Travis finds rewards in his ability to help and entertain others.
by Travis Pankiw (Kelowna, B.C.)
I often try to compare myself to other men. Which is difficult, because I’m not like other men.
I currently work between two to five hours a week, and I’m 29 and living with my dad.
I wake up around noon, I don’t own my own car.
A high school dropout needing to pop pills just to stay straight. At times, I struggle to take care of a house cat.
I’m obsessed with alternative politics yet I’ve never voted.
For me, looking someone in the eye isn’t instinct.
There’s 28 cents in my bank account, and my most valuable possession is an old super Nintendo cartridge.
I have the social skills and emotional regulation of a 17-year-old boy.
Yet life is wonderful. The work I do is immensely rewarding, as it is helping mold youth with autism into their greatest potential.
I’m very grateful to be healthy, alive, and free. I have a network of online friends, whom I can entertain and excite at my every whim.
People sometimes speak to me asking for help with depression and death, so my voice holds the greatest of meaning.
I hold debt to no bank or person.
I have an IQ of 128 and the insight to use it as I see fit. Last month alone I saved a life from drug overdose and helped a man escape a burning building.
My autism has given me challenges but also fed the perseverance of my soul.
