Speaker 1: 0:14

Hi Pod, I am Dad. He's not just Hi Dad, he's my dad, james Gutman. Folks, it's james gutman, it's Hi pod, I'm dad. It is mid-march 2025 and this is it. This is the podcast that I've been talking about, the one where I could finally tell all of you about my upcoming book, now available for pre-order everywhere Hi Hi World I'm Dad how fathers can journey to autism awareness, acceptance and appreciation. You can get it on Amazon. You can get it on Jessica Kingsley Publishing's website. You can get it on Barnes Noble Due in stores June 19th.

Speaker 1: 0:56

I am so, so excited to be able to finally share this with you guys. Talk to you a little bit about it, tell you what it is. This is something that's been. Share this with you guys. Talk to you a little bit about it, tell you what it is. This is something that's been a big part of my life now for over a year just putting it together and writing it and working with the amazing team over at Jessica Kingsley Publishing. It has been everything that I wanted it to be, at the exact right time.

Speaker 1: 1:20

This is a book that the idea of it, the idea of writing about my son for those of you who don't know if you're new to this podcast. My son, lucas, is just about to be 14 years old. He's nonverbal, doesn't say any words, has what some would call, I guess, severe autism or just struggles with life skills life skills that a lot of parents stopped doing for their kids years ago. I still do it for my son and it's been a big part of our lives, but through all of that we've developed a bond. I've learned to see the things about him that are there because of autism, that make him just a wonderful person, and I think that's a message that is so often lost in kind of special needs parenting or autism parenting, however you want to put it. I think a lot of times you read a few things. You'll read either somebody who's telling you how hard it is and don't get me wrong, man, it is hard parenting in general. It's hard parenting right when it comes to a boy like mine. It's hard because some of the things that I have to take care of are things that you know we kind of are done with at a certain point. You know tying his shoes and you know preparing his food, making sure he doesn't choke on, you know, a piece of chicken that hasn't been cut enough or something. So those things are difficult too and they're a big part of it. I don't focus on that. I also don't focus on how you know, despite his autism, he's a great kid. You know, he can do anything. He can be a doctor or play football. I don't, my son isn't a doctor. My son isn't going to play football. My son is a wonderful kid in so many ways because of autism. What does that mean? Well, it's, that's the whole idea of autism appreciation the idea that his personality is unique and kind and sweet and pure in many ways because of autism. My son isn't malicious. My son isn't malicious. My son, you know, is loyal. When he loves you, he loves you.

Speaker 1: 3:07

All the things that I've talked about here on this podcast and in the blog, they're all in this book. The book is written very similar to how I do my blog and how I do all of my writing. I tell you my stories about my son and I tell you the stories not sugar-coated stories about my son and I tell you the stories, not sugarcoated. There were dark times for me as a dad early on, when trying to figure out who my son was and how autism was affecting his and in general our lives, and it was scary and I'm not going to come on here and I'm not going to write a book and I'm not going to do a podcast and pretend otherwise, because it makes me look like a superhero. You know, from the very beginning I knew my boy, I love my boy and I'll dig my feet out. I didn't know anything from the very beginning, I didn't know what was happening. I'm like, why is he doing this? And that's part of the book and it's part of the thing that now, in hindsight, being able to look back, we can laugh about it. We can tell stories that you know I've, I remember at the time were frightening. You know I talk about going to music together class with him, which was a trip. You know at the time that we were coming to grips with what exactly autism was and starting to finally say it out loud here, I was bringing him to this music class. I tell stories about that and some of the things that he did that at the time were mortifying. But over time I can look back and I can smile and I can remember it and in some ways I miss it a little bit when he was little. I look at these old pictures of him when he was tiny and now he's like a giant man in my house. So I liked getting a chance to tell those stories again and to talk about him. And one of the things that I I feel luckiest about when I get to write about my son is that anytime I write about him, by the end of it I feel like closer to him than I felt in the beginning, because here I am and we feel it, man, we experience it.

