Special Books by Special Kids

This week, SBSK reached one billion views on YouTube, all on long-form videos. I wanted to share this photo to mark the moment.

Before I started filming these interviews, I spent three years teaching children with disabilities. I had the same seven students throughout those years, and our classroom became a little family, I realized that I could help my students grow academically and socially, but they would still eventually have to enter a world that wasn’t truly inclusive. That’s why I began filming interviews. I hoped that sharing people’s stories could help make the world more understanding and inclusive.

I had no experience interviewing, filming, or editing. I just cared deeply about my students and the kind of world they would grow up in.

Eleven years and many interviews later, I still think about those seven students often. In this photo, some of them decided to dress as me for Halloween. I was delighted by their prank.

A billion views feels surreal, something I never dreamed of. I’m grateful to every person and family who has trusted me with their story, and to all of you who have listened and welcomed them with kindness. I hope these videos have helped make the world a more accepting place for my former students and for everyone we’ve met along the way.

4 days ago | [YT] | 25,151

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared Morgan’s story. Morgan was diagnosed with autism at four years old. As she grew older, she survived repeated abuse and experienced lasting trauma. She was eventually diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and complex PTSD in addition to autism.

In her interview, Morgan speaks openly about how BPD affects her emotions, relationships, and sense of self. She also discusses the overlap between autism and BPD, and how living with both can create an especially difficult dynamic.

We filmed Morgan’s interview in New York City. Throughout the video, you can hear traffic, horns, fire trucks, ambulances, and all kinds of city noise coming from outside. I wrote in the pinned comment that these sounds reminded me that in every city, there are people living with mental health conditions who are doing their best to get by. A few people asked what I meant by that.

As Alyssa and I travel around the world, these sounds are a constant part of filming in large cities. Regular life continues outside while I interview people from all walks of life. Cars pass, sirens sound, people hurry to work, and millions of individual lives unfold at once. At the same time, behind every apartment window and front door is a person or family who could be experiencing something the rest of the world may know nothing about.

These sounds as the backdrop for an interview remind me how much can remain invisible while life continues all around us. Someone can be experiencing trauma, disability, grief, loneliness, or a serious mental health condition while the people passing outside have no idea. Every crowded city is filled with private stories.

Morgan invited us into hers. By speaking honestly about BPD, autism, complex PTSD, and the trauma she survived, she gives others an opportunity to better understand experiences they may never otherwise see. Thank you, Morgan, for trusting us with your story.

1 week ago | [YT] | 20,746

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared P's follow up interview. I first met P two years ago. When I arrived to visit her again, the first thing she said on her communication device was, “Uncle Chris!”

Her parents then told me that P has watched our first interview together nearly every day since we met. P was adopted after spending the beginning of her life in an orphanage, and she still experiences trauma connected to those early years. When she is struggling, she often watches our original video to help herself feel happy, safe, and grounded.

During our reunion, P wanted us to recreate many of the things we did together in that first interview. It was incredibly meaningful to learn that a joyful afternoon we shared two years ago had continued bringing her comfort long after I left.

To me, this story demonstrates the impact of SBSK and this community. When a person is genuinely seen, accepted, and celebrated, that experience can remain with them for years. By watching, sharing, and supporting these interviews, you help create a world where people like P know they are valued exactly as they are.

Thank you for making this work possible and for continuing to show up for our friends.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 37,458

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared Mia and Maryam’s interview. They are six-year-old twins with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease.

During our time together, we were extremely silly and goofy. The girls enjoyed copying everything I said, sent me to pretend jail, and even fed me imaginary soup with snakes in it.

One of the goals of this channel is to show people that they are perfect just the way they are. I value the opportunity to meet each person exactly where they are. If someone is talkative and silly, I am happy to play along. If someone is having a difficult time and needs to share their struggles, that is welcome too. If someone is nonspeaking and wants to sit together in silence, that is equally meaningful.

Although these interactions may look very different, I hope they all communicate the same message, "You are okay to be exactly who you are, and I am happy to be here with you.”

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 28,545

Special Books by Special Kids

We will be in Boston for a few weeks and hope to interview as many people and families as possible while we’re there. If you live in or around Boston and would like to meet us and be interviewed for Special Books by Special Kids, please email us at interview@sbsk.org

Put “Boston” somewhere in the subject line and tell us a little about your story in the body of the email. Feel free to include a picture as well.

Alyssa and I look forward to making many new friends in Boston soon!

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 16,469

Special Books by Special Kids

This week I shared a follow-up interview with Julia, someone I first met nearly a decade ago.

Julia is diagnosed with Lyme disease. Initially she experienced fatigue and a fever but went undiagnosed.  Two years later Julia lost the feeling in her legs and could no longer walk.

At the time of our first interview, Julia was preparing to start high school and nervous about navigating this new chapter as a wheelchair user. Nearly 10 years later, Julia is beginning medical school as the only wheelchair user in her class. She now hopes to become the kind of doctor she needed when her symptoms first began, one who listens to patients and believes them when they describe what they are experiencing.

Follow-up interviews have become one of the most meaningful parts of SBSK. A single interview captures someone’s life at one moment in time. Returning years later allows us to understand that person’s story with far greater depth. We can witness how they grow, how their circumstances change, and how experiences that once caused fear or uncertainty may eventually shape their purpose.

SBSK has now existed long enough that children I interviewed during its earliest years are becoming adults. If we are fortunate enough to continue this work, some of these stories will eventually span multiple decades. Together, the interviews will become more than individual snapshots. They will form an ongoing record of people’s lives, shared in their own words as they grow and change.

