A Super Autism Acceptance Month 🎗️
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The Ten News Season 3: Episode 50
In today's episode: 🎗️ Autism Acceptance Month: celebrating the contributions & unique abilities of people with Autism 🦸 Led & Jake Bradshaw, the creators of the comic book series ‘The Adventures of Jake Jetpulse!’ join us in the studio 🚜 Trivia with Tessa: do you know what farm animals Temple Grandin made big advances for?
Links
https://nationaltoday.com/autism-awareness-month/
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html
https://www.altogetherautism.org.nz/strengths-and-abilities-in-autism/
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TRANSCRIPT:
Ryan Willard 00:00
Hey, Pamela.
Pamela Kirkland 00:02
Hi, Ryan. Wait a second you have that glint in your eye. That means you're up to something.
Ryan Willard 00:08
I get to meet comic superheroes today.
Pamela Kirkland 00:11
Wow. That's so cool.
Ryan Willard 00:13
And even cooler that it's part of our Autism Acceptance Month celebration.
Pamela Kirkland 00:17
Okay, that's downright awesome.
Ryan Willard 00:20
I know. So can we start the show already? Because I am hyped.
Pamela Kirkland 00:25
I'm always ready to start. I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Ryan Willard 00:28
And I'm Ryan Willard. It's Wednesday, April 12th.
Pamela Kirkland 00:31
This is The Ten News.
Sound Bit 00:35
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Pamela Kirkland 00:42
April is Autism Acceptance Month!
Ryan Willard 00:45
It's a month to celebrate the contributions and unique abilities of people with autism.
Pamela Kirkland 00:50
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a genetic mutation that changes how a person's brain develops. People with autism communicate and learn differently and might move differently or do repetitive behaviors. People with autism can also have some impressive superpowers. amazing memories strengthened subjects like math, science, and engineering, and exceptional honesty. Awesome.
Ryan Willard 01:17
Autism Acceptance Month has been held every year since 1972. Although it was called Autism Awareness Month for many years. The name changed because the autism community wants to move beyond appreciating differences to inclusion and a greater understanding of what it means to be autistic. By learning more about the experiences of people with autism, we can create spaces and events that are more welcoming and accommodating for everyone. Yes.
Pamela Kirkland 01:42
So, what can you do to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month?
Ryan Willard 01:46
One of the best things you can do is to get curious, find out more about autism so you can help your school, your teams, and your family and friends be more inclusive.
Pamela Kirkland 01:56
You can go to local events and fundraise for organizations near you that support kids and adults with autism.
Ryan Willard 02:03
And looking for a good book to read? Check out ‘Ella Autie’ - it’s a book written and illustrated by a person with Autism, all about a 4th grader named Ella.
Pamela Kirkland 02:13
That's great. Are you a kid with autism? Do you have ideas about how The Ten News can do more to include you? Let us know. Visit our website at thetennews.com/contact to write in, or call us at 1-8-7-7-T-E-N-N-E-W-S.
Ryan Willard 02:39
Earlier we talked about superpowers that people with autism have but did you know there's a real comic book superhero with autism?
Pamela Kirkland 02:45
We are so excited to welcome Led and Jake Bradshaw, the creators of the comic book series ‘The Adventures of Jake Jetpulse!’
Ryan Willard 02:53
All right, Ryan here from The Ten News. I'm here with my friends Led and his son Jake, how are you both doing?
Led Bradshaw 03:04
Good. I'm fine.
Ryan Willard 03:06
We are thrilled to have you and I was wondering, Led, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who you are and what you do.
Led Bradshaw 03:13
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. And I am a comic book artist. I've been drawing ever since I was able to hold a pencil. That's what my parents say. So, I'm the co-creator of ‘The Adventures of Jake Jetpulse!’ and the owner of JetPulse Studios. Our flagship comic, The Adventures of Jake Jetpulse features a young superhero who is on the autism spectrum and realizes that he is the universe's last hope for survival against the evil forces of the goblin hive queen. Sounds cool, right? I did that one on the fly.
Ryan Willard 03:50
That's awesome. You mentioned that Jake Jetpulse is on the autism spectrum. What should our listeners know about autism?
Led Bradshaw 04:00
I really didn't know much about autism spectrum disorder until Jake's diagnosis when he was about three and a half close to four years old. His teachers started to see things where he was very self-directed. He was actively communicating or interacting with the other students in the class. I did do my own personal studying on autism and saw that the hallmarks were deficits and social communication interpretations of body language like or Lena-like facial expressions. That's when I came across some art therapy exercises. And I said I can do that. I've been drawing for such a long time and I was like, well, not to take anything away from art therapists but like I could try to incorporate some of those lessons to help him. So, for 20 minutes a day, after school we would sit together and we would draw and I started taking you the only thing I knew really was comic books like basically how to create panels because I would draw them all the time. And, you know, I figured what if I took a lesson and broke like the show, like the creation of a comic book, and broke it down into a lesson. So one lesson that brought everything out was teaching it was it was a lesson of drawing yourself as a superhero to bring up the highlight your, like your, you know, your positive traits. And he just took the ball and ran. So within him, he had this character. And over time, this was what I found by embracing his special interests, by embracing that, I was able to find a way to communicate with him to teach him how to like to read, to teach them how to the right to understand things around him.
