At age four, Nicholas was diagnosed with autism. Medical professionals told his parents that they didn’t know if he would talk or be able to say ‘I love you.’ And even if he does, they said, they weren’t sure if he would know what that means, recalls Nicholas’ mother, Katie Murwin.
The Murwins then turned to the DES Division of Developmental Disabilities for assistance. From age 2 until 19, Nicholas received occupational and speech therapies. At age 26, Nicholas continues to receive respite and habilitation.
Today, Nicholas is quite the conversationalist, knows exactly what the word “love” means, and is full of “can do” spirit! Among his accomplishments, Nicholas graduated in 2018 with a 4.0 grade point average from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, where he majored in filmmaking and minored in history. He’s been busy filming cooking classes that his mother Katie holds for kids on the autism spectrum, and short photo shoots. [see sidebar, “Kids with Autism Can.”]
While on vacation, Katie spotted a Facebook post about the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. The 2022 theme is “Heroes.” Within six days, Nicholas created a script, gathered the actors, set up the lighting and sound, directed, shot and edited the film he titled, “Not All Heroes Fight Bad Guys” - 2022 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Entry. The tight turnaround time was an excellent learning experience. “I was probably under more pressure to get that done than any of the short films I made during college,” said Nicholas.
Katie commented, “I thought the story line was very good and he just whipped that out. They had six days from start to finish. All they knew was that it was supposed to be about heroes.”
Helping Nicholas reach his employment objectives is the DES Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program. VR provides services to individuals with disabilities, with the goal to prepare for, enter into, or retain employment. Katie was skeptical about VR at first. “I was not going to put him in VR because I was like, this kid is not bagging groceries and washing dishes.” Then she met Melissa, a VR job coach. Katie and Melissa had seen each other before, then on one occasion, they stopped to talk. “I listened to her,” said Katie. That conversation led to trust. “I trust that she will listen to me and really try to get him a good place.” When it comes to his work, “[Nicholas] works his tushy off,” said Katie. “He does not give up.”
Katie summed up Nicholas’ growth from the toddler whose future looked dim to the accomplished man he is today. “A diagnosis doesn’t mean a lack of success. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to grow up to be a productive, successful, amazing human being.” All thanks to his dedicated parents, his own tenacity, and the support of those around him.
Nicholas Murwin with his mom, Katie, relax in their backyard.
Twenty-two years ago, Katie Murwin would sit in her car, waiting for her 4-year-old son Nicholas to be dismissed from preschool. “I’d sit in the car, read stories of what [kids on the autism spectrum] can’t do,” recalled Katie. Experts claimed, “They won’t do this, they won’t do that.” She thought, “We gotta make this something that he can do because there’s a million things [kids on the spectrum] can do. We got to get off the “they can’t, they can’t, they can’t” mantra. That frustrating experience was the trigger for founding Kids with Autism Can (KWAC).
KWAC sponsors social events for families who have a child with autism. Example: “If you want to go to the zoo and your kid is going to want to leave in 15 minutes, you just spent $100 for 15 minutes. And, your other kids are leaving screaming because they’re ready for three more hours [at the zoo].”
So, the Murwins decided to create social events and not charge people for them. “We hoped to have enough adults and volunteers around so that if one kid needs to go for a walk, the siblings can sit and finish watching the rest of the basketball game,” or finish whatever the family was doing. “We’ve been doing this for 13 years.”
Kids With Autism Can was founded with the goal of helping children and young adults with Autism (and other spectrum disorders) work towards independence through socialization, therapy, and education. We are a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization and over 95% of our proceeds and donations go directly back to the community through KWAC hosted events.
We also partner with and sponsor Sensory Cooking. Cooking is for everyone and is a great method for exposing individuals on the spectrum to a variety of new smells and tastes.
For more information, visit the Kids with Autism Can website.