Speaker 1: 4:57

If you have a kid in your life, if you have somebody like Lucas, or even if you just have a typical child, you know what it's like day to day. You live a life with them and you love them and you have a great bond and you're happy. And you live a life with them and you love them and you have a great bond and you're happy. And you have moments throughout the day where you're like this is amazing as a great kid, but to sit down and articulate all the things that make your kids special. By the time you're done doing that, you want to just go run and hug your kid, and that's what I do. I'm lucky enough that I get to do that. My son doesn't push me away. My son is a. He's a big hugger, he likes to hang hang out, he likes to give you kisses, sometimes over and over again, to the point where you got to be like buddy no more, just stop with the kissing. All right, we're good, we just got bagels before and we're online at the bagel store and he'll be grabbing my head and just kissing. I'm like thank you buddy, thank you buddy, thank you buddy. It makes me happy.

Speaker 1: 5:46

And a lot of people don't think about that aspect of it. They think about raising a boy like mine and it's only about the work and it's only about how hard it is and it's only about how they could never do it. You're so strong that you can do that. And the reason why they say that is because when they picture doing it themselves, they're imagining a kid that they don't know. They're pasting a copy and paste version of a kid with autism into their imagination and they're thinking I don't want to help that kid, I don't want to raise that kid. They don't think of it as a kid that they already know and love and have a bond with, like I have. So I want to do everything for my son. My son asks for nothing and I want to give him everything. He's like the only person I know who never asks for anything His birthday, his Christmas you almost have to like force presence upon him. If that's not autism appreciation, I don't know what it is. We talk all the time about all the things we want for our kids. I want a boy. I just want my kid to be kind and sweet and not materialistic, and loving and caring and always know that I'm there for them. That's what I got right. Does every parent have that? No, does every parent with a kid with autism have that? I don't know. I don't think so. I don't know if you have a kid like Lucas, but I can tell you this Having been with my son since he was born, I've met other kids in his class.

Speaker 1: 7:06

I have, you know, people in our lives. His friend Christian, my girlfriend's son, christian, is just like Lucas. He's minimally verbal and he's a wonderful person in some of the exact same ways that my son is. And I've met people on the spectrum, whether it's considered Hi functioning, low function, whatever words you want to use. We spend so much time fighting about words, which always makes me laugh. I have a. My son doesn't use any words and meanwhile all of us who have millions of words, we end up making that a big conflict, however you want to term it.

Speaker 1: 7:37

Some of the purest realist people, honest people, I know have had autism, you know and I mean honest and sometimes people think that's a negative, you know they'll come out and be like oh, you told me I was ugly, okay, but at least you know, at least he's not going to whisper it to somebody behind your back and tell you something else. And that's what I love about my son. My son gives you a kiss because he wants to give you a kiss. If my son asks for food, he wants that food. He doesn't eat something and then later on go. I only took it because you wanted me to have it. He doesn't do that.

Speaker 1: 8:09

Lucas is a real realist person you've ever met and I got a chance to write about him and this book tells you that story. Because you know what all these things. I'm sitting here now talking about him and the way I'm talking to you is how I talk to others. When I talk about lucas in my life and I hear that from people too they're're like I hear from you you talk about him. You sound so happy because I am. Every day I'm amazed by him and the fact that I get a chance to have him in my life, but this didn't happen overnight and this didn't happen immediately. This is something that, through years of worry and fear and not understanding him and trying to figure out like, why doesn't he do this? Why does he do that? It takes a long time to find autism appreciation and that's what this book was about, and there's stories and it's funny and it's all the ways that I've written, all the things I've written and I said in the initial announcement and I'll tell you guys now too.

Speaker 1: 9:05

This book is for so many different people and that's what I love about with their kids scared about what's next. This is for parents like me who have kids years in that want to read and be like, yes, that's, I agree, I feel that way too, or I understand that, or maybe they forgot that, you know? Oh, yes, I believe that. But, like, life gets hard and sometimes I lose sight of that. It's for them. It's for people like grandparents who know nothing about this and now it's a part of their lives because their grandchild has autism and their friends are going to ask them, and their friends know even less than they do, and they have to then turn around and explain it to them. This book helps them. This book is for people who know someone with autism.

