As families and communities marked the sixth annual World Autism Awareness Day Tuesday, 11-year-old Jordan Hilkowitz was busy experimenting with science in his kitchen.
Jordan, who has autism, wasn’t able to speak until he was five years old and used to throw tantrums caused by his inability to communicate.
But these days, Jordan has found a way to flourish by sharing videos of his household science experiments on YouTube.
It all started when his babysitter, Tracy Leparuo, discovered they could work on his vocabulary online. By searching images on Google they were able to figure out words Jordan was trying to communicate.
As his confidence grew, so did Jordan’s interest in science.
“Jordan’s always loved science since I could ever remember,” Leparuo said. “Since he’s been a kid I’ve always been doing different science things with him, reading books, watching TV shows and then we started doing our own experiments.”
After realizing there weren’t many simple experiments online that kids could do at home, they decided to start making their own videos of science projects using stuff from around the house.
Jordan has now recorded two dozen science experiments, which have almost 4.7 million hits on YouTube.
The science channel has exploded online and has transformed Jordan’s life.
Leparuo said there has been a phenomenal change in Jordan’s speech and confidence, and a world of opportunity has opened up for the boy.
His YouTube channel has even earned him enough money to buy a new computer, which he is using to edit more videos.
Jordan’s mother, Stacey Hilkowitz, agrees that science and the internet have changed her son’s life.
“The kids in school suddenly wanted to be in his videos and they want to come over and do experiments,” she said. “This was a new child – a child I didn’t know was there. It’s amazing.”
She only has one rule for Jordan. “Don’t blow up the kitchen.”
With files from Christina Stevens
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