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DYSPRAXIA STINKS

BY JASON LEVINE

My name is Jason Levine, and the thing is, I want the world to meet the real me. Before I could spell, no one that worked with me could see my potential. Having dyspraxia stinks…but at least it stinks a little less now. Greatness is being beyond the loss of ability, and finding the ability to have success. Being dyspraxic means loss of motor control, not cognitive control.

Love has given me a voice. Getting a voice has given me the ability to make real thoughts known.

4/29/2025 1 Comment

Open Letter to Secretary Kennedy

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

My name is Jason Levine and there are so many things I want to say. We nonspeakers are not really autistic in that we have symptoms that are completely different from the other kind of autism. The word autism comes from the word “auto” meaning self. The other kind of autism is defined by their lack of social awareness. We cannot be more different.

We are hypersocial, to the point that I believe that we need a new diagnosis. I have jokingly called our disability “empathism.” I feel that it covers the main difference between us and them. At the moment we use dyspraxia, since it at least covers our profound motor deficits. Having a new diagnosis will separate us from the slightly odd guys who go to work and live independently. We may appear horribly disabled on the outside, but inside we think like neurotypicals.

We need help desperately. We have almost zero control over our own bodies. We cannot talk without a trained communication partner holding our keyboards or letterboards. And yet we are extraordinarily intelligent.

All of us want a cure more than words can say. Than you for being so outspoken.

Sincerely,
Jason Levine

1 Comment

4/22/2025 5 Comments

More Reflections on Alex's Bar Mitzvah

Being still on a high from being at Alex’s bar mitzvah, definitely let me be beyond happy at the gala. The event was great and beautiful. It was, for me, a turning point in that I now know that God exists. Being there stands certainly as the moment everything changed. For my whole life I wasn’t sure God was real, and if he was, why did he stick me in this stupid body? But that day I felt the deepest, most profound love surrounding me. It had nothing to do with people’s love or faiths. It was way more than that.

Having to let myself consider that God is real is actually hard for me. Being doubtful has been my norm. I am being honest when I say that I am a skeptic about most things. Getting down to it, God’s existence was the least likely of all.

But several things have happened which I’ve witnessed that have led me to change my mind. That day at the synagogue is transformative. Being there defies anything I’ve experienced in my life. Certainly there was something that called to people that day.

For the entire service, which was over two hours, there was virtual silence. Fifteen or so nonspeakers had zero OCD or anxiety at all. All report feeling pure happiness and love. All report feeling their minds and bodies relax in a way they’ve never felt before. And all, including me, report feeling a presence that defies description. Wishful thinking doesn’t explain the facts.

Having that feeling once was enough to convince even a skeptic like me. Calling that day the most beautiful of my life is a drastic understatement. For all of us, it changed everything. That point bears the utterly certain feeling that God exists.

5 Comments

4/8/2025 2 Comments

The Bar Mitzvah

Alex is certainly a movie star around here with good reason. His bar mitzvah was really one of the most wonderful events ever. Being there totally beyond made us believe in God more than ever. Certainly all of us present had religious experiences that had nothing to do with faith. It felt like God was in that room, and welcomed all of us. My body and mind were clear beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It was the most beautiful feeling I’ve ever had. Love feels like that, but not on this scale.

I wish Alex had a bar mitzvah again so I could feel it again. Certainly being not religious particularly had nothing to do with it. Having been there that day was beyond a blessing, no matter what your faith is. Having that experience changed all of us. For the rest of our lives, we will know that God exists. It was the most profound experience of our lives.