Breaking the stigma, Sam Mitchell is an advocate, using his autism as a way to break barriers and establish change in the way autism is perceived and how people with autism are treated.
“Finding his voice,” Sam joined his high school’s media club, where he developed a passion for podcasting, which led him to create his own podcast, Autism Rocks and Rolls.
“When Sam was a junior in high school, he decided that he wanted to try something different, so he joined his high school’s media club and totally fell in love and resonated with podcasting. Within a week, he came home and was like, ‘Mom, I’m going to start my own podcast.’ I was like, ‘OK, I don’t know what that is,’ but I was always a kind of a parent that really let him explore and really let him identify what he was really good at and what he liked. So he started the podcast and decided it would be called ‘Autism Rocks and Rolls,’ and we were just hoping, when he started to record episodes, for some downloads. We had no clue what was going to happen,” says Sam’s mother, Gina Mitchell.
Sam’s podcast, Autism Rocks and Rolls, is available on all digital listening platforms, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Sam’s podcast covers a multitude of different topics, including topics regarding autism. Wrestling fans can also take an interest in Sam’s podcast because Sam, who is a huge fan of WWE, has also interviewed several professional wrestlers on his podcast, including WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley, Kane, Rob Van Dam and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
When his podcast, Autism Rocks and Rolls, started to gain traction, it was clear that the potential for sharing Sam’s stories and educating people about autism could turn into something more meaningful. The next step to build on that momentum was to evolve Autism Rocks and Rolls into a nonprofit.
“We created the mission of destigmatizing autism to really showcase success levels with people in that population. We already believed this his whole life. It wasn’t a new mission, it was just one that we were able to put on paper and do the advocacy work for. I always believed that everybody has a place and everybody has a purpose, no matter what,” says Mitchell.
There is still that barrier where people don’t know how to respond. There is always that response where people say they are sorry because there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of what autism is. By creating the nonprofit, Sam is able to not only be an advocate but also a source of education.
Autism Rocks and Rolls has two training programs that it provides. The first training program addresses employment opportunities for people with autism and educates human resources professionals and those in management roles on how to create employment opportunities for individuals with autism, as well as provide the support these individuals need to thrive in the workplace. The other training program educates emergency workers and first responders on how to safely help people with autism in emergency situations.
“Sam and I are also motivational speakers. We’ve traveled worldwide to do a lot of advocacy work and spread our mission. We’ve done several school bullying convocations and conferences for human resources, law enforcement, leadership and just about anywhere where Sam can talk about his experience. Sam talks about his life and how he made a decision of not wallowing to just living his life, being proud of himself and embracing himself,” says Mitchell.
Sam speaks on motivational topics that include “I Am Not Broken: Not Just Awareness, But Acceptance,” “What’s Your Excuse: Creating Motivation in a Business,” “Bring Us Aboard: Training for Employers and the Autism Community” and “Getting Real: The Emotional Side of Autism.”
“Autism Rocks and Rolls has two big events every year. April, which is Autism Acceptance Month, will be our fifth annual gala. In August, we always have a big motorcycle poker run that just keeps getting bigger each year,” says Mitchell.
The Autism Rocks and Rolls website includes detailed information about specialized services Sam provides, including business mentoring, collaborative educational writing, motivational speaking, podcast coaching, editing and appearances. The website also provides details about upcoming events, how to donate and sponsorship opportunities. It also features the Really Cool Stuff tab, which showcases other people with autism. Autism Rocks and Rolls is very active on social media, and on Facebook, it has a special public group called Autism: Sam’s Stories and Other Resources.
“Sam’s doing a lot of stuff. He’s breaking down a lot of barriers, doing things that people think people on the spectrum can’t do. I always say he’s just kind of the epitome of what we work for and why I worked so hard, because I want everybody to have an opportunity to be the best they can be, no matter what,” says Mitchell.
