, subscribe, share, and enjoy!
Next issue’s theme (to be published June 1) will be “clouds.” We welcome submissions from all!
Meet Thanda Ko Gyi, founder and project director of Myanmar Ocean Project and all-around cool and inspiring person! She leads efforts to clean up ghost gear from Myanmar’s waters and to work with communities to find long-term solutions to the ghost gear problem. She is also an awesome diver and advocate for the oceans!
This episode is particularly meaningful because our guest and other friends in Myanmar are now struggling under the military coup in Myanmar. Please think of them as you watch. We are thinking of her and all who are affected.
Learn more about Myanmar Ocean Project here: http://www.myanmarocean.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/MyanmarOcean
Welcome back to our journey! We are so thrilled to share our conversation with a very special guest. Dr. Elizabeth Henderson is a Bioacoustic Scientist at NIWC Pacific who studies cetacean behavioral ecology and vocalizations and analyzes how noise (mostly manmade but also environmental) impacts their behavior. She is also the proud Best Buddy of a Mr. Danny Whitty! Join us to learn about beaked whales, discovery, cool ships including one that flips, dolphins as age groups, and friendship! Thank you, Liz, for being our guest!
Danny With Words