Ryan Willard 05:49
Jake was diagnosed very early, how did that impact his experience at school?
Led Bradshaw 05:54
That I didn't notice but I felt bad. After a while, it started to make sense, after you know after I talked to his developmental pediatrician that every day when I would leave him for the day, I would drop him off at school. And I would realize that you know, he didn't want to go, once he was in school, he didn't want to stay. So there were a lot of times he would just decide like, he would just walk out, like not walk out of the school, but like he would attempt to walk out of the classroom, or he wouldn't pay attention, or like his conversations primarily stayed on superheroes. So that's where a lot of the teacher’s complaints were, which were, you know, he's great. You know, he has a great personality. He's very cheerful all the time. He has a wonderful imagination, but he won't stop talking about superheroes. But over time, while we're drawing together, I'm seeing something different. So now I had to like, you know, convince the teachers that may be trying to, you know, deter him from superheroes might be a bad thing.
Ryan Willard 06:59
I love that you leaned into it. So can you like, can you tell us about ‘The Adventures of Jake Jetpulse!’?
Led Bradshaw 07:05
It's about a young boy who finds out that he has like incredible superpowers that were given to him. By this magical suit of armor, there was a weapon between the, you know, the trolls and the goblins who are now fighting their war on this planet. So he is pretty much the only one who can stand up against the, you know, evil goblin. And there's a very cool story that he put together. And the characters in it are very unique. So he's like, I just draw it. You know, like, he created it. And it's like, I just interpreted on paper really?
Ryan Willard 07:42
So, Jake, you created the characters in the stories and your dad drew them? Is that correct? Yes. How did you think of these things? That's amazing.
Jake Bradshaw 07:52
Well, when I was in school, talking about heroes, I had an idea of what if I was a hero, I thought to myself, and then something came to me. If I could have been a superhero, maybe I could gain popularity, and then people will be calling me super Jake. So I decided to get some papers and start drawing. And I soon created my first comic, The Adventures of Super Jake, a story of that. So basically, the original story was about a boy named Jake, who was a 14-year-old boy. And he loved to play baseball. But then soon, he was struck by lightning. And he was given the power to do all these kinds of crazy things like could fly could like shoot lasers from his eyes like Superman. He can even lift up a car or 10 feet building with one finger. And so everyone started liking it. So over time, it became more popular and I decided to add two more new characters, Mars, and Julia.
Ryan Willard 09:07
And what do Mars and Julia do?
Jake Bradshaw 09:10
Well, there they are. Their site is sidekicks, and they help them defeat the evil goblin queen. And most of the time, they would like to go off to pizza for a celebration, which is kind of cool because for a superhero because you know, like spider man like pizza sometimes.
Ryan Willard 09:30
I'm telling you right now, I'm not a superhero, but I like to eat pizza all the time.
Led Bradshaw 09:36
You're not alone. I love pizza. It's the best.
Ryan Willard 09:40
Would you like me to call you Jake Jetpulse? Or can I call you Super Jake? What would you prefer, Jake?
Jake Bradshaw 09:48
Sometimes I'd like people to call me, whatever they call me, as long as it is not something mean.
Ryan Willard 09:55
Okay, so I'm gonna call you super Jake Jetpulse. How about that?
Jake Bradshaw 09:58
Okay, that's cool. Oh, I like that.
Ryan Willard 10:00
Okay, so Super Jake Jetpulse. Most people do not get to be comic book superheroes. What is it like to be a comic book superhero, man?
Jake Bradshaw 10:10
Well, it's kind of tough trying to think of new characters. But I finally understand that I can basically think of more characters like, you know, like, there's gonna be new characters like the lumberjack who became a ghost. He could turn ghosts like Danny Phantom, he could turn ghosts that night. And one day he becomes a human. That's very cool. You had the ability to scare like, the DS and the DS would like run away peeing their pants, and, yeah, let's call him on screen from their mommies.
Ryan Willard 10:51
All right, so SuperJake Jetpulse, we're going to put your dad in the hot seat right now. You can ask him whatever you. But we have some questions that we wanna see if you want to ask him.
Jake Bradshaw 11:15
What does the future hold for the Adventures of Jake Jetpulse?
Led Bradshaw 11:20
I would love to see this turned into a cartoon.
Jake Bradshaw 11:24
Me too. When you were growing up, what kind of challenges did you have?
