Keri, Susan and Alex

One of the fun parts about going to LA recently was getting to meet two women I’ve been friends with on line but had never met in person. Keri Bowers, (left) and Susan Levy. They had not met yet in person either, so it was fun and made me feel a tiny bit cool to connect them…both being mothers to young men on the spectrum. It was wonderful for me to meet them, because both are autism-mom powerhouses. Their kids are older than mine, and I have so much to learn from them.

Keri is an artist and film director and wears many other hats. She co-directed the Films Normal People Scare Me with her son who has autism and The Sandwich Kid with her son who doesn’t have autism. I’ve interviewed her a couple of times on my blog and both on the blog and in private conversations she was so generous with her time and her vast knowledge base. In person, she was even more lovely. So real, so unpretentious. Very artsy, of course, but in a gracious, down to earth, honest way. I could have talked with her forever.

Susan Levy, was formerly the principal of a school for kids with special needs and now she runs something called The College Internship Program in Long Beach, which helps young adults with autism transition to independent living. She has the rare quality of being laid back, yet she’s also super efficient. In one day I witnessed her take an idea to have a picnic bringing together the entire LA autism community, and solidify it, and begin delegating, and believe me…it will happen…and soon. Susan is just full of good ideas and boundless energy, and also kindness. She picked me up at the hotel and carted me around for our evening of dinner and drinks. Such a nice person! The LA autism community is lucky to have her in their midst!

While going to the restaurant, Susan mentioned she’d asked someone to join us for drinks after dinner. His name was such and such, and he is a young adult with Asperger’s…and he was new to LA, and he runs a website, yada yada….the name was lost on me. I had too many details from my LA trip floating around in my head. Sure, sure, that will be nice.

After dinner we met up with Alex Plank and some of his buddies at a hotel formerly owned by John Wayne, in Culver City, Susan’s pick(very cool place..with a wonderful history of hosting the munchkins from The Wizard of Oz during filming of said movie). Alex was a riot. He was so smart, and funny. He had one ear in several conversations at once, and asked very direct questions, and had such an honest, genuinely curious way about him…he just totally charmed me.

When he found out I blogged he said,

“You should interview me!”

I was like, “Okay…”

And come to find out he is the founder of Wrong Planet, which according to him, (and I believe him) is the most trafficked autism website in the U.S.

I had to admit I wasn’t all that familiar with Wrong Planet. I sort of vaguely knew of it. To tell you the truth I think I clicked on the website a couple of years ago and was frightened off by the hostility in the comment section. I’m not saying those who have Asperger’s don’t have a right to feel how they feel, but whatever I read at the time was pretty ugly and I didn’t go back. Alex was nothing like that.

He wound up driving me back to the hotel, and we had a lovely conversation in the car. I found him to be delightful, and inspiring. Here’s this young man with Asperger’s, taking LA by storm…there two weeks and already being asked by an agent to be a character actor in this or that. I loved it!

Yes, I’ve sent him my list of interview questions…and will get back to you if/when he gets back to me.

So anyway…LA. It’s not just for Revelations Conferences. It’s for meeting other wonderful people, all affected by and connected by autism. Back at the hotel that night, I felt so lucky to have had the experience of meeting these three.

Thank you Keri. Thank you Susan. Thank you Alex. You all are awesome.

It was a blast.