Young Cape Coral author writes about his experience with autism

Writers take inspiration through their daily lives and allow readers to see their frame of mind. This young Cape Coral author is no different.

Anthony Longstreet wrote a book about his experience growing up with autism.

Longstreet’s young life hasn’t always been easy. He had difficulty making friends.

“I was always in specialized schools, you know, I had a hard time making friends and everything,” Longstreet said.

Doctors confirmed he was on the autism spectrum in 2019, and he quickly learned people he met don’t always know how to handle that.

“People don’t know about autism is that, you know, this sometimes repeat themselves sometimes while we too much about things, you know, they get anxious with stuff. They are different, you know, they’re not as same as everybody else,” Longstreet said.

But what some might see as a disability, Longstreet sees as a superpower.

“I’m able to work I work efficiently, so I’m a hard worker, and I focus on things. Since I have autism, and I care about things,” Longstreet said.

That focus and care proved useful, as Longstreet developed a knack for writing.

“When I was in second grade, my second grade teacher, she said to my mom and me that ‘he would be a great writer and everything,'” Longstreet said.

Fast forward to his days at Cape Coral High School, and Longstreet took that idea to heart.

“I was in school and creative writing. My mom said, why don’t you write a children’s book? I said, yeah, to great idea. I decided to write on autism,” Longstreet said.

He titled the book “I’m Proud to be Different: a Children’s Book on Autism.”

“I want it to teach people that people who have autism are just like everybody else, and they have to learn how to accept and care for them,” Longstreet said. “You know, and I hope it reaches more kids to help them learn that it’s okay to have autism, and it’s okay to be different.”

And Longstreet offers himself up as proof that different is good.

Longstreet received the community recognition award at Wednesday’s Cape Coral City Council meeting, for making a positive impact in the area.

Longstreet recently graduated Cape Coral High School with honors and straight A’s, and he’s already thinking about his next book.

Click here if you’d like to buy a copy of his book.