Thank you for making this possible. Your support has allowed SBSK to continue long enough for us to return to people like Julia and document the next chapters of their lives. These interviews become increasingly powerful when their stories are told over many years, and I am grateful that together we are building an archive that can grow alongside the people who trust us with their stories.

1 month ago | [YT] | 20,130

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared my interview with Jackson, a 15-year-old who lives with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), also known as “butterfly skin,” and profound autism.

RDEB causes Jackson’s skin to be so fragile that even gentle friction can cause it to blister, tear, and form painful wounds. At the same time, Jackson is nonspeaking and autistic. During periods of distress or sensory dysregulation, he can engage in self-injurious behaviors that unintentionally worsen his wounds. He is also unable to tell his mom where he is hurting or what needs attention.

This combination makes caring for Jackson extraordinarily complicated. His mom, Jess, is a single mother and his full-time caregiver. She can spend anywhere from three to eight hours a day tending to Jackson’s wounds and changing his bandages, all while trying to understand the needs of a son who cannot communicate his pain with words.

Yesterday was also Jackson’s 15th birthday. To celebrate him and support his family, we created a fundraiser that will go directly to Jackson and Jess to help with his ongoing medical care and the cost of traveling long distances to access the specialized healthcare he needs.

In just the first few hours, this community donated more than $10,000. Thank you for giving Jackson such a meaningful 15th birthday and for continuing to show the families we meet that they are loved.

1 month ago | [YT] | 30,645

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared Arizona’s interview. She is a 16-year-old with Cri du Chat, also known as “The Cat Cry” syndrome. When Arizona was born, her mom was told that she was not expected to live past her first birthday.

Now 16, Arizona experiences and connects with the world in her own unique way. Her mom hopes that others will take the time to interact with Arizona, meet her where she is, and enter her world rather than expecting her to enter theirs.

When Arizona and I sat together, we communicated mostly without words. We made sounds together, swayed back and forth, clapped, laughed, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. It was a beautiful reminder that meaningful communication does not always require spoken language.

At the end of our interview, I told Arizona that it was time for me to leave. After spending our time together communicating nonverbally, she looked at me and said a single word… “Hug!”

I’ve often shared my communication strategies over the 11 years of sharing these interviews. But I think I could summarize it all in just two words: Be cool.

Just be cool. Don’t judge others. Don’t project your idea of “normal” onto them. Meet people where they are, accept them as they are, and go with the natural flow of things. There is no single right way to communicate or connect with another person.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 27,748

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared Ivan's story.

Ivan communicates using an eye-gaze device that allows him to select words and phrases with his eyes. Watching him express his thoughts this way is a beautiful reminder that there are many ways to communicate in this world, and every one of them is valid.

One thing Ivan's mom shared has stayed with me. She said people often make one of two assumptions about Ivan. They either believe he doesn't understand anything around him, or they assume he understands every conversation and every complex idea. The reality is neither assumption is fair.

For all of us, cognitive ability exists on a spectrum. Some people understand more, some less, and many fall somewhere in between. And where a person falls on that spectrum can also vary by the moment due to many factors. Ivan is no less deserving of kindness, patience, friendship, or respect because of where he happens to be on that spectrum.

Too often, we want to place people into simple categories because it makes the world easier to understand. But people are rarely that simple. Every individual deserves to be seen for who they are rather than judged by assumptions about what they can or cannot do.

One of the moments that I remember most from our conversation was when Ivan used his eye-gaze device to say, "I don't like when people are mean to me."

I hope Ivan's story encourages us to be more willing to meet people where they are. Communication doesn't always sound the same, but every voice deserves to be heard.

1 month ago | [YT] | 26,199

Special Books by Special Kids

Yesterday I shared Bill's interview. Bill is one of only about 50 people in the world known to have BAM syndrome, a rare condition that caused him to be born without a nose. He spent much of his childhood facing rejection. His father denied him, his mother neglected him, and by the age of nine he had entered the foster care system. Despite all of this, Bill made it his mission to end the cycle of generational trauma and become the loving father he never had.

Today I found myself thinking about another person I interviewed nearly a decade ago. In 2017, while filming in Ireland, I met a little girl named Tessa. Like Bill, Tessa is also one of only about 50 people in the world with BAM syndrome. She was born with the same rare condition, but her childhood looked very different. Tessa grew up surrounded by parents who celebrated her, encouraged her, and made sure she knew she was deeply loved. She was joyful, confident, and full of life.

Seeing these two interviews together reminded me why I believe it's so important to interview adults as well as children. Children show us what they are experiencing today. Adults help us understand how those experiences can echo across an entire lifetime.

Bill and Tessa are two different people with two unique lives, and no one story can explain another. But I do think their interviews beautifully illustrate something important. They shared the same incredibly rare diagnosis, yet they experienced childhood in profoundly different ways. One story reminds us of the lasting wounds rejection can leave. The other reminds us of the incredible foundation that unconditional love can provide. My hope is that these interviews encourage all of us to create a world where every child grows up knowing they are valued, accepted, and loved for exactly who they are.

What makes this comparison especially meaningful to me is that it was only possible because SBSK has been around long enough to tell stories across generations. When I started this project, I never imagined I'd one day be able to compare the childhood of one person with the reflections of another adult who shares the same rare condition. Thanks to your support over the past 11 years, we are entering uncharted territory. We are no longer just documenting moments in time. We are beginning to follow people's stories across decades and learning what helps children grow into adults who feel seen, loved, and supported. None of that would be possible without this community. Thank you for believing in this project for long enough that these stories can continue to unfold together.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 26,181