Henrik (Age 11, He/Him)

Henrik's special interests are vehicles and Legos. He also connects well with animals. Henrik has a generally neutral to happy demeanor, although he can struggle with emotion regulation. One of the strengths Henrik has due to his autism is his memory. For example, he can remember things that occurred years ago that the rest of us have forgotten about. One of the ways Henrik self-regulates is via stimming and our favorite way he does this is with little hand motions and sounds when playing with vehicles. We smile when this happens as he is happily being his best self. Another favorite for us for Henrik is when we go to Lake Michigan. He simply radiates pure joy chasing the waves crashing the sand and splashing and kicking his way down the shore. The older Henrik gets, the more he is aware of the difference in his brain than others. However, this is both a positive and a negative thing. He has really grown and blossomed even in the last 3 years. We went from a birthday party where he was hiding under a blanket with mom to open his gifts to having a birthday party surrounded by family and friends and being present for all aspects of it. Henrik is a joy to know and to be a part of his life is a privilege.