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Autism through talent
DEVELOPED WITH PARTICIPANT
Jacob Farkash
I was listening, learning, and feeling every moment.
JACOB FARKASH
Jacob Farkash is sixteen and has his own show. He sits across from his guests and asks the questions. For most of his childhood, it was the other way around: other people often answered for him.
Before anyone mentioned autism, Jacob was called developmentally delayed. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't find a way to say it. The diagnosis came later, after his family moved to another state. It helped the adults around him understand his needs better, but Jacob was still the same person.
Before anyone mentioned autism, Jacob was called developmentally delayed. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't find a way to say it. The diagnosis came later, after his family moved to another state. It helped the adults around him understand his needs better, but Jacob was still the same person.
For years Jacob was minimally verbal. When he couldn't speak, he used signs stuck to popsicle sticks to tell people what he needed: "I need a break," "I need water," "I need to use the bathroom." He didn't say the words out loud, but he was still communicating.
Some people thought that because he couldn't answer quickly, he didn't understand what was going on around him. He remembers it differently.
"I was listening, learning, and feeling every moment."
School made things harder. He changed schools several times, was bullied and often felt that teachers and classmates misunderstood him. Some pushed him to make eye contact, as if looking away meant he had stopped paying attention. Some expected him to answer on their schedule instead of his.
"I was listening, learning, and feeling every moment."
School made things harder. He changed schools several times, was bullied and often felt that teachers and classmates misunderstood him. Some pushed him to make eye contact, as if looking away meant he had stopped paying attention. Some expected him to answer on their schedule instead of his.
Social cues misunderstood
That still happens sometimes. Jacob says he often needs extra time after someone asks him a question. He is listening, and at the same time he is processing what they said, collecting his thoughts and working out how to put them into words.
"Sometimes people may think I'm not listening because I don't answer right away," he says. "I'm listening and thinking, I just need the extra time to put my thoughts into words."
Other difficulties are still there too. Jacob describes sensory overload as sound, light, thoughts and feelings piling up until his body has to let them out. Sometimes that means laughing, running or jumping. Sometimes he gets frustrated or needs to leave the room. A quiet space, a break or a few minutes to breathe or move helps him calm down. He still stims, and he still works harder than most people would guess just to get through situations that others hardly notice.
"Sometimes people may think I'm not listening because I don't answer right away," he says. "I'm listening and thinking, I just need the extra time to put my thoughts into words."
Other difficulties are still there too. Jacob describes sensory overload as sound, light, thoughts and feelings piling up until his body has to let them out. Sometimes that means laughing, running or jumping. Sometimes he gets frustrated or needs to leave the room. A quiet space, a break or a few minutes to breathe or move helps him calm down. He still stims, and he still works harder than most people would guess just to get through situations that others hardly notice.
Learning from our mistakes is important
He also sometimes talks louder than he realizes. When he's trying to get the words out, he may have to remind himself to lower his voice. He's more aware of this now, but it hasn't gone away.
You won't necessarily see any of this when he's on camera, chatting easily with a guest. The interview looks simple. Getting there wasn't.
His parents were there from the beginning. Jacob says they learned to understand how he communicated when he had no words, helped him find other ways to express himself and taught him through mistakes and experience as he became more independent.
Drawing was another way to communicate. As a child, Jacob drew the things he cared about: his family, burgers, pizza, even the sky.
You won't necessarily see any of this when he's on camera, chatting easily with a guest. The interview looks simple. Getting there wasn't.
His parents were there from the beginning. Jacob says they learned to understand how he communicated when he had no words, helped him find other ways to express himself and taught him through mistakes and experience as he became more independent.
Drawing was another way to communicate. As a child, Jacob drew the things he cared about: his family, burgers, pizza, even the sky.
He remembers trying out crayons, markers and paint, and he liked that art let him make something without explaining it first. As he got older, the books he read made him want to invent his own characters and stories.
"Art gave me a way to share my ideas, my imagination, and my experiences, even when I couldn't always find the words to say them."
His work today grew out of that. In January 2025, he published The Missing Voice, a short book he wrote and illustrated about how hard it was to communicate as a young child.
His work today grew out of that. In January 2025, he published The Missing Voice, a short book he wrote and illustrated about how hard it was to communicate as a young child.
He has said he wrote it so readers could understand what that felt like. Since then he has created two characters, Even Steven and Dr. Odd Man Out, and he's started thinking about where to take them next: TV, film, maybe merchandise one day.
At sixteen he also started Don't Give Up with Jacob, where he interviews autistic and neurodivergent adults, teachers, therapists, authors and parents.
At sixteen he also started Don't Give Up with Jacob, where he interviews autistic and neurodivergent adults, teachers, therapists, authors and parents.
He writes the questions, decides where the conversation goes and asks his guests to explain their own experiences. On LinkedIn he lists himself as founder of Don't Give