Iowa PBS presents The Life Autistic

Iowa PBS will explore the challenges and successes of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder during a new broadcast special, The Life Autistic, on Monday, April 13 at 8 p.m.

This broadcast special is a compilation of segments from Iowa PBS’s digital-first series of the same name. It features personal profiles of seven people from ages 6 to 72 with autism.

• Tyler, age 26, speaks publicly as an autism-awareness advocate, works full-time at Wells Fargo and serves as a board member for the Autism Society of Iowa.
• Courtney, age 30, demonstrated various traits of autism since she was born and now lives in a group home managed by the Christian Opportunity Center.
• Brandon, age 11, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4, and began therapy a short time later.
• Lynn, age 72, has lived in a Balance Autism group home for more than 20 years and recently moved to one of the organization’s adult community living homes.
• Jack, age 15, is a student in the Ankeny Community School District where he is making progress typing on various communication devices and working on becoming more verbal.
• Mike, age 54, is married with two stepsons who also have autism. He works for Talk to Me Technologies in Cedar Falls and is an autism awareness advocate.

Colorado State University professor of animal science Temple Grandin is also included in this program. Nonverbal until the age of four, Grandin is one of the leading authorities on livestock facility design and an autism awareness advocate.

The Life Autistic has been releasing segments bi-weekly on iowapbs.org, Facebook and YouTube since November 2019. More profiles can be watched online.

In addition to Iowa PBS’s statewide broadcast, viewers from across the state and beyond will be able to stream this compilation special on demand on iowapbs.org, YouTube and the PBS Video App.