Goodreads asked Echo Miller:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Echo Miller My mind kept fixating on what would happen in a few years when my son finished high school. What sorts of opportunities were available for him and this giant population of people who were like him? He needed a chance to be social and catch up on the things you learn from being with other people. Developmental delays can be a childhood of acquiring skills while others are learning the social nuances through play time with peers. It's not like that "catch up" is over on the magical 18th birthday. He could be academically ready for college (or not) and totally unprepared for life without a translator.

I visited many places. They were all cost-prohibitive (welcome to almost everything associated with autism) and inappropriate.

So I fantasized. What would the best place I can imagine be like? If a person could be in a safe space to process their life up to this point while exploring how to form friendships for the first time......What could happen? How would that even work throwing such different people together into that situation? What would be the interpersonal dynamics and the relationship to the larger community?

When faced with this new living situation looming ahead, how might someone try to prepare? By watching teen movies about bringing random (occasionally hostile) people together and making friends! Boom. Cue the song "Don't you...forget about me..."

flag