Brad's autistic son Sam taught him to put down his phone and actually listen. A recent morning showed this: Sam tried getting his attention while Brad read, absorbed in his book. Paulette had to step in before Brad finally looked up.
Brad, let's get really personal if you're open to this. What has this been like for you as a dad? Who have you had to become? Because I can't even imagine what it would be like to have an autistic child, and specifically Sam's form of autism, where for 20 years I'm thinking the level of patience you have to have. What qualities have you developed as a result of being Sam's dad?
To answer your question, who have I become or am I becoming? I mean, it's still happening. I always felt like I had a lot of self-awareness. I always felt like I had a lot of compassion. I always felt like I had a lot of patience. I always felt like I was a good listener. There's just things that you learn. We all probably know this, the people that are closest to us, sometimes we neglect the most, right? I mean, it happened this morning with Sam. He was trying to say something to me, and it's so easy to just block out anybody that's close to us that's talking, right? He's easier to block out than most, you know, because he could be talking about anything. He was trying to get my attention this morning, and Paulette had to point it out. And she said, hey, Sam's trying to talk to you before he leaves in a little bit. I had a book and a phone at the same time. I was doing something, research or something, and I had to put it down and turn and face him. And I even talk about that in the book, that That's what I've learned how to do, but I'm still learning how to do it. It's every day.
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