A personal account - My autism experience

By Yosef D. Robinson

I have come a very long way from where I was early in my childhood. Back when I was 2 in the mid-1980s, I had numerous signs that led to being diagnosed with “autistic tendencies.” We were told that I wouldn’t be able to attend school or achieve other milestones in life. My parents were quite fortunate to run into the late music therapist Darlene Berringer, who was the founder of the Giant Steps school in Montreal – well ahead of its time – just a few years earlier. I went on to attend that school until the age of 10, during which I progressively got more integrated into regular school programs. On top of that, for the next two years, Darlene would come to my next school, a Jewish one. 

I attended another, more intensely Jewish school for high school, then I went to Israel for a year to study Torah at a Modern Orthodox rabbinic academy. I then attended one university in the United States for my bachelor’s degree, followed by another for my first master’s degree. Some time later, I went for a second master’s and eventually a third one, both at Concordia University. I got very good grades at all these schools. 

I originally set out for a career in urban planning and also attempted to launch an environmental career, but neither lasted too long due to the lack of opportunities for these careers and of accommodations for me on my employers’ part. Before long, I started doing freelance editorial work assigned to me by those who my father, a now-retired professor of Jewish studies, had known. Included in that work, I translated writings from Yiddish to English, including an entire book on Maimonides written by a 1930s Montreal rabbi. During almost this entire time, except during the Covid-19 shut-down, I have led prayer services at old age homes in my own Côte Saint-Luc community, including the Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre and, more recently, the Waldorf residence. 

One of my most notable achievements of recent years has been to join the Montreal Shira Choir, made up almost entirely of special needs adults and directed by the esteemed Cantor Daniel Benlolo. This choir enables me to have a voice there, with all my vocal talents. We sing lots of pop hits dating from the 1950s to now, and the camaraderie is amazing. This choir gives me new excuses to go to new places, both in Montreal and beyond. 

I now consider myself to be fully integrated in all aspects of life. I have been driving ever since getting my license at the age of 17. One thing that I really like to do is to travel to new places. With some exceptions, I’ve gone by myself in the past number of years. For many reasons, I find it just easier and more satisfactory to travel by myself. I’ve travelled alone to the Gaspé Peninsula, Bermuda, Curaçao, Charleston, Savannah, Cancun, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Bali, Scotland, and (most recently) Las Vegas, among other places.

Wherever I travel, I like to take photos –mainly with an actual camera – on an amateur basis. I send photos to other people and upload them onto my photo frame. 

Yosef D. Robinson is an independent scholar, writer and editor living in Montreal. He received his B.A. in Geography from Rutgers University, a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University, a master’s degree in Environmental Assessment from Concordia University and most recently a master’s degree in Judaic Studies from Concordia University.