“I just think differently than all of you others. It’s as simple as that.”
This basic definition of what living with autism is like is spoken by seventeen-year-old Sam Mitchell who has Asperger syndrome, a developmental disorder on the autism spectrum. He’s the creator of the popular 9-episode podcast series, “Autism Rocks and Rolls”, which discusses Sam’s struggles and triumphs with autism, as well as how people can react to certain situations, whether they’re autistic or not.
The podcast has over 1,250 downloads on podbean.com.
The logo for "Autism Rocks and Rolls"
The seventeen-year-old Eastern Greene High School student got his first taste of media through his high school media club’s podcast, Thunder Cast.
“Since I loved it so much, and with our own school’s Thunder Cast, I thought, ‘What if I do this at my own home?’” said Sam.
So, for his 16th birthday, Sam got “the grand finale” of his birthday gifts: a RodeCaster, which is a device meant to act as a full podcasting studio that comes in a transportable format. It’s complete with USB inputs and outputs and programmable pads to play sound effects and record audio.
At first, Sam wanted his podcast to be about his travels to the many cities he’s visited, like Cincinnati and Louisville.
“But at the last minute, and I don’t know why I made this decision, I decided to flip it and [talk about] autism instead,” said Sam.
Using autism awareness as its platform, the podcast discusses struggles Sam has faced living with autism and educates listeners on different coping strategies to use.
“As he started making these [episodes], I was like, ‘There is something here. I know that he’s reaching people,’” said Gina Mitchell, Sam’s mother and podcast editor.
“I hoped it would help people and it would educate autistic people and make them understand they aren’t the only ones having a bad day, nor are they alone,” said Sam. “I wanted to help other people understand the autistic world.”
“It just kind of opens my eyes, hearing him talk about [the autistic world]. I like for him to say why he feels the way he feels,” said Joe Pursell, Sam’s grandfather and as Sam calls him, “the critiquer”.
Sam’s mother, Gina Mitchell and Sam’s grandfather, Joe Pursell discuss their favorite episodes of “Autism Rocks and Rolls”.
The podcast currently features nine episodes.
Most of the time, Sam talks about aspects of his life that a lot of people with autism can relate to, like the difference between being honest and being blunt and finding ways to help alleviate anxiety.
Sometimes, the episodes are more personal though, like the time Sam interviewed his mother on his podcast and asked her how she found out her child was autistic.
At four years old, Gina and her husband Doug noticed Sam wasn’t hitting most of his baby milestones on time, he was delayed in his speech, and he hated fireworks and other loud, spontaneous noises.
“Honestly when we suspected [Sam] had autism, I kind of went through a period where…I blamed myself, because I thought, ‘Did I do something wrong?’” said Gina. “But now I realized, and I’ve realized for a long time, that there’s nothing wrong. Autism is not wrong. Autism is brain wiring.”
Each episode is unique to situations Sam has experienced and feature titles such as, “Making Friends and Getting That Girl”, “My Way or The Highway”, and “Meltdowns (Autistic Style)”.
“[Creating this podcast] has given me more confidence. I think I know now what I’m doing and now I know who I am,” said Sam. “I was expecting just a few followers and it’s grown majorly.”
His biggest fans couldn’t agree more.
“I’m just real proud of him. It’s pretty impressive. But I don’t want it to go to his head and brag on him too much,” chuckled Joe.
“He has abilities because he has autism,” said Gina.
Judy Milnes, Sam’s elementary school teacher, shares her thoughts on Sam’s podcast.
Future plans for “Autism Rocks and Rolls” include producing more episodes and inviting people living with autism as guests on the show.
“I might have Temple Grandid as time goes on. I’m thinking about having Armani Williams, the autistic Nascar driver. And then I’m hoping to get a couple of professional wrestlers on here too, because I love WWE” said Sam.
Sam has been nominated for the 2020 People’s Choice Podcast Award and is a nominee to speak at a future TED Talk Conference.
You can listen to all nine episodes of “Autism Rocks and Rolls” on Podbean, Itunes, Spotify, or Youtube.
