Tyler & Tyler

Seeing double? That is alright! We are introducing a new member in AutismWorks and his name is Tyler. Tyler, Tiny Tyler, Little Tyler, Puppet Tyler, however you would like to call him; I tend to change up the name every so often for the fun of it.

Who is this Tyler? That is what I am still attempting to figure out. Just getting to know him as I introduced him not too long ago. The humble beginnings started when we wanted to come up with ideas involving kids and the topic of autism. I have been aware of this muppet that has been introduced in the show, Sesame Street, and their take is pretty fair and different. Nothing to really say about how others portray autism using puppets other then I support their takes on the topic; I just know that when I would do it, it would be coming from someone that lives and negotiates with autism every day.

The puppet version of Tyler was highly encouraged by my team. I was very much against the idea because for one, I thought it was far too ridiculous to have me talking to myself. But then my manager proved a point saying that there are children with autism that talk to themselves almost every day; Even to the point of arguing with each other because of different viewpoints. So I played around with this puppet and got to know him more.

What I ended up doing was making “Puppet Tyler” a slightly exaggerated version of who I was before becoming a CEO of AutismWorks. He’s timid, awkward, and in most cases in his own world. Reason why I wanted to do this is because every time he appears, he progresses socially. Even if the progression takes some extra time; Slow progress is still progress. I learned that from this book I read about procrastination.

First two videos involve him having his hands in his pockets; Won’t always be the case for him however. Just figuring out when would be the good time for him to take his hands out of his sweatshirt pockets. That’s almost always the way I do characters in general. Something that involves progression and growth. Afterall, no one is perfect. Satisfying to watch them improve, progress, and grow up.