Speaker 1: 9:53

This book is for you know, anybody that wants to understand why this is so special in my life and in the lives of others, because, on its face and based on what we've been told for years and years and years, it shouldn't be the life we have right now. The one that I love and the one that I wrote a book about, and the one that I have an appreciation for, is the worst case scenario for me. From 10 years ago. It was the world that we try to avoid before your kid is born. It's the world that you try to avoid when your child is little.

Speaker 1: 10:27

Autism is sold as a fear tactic. Don't have it in your life, don't catch the autism, don't let your kid get autism. No one tells you specifically why. They just tell you not to have it happen. And then, when it does, what do you do Besides beat yourself up? I beat myself up. I couldn't imagine. I kept thinking to myself what do we do? Why is it like this? And it took a few years to really understand that this kid is amazing. The way he sees the world is amazing. It's refreshing, it's pure and it's a real. And the boy that I have in my life is the best possible boy I could have. And the irony is that if I could go back in time and tell myself what he's like now, I would be fearful.

Speaker 1: 11:13

My son doesn't speak. My son has life skill issues All these things that I told myself when he was little he needed to do in order to bring happiness into our lives. He doesn't speak. My son has life skill issues all these things that I told myself when he was little he needed to do in order to bring happiness into our lives. He doesn't do. And yet he's brought so much happiness into our lives and that's why I wrote this book and that's why I'm so excited to share it with everybody. In eight years, I've pretty much sold nothing, right?

Speaker 1: 11:34

This blog has been a labor of love. I have written twice a week every week since February of 2016. I've done this podcast pretty much every week since late 2019. I would and I have done it for free because I want everyone to know who my son is and I want everybody to understand that if you're going through this, I don't want you to have to feel the way I felt in the beginning, because in the end, even when things don't turn out fine, they are. The worst case scenario ended up being our perfect lives. I'm lucky to have him in my life and if you know somebody like Lucas, you're lucky to have them in your life. And if you don't know somebody like Lucas, pick up this book, read it and get to know him and you'll be luckier for it.

Speaker 1: 12:27

There is no message that I am more dedicated to than teaching anyone about autism appreciation. That's it. I mean, we debate awareness, we debate acceptance, and that's great. You guys can debate that all you want. For me, we go beyond that. I'm aware of it. I accept him, but when it comes to truly appreciating the person he is, that's all I want to do. So thank you so much to all of you who have been listening for your support through the years, for helping to build this blog and build this podcast. It means so much to me on a level I can't even begin to explain, and this book, honestly, is for all of you. This, really, I just I can't. I can't tell you how thankful I am I really can't for the opportunity to be able to to share this with the world.

Speaker 1: 13:12

This book is our story. It's stories of what happened. I talk about bypass surgery. I talk about the life-changing events that I've dealt with in the last 14 years and how it led me to where we are today. So do me a favor. Head over. I have links down below Amazon, barnes, noble, jkp all of them. They have it there.

Speaker 1: 13:36

Follow us on social media. We're going to have tons of updates and guess what? Here's the coolest thing. Check this out. I'm not even done. Right, we're not even done. There's more to come in terms of some of the announcements we still have to make. So I'm excited about that.

Speaker 1: 13:48

But please do me a favor. Pick up your copy today. Get it ahead for June. Love to know your thoughts on it. Anybody out there who has a chance to read it, please drop me a line. You can hit the contact page over on Hi. You can go over to Facebook. I'm Hi on Instagram. You can write me there. Write me somewhere. Tell me what you think of this book. Leave a review if you get a chance to read it beforehand, if you pick it up and it comes in June, let me know.

Speaker 1: 14:12

After then let's talk about this. This is a subject I want us to share with everybody. Send this link to your friends, let people know about it. Let's spread the word of autism appreciation together. It's long overdue and it will make the world a better place. So thank you once again for your support. Head over again, hi World, I'm Dad. How Fathers Can Journey to Autism Awareness, acceptance and Appreciation. Available for pre-order everywhere. Pre-order everywhere. Pre-order it today. Go over to Hi. Monday, wednesday brand new blogs available. Podcast here wherever pods are casted. All streaming services were available there as well every Friday yeah, follow on social media, guys. Thank you, it's going to be a great year. Always big things ahead. I appreciate it Until next time. James Guttman saying be well, bye pod, I'll see you next time.