Led Bradshaw 11:30
What kind of challenges? Okay, I went through like two or three awkward phases. I was short and chubby. I got made fun of a lot. I was short and skinny. As a teenager, I got made fun of a lot. And it was, you know, it was a little awkward. Because, you know, like, I wasn't popular. Being you know, being a nerd or a geek back then wasn't all that cool. And, you know, because I was into comic book shops and cartoons. And like in sci-fi movies, you know, that really wasn't cool. So, I wasn't one of the popular kids for a long time.
Jake Bradshaw 12:19
Alright, so moving on, what is the best part about being a dad?
Led Bradshaw 12:25
Showing you all the cool stuff I used to do. Like introducing you to the cartoons I used to watch, telling you that all the brand new movies that you're watching aren't really that brand new because they've been remade before. You know what's cool about being an adult? It's being a really big kid and having money to do stuff with it.
Jake Bradshaw 12:44
What will you say if I ever become a dad?
Led Bradshaw 12:51
Be patient and enjoy every single second of it because kids grow up really fast and in the blink of an eye. Because I'll tell you honestly, it was almost like last week, you were a baby. And then I looked and you're like the same height as me now. So it goes by really fast.
Ryan Willard 13:11
Got time for one more question. Jake, one more question.
Jake Bradshaw 13:16
If you ever get to babysit my kid, what would you do with it?
Led Bradshaw 13:25
If I had to babysit your kid one day when you're older, is that what you're asking? If I were to babysit your, uh, babysit like, like your kid, son or daughter, hopefully, we'd get to do all the fun things that you and I did or still doing. So all the cool stuff. But I'll just move a little slower cuz I'll be in. A much older person, but, but I think that you know, the really cool thing is, is that like whatever knowledge that I'm hoping that I pass on to you is what I'll do with them. Pass on that knowledge. That's what it's
Jake Bradshaw 14:05
Okay, that's all for today. This is Super Jake Jetpulse signing off of The Ten News. Thank you.
Ryan Willard 14:16
Dude, that's awesome. But Led, Jake, I want to thank you guys so much for stopping by. Can you just tell me where can I find Jake Jetpulse, if I want to read it?
Led Bradshaw 14:25
Well, you can find this. Find us on our website at www.jakejetpulse.com. And our books are available as well on Amazon. You can find us on social media at @jetpulse_comics to add us on Instagram and @jetpulsstudios on Facebook.
Jake Bradshaw 14:45
And these books will blow your mind.
Ryan Willard 14:49
I can't wait. It's been an honor meeting. An amazing comic book artist as well as a real life comic book superhero. Gentlemen, thank you so much.
Pamela Kirkland 15:02
Thanks so much, Led and Jake. It's amazing how art comic books and creating something together have made a difference not just for you too, but for thousands of kids with autism who read Jake Jetpulse.
Ryan Willard 15:15
I gotta get my hands on the next issue.
Tessa Flannery 15:26
Welcome to the trivia room.
Ten'er 15:29
I'm excited. Let's do trivia.
Tessa Flannery 15:32
I love the enthusiasm. Avery, go ahead and hop up on the trivia throne for today's trivia question. You ready?
Ten'er 15:38
Yes, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
Sound Bit 15:41
What is going on here?
Tessa Flannery 15:53
People with autism are leading the way in many fields. One famous scientist with autism, Temple Grandin is well respected in her field of animal science as well as being a spokesperson for people with autism. But do you know what farm animals Temple Grandin made big advances for? Is it a) cows, b) chickens, or c) goats? Ten'ers, did you guess it? Avery, what's your answer?
Ten'er 16:19
I know all about Temple Grandin. I read her biography and she was amazing. The answer is a) cows.
Tessa Flannery 16:29
The answer is a) cows! Temple Grandin revolutionized how cows are treated on farms. Her systems which keep cows comfortable and happy are now used all over the world. She didn't achieve success right away though. She was expelled from middle school but went on to earn graduate degrees and become a world-renowned scientist.
Ten'er 16:56
Thanks for having me. And I hope everyone will read Temple Grandin's biography or at least see the movie but the book was better.
Tessa Flannery 17:04
Ten'ers, do you want to sit on the trivia throne and share your trivia knowledge? Visit thetennews.com/contact to get in touch. And we might have you on the show.
Ryan Willard 17:15
Led and Super Jake Jetpulse are awesomesauce. Oh wait, we gotta give special Ten News Snaps to one of our listeners.
Pamela Kirkland 17:22
But before we do, here's a quick note for the grownups.
Pamela Kirkland 18:10
Ten’er, nesh&spark wrote this review of The Ten News. This is so amazing.
Ryan Willard 18:18
Thanks, nesh&spark and thanks for listening to The Ten News! Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten’ers Club on our website or on Apple Podcasts.
Pamela Kirkland 18:32
“The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts.
Ryan Willard 18:37
The Ten News creative team is reading ‘The Adventures of Jake Jetpulse’’ and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Tessa Flannery.
Pamela Kirkland 18:45
Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan.
Ryan Willard 18:53
I'm Ryan Willard.
Pamela Kirkland 18:55
And I’m Pamela Kirkland; thanks for listening to The Ten News.
