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Every week we showcase topics about local youths. SEND US YOUR NEWS: If you are a youth and you have a story or photo to share, we'll do our best to publish it on this page. Email it to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver. com, along with your name and a brief paragraph about why you w ant to share it with our readers. > < o o q d o H --1 g '(/) CD JZ CD E AspieComic kicks off Halton Autism Job Club conference by Kathy Yanchus Metroland West Media H e calls himself the AspieComic. Aspie is for Asperger Syndrome, a high functioning type of autism that 21-yearold Michael McCreary was diagnosed with at the age of hve. Whats funny about autism, you ask? Plenty when you listen to Michael' s standup routine, which he has performed on stages throughout Canada and the U.S. In it, McCreary pokes fun at growing up in the family' s Orangeville home where parents Doug and Susan infused humour into the challenges that arose with not one, but two sons with autism. (His younger brother Matthew, 19, is profoundly challenged) "Our default setting would be, `smart ass, with a chance of sarcasm,'" jokes Doug. Whether it was infectious or in his genes, humour became a driving force in young Michael' s life as both a therapeutic escape, and a means to break down barriers and stereotypes about autism by making people laugh with him. "Comedy opens up a dialogue more than anything else. People learn when they're laughing and they're engaged," said Michael, who will kick off Its a Neurodiverse Universe, a (Halton) Autism Job Club conference Saturday, Oct. 21 at the DeGroote Ron Joyce Centre. "They retain information better when in joke form. Jokes are concise, jokes get to the point really quickly, jokes have enough personality that they can make you laugh. I think it' s a perfect medium for that." Michael McCreary is the AspieComic and he'll be kicking off the first (Halton) Autism Job Club's It's a Neurodiverse Universe conference Oct. 21 in Burlington. The 21-year-old was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome at age five. | Michael McCreary photos Michael started performing at the age of eight and had stage presence from the start, said his dad. So much for having difficulty with social interaction, or the inability to make eye contact or converse, all of which are Asperger symptoms. It hasn't always been easy for him though, but he's worked, and continues to work, incredibly hard to hone his craft. His schedule is packed with bookings into next year. Upcoming shows include addressing medical staff and students at McMaster University Children' s Hospital, and he presented at the Accessibility Innovation Showcase as part of the Invictus Games. Previously, he gave the keynote address at the Children' s Autism Conference in Edmonton and closed it with a standup set. He has opened the conference for Asperger Experts in Los Angeles and done events for them in other major U.S. cities. He also performed with Chris Hadheld in the show, Generator, at Massey Hall and is the host of the Autism Ontario video, Autism: See the Potential. As a child, Michael was involved in theatre and music and got his hrst taste of standup with David Granirer' s Standup for Mental Health troupe out of Guelph at the age of 13, said Doug. Michael remembers his hrst gig in Hamilton before 200 people. "I thought this is a make or break point. I've learned how to write jokes, learned all the joke theory, now here' s the moment that will dehne whether I want to do this; is it worth the stress, is it worth the mental anguish?'" Once his hrst joke was out there and he heard laughter, he was on his way. "It was euphoric It' s something you practise and you rehne it and you're rewarded. Its a very gratifying experience," said Michael. In comedy you need a niche, a routine that gets you noticed, hence the AspieComic, he said. He also has chutzpah according to one of his comedy mentors, an attribute that is clearly evident. "The difficult thing is as a comic you always want to know that you're introducing something new to the masses, you're addressing something that not a lot of people talk about," said Michael. "You need to be incredibly individualistic about it. You have to have something that makes this point of view specihcally you." see AspieComic on p.13 LEASER'S 2014,2015, 2010 ft 201? 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