My name is Joe. I have an older brother Shane. He is 28 and is also autistic. My mom is Cindy and my dad is Eric. My dog’s name is Riley. I have lots of aunts and uncles and my grandma Betty. I attend Kaleidoscope every week from Monday through Thursday. Kaleidoscope is part of Easterseals Northern California. I love Kaleidoscope and enjoy our outings the most. We bowl every Monday and then go on different outings on the other days of the week.
I live at home 3 days per week and at Sunflower Hill 4 days per week. Sunflower Hill is a residential community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Isabelle (Joe’s aide) stays with me when I’m at Sunflower Hill. We do group events both at Sunflower Hill and elsewhere. I have a lot of fun and really love staying there with Isabelle.
When I am at home I go on every walk with Riley. I wave to everyone that drives by and count out loud the number of waves that I get in return. I ride in the car with my mom or dad whenever they go anywhere. We go to the gym and I ride the bike or lift weights. We have a cabin in Tahoe and I love to go there and hike or go out on the boat. I really enjoy our yearly trip to Disneyland and our family vacations. We’ve gone to Mexico, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Spain, and Russia. I will play on my computer or iPad but would much rather be going somewhere. That is when I am happiest. I have questions that I will ask anybody. I typically start off by asking them what the color of their car is. I ask them if they have peanut butter, dogs, their favorite food, and what they have had to eat.
I’ve never had a job. Having a job would get in the way of the fun I have at Kaleidoscope. I really don’t ever get upset or am unhappy. I’ve never cried for any reason. I can be mischievous and do things I know that I am not supposed to do. I love being in the water. I love to eat all kinds of different foods. My favorite is Indian food. I pick out clothes every week for my dad and brother. I make sure they are washed and help my mom with the ironing. Most of all I love t-shirts. Whenever somebody goes somewhere I always want them to bring me back a t-shirt from that location.
Most of all I am happiest when I’m on the go and having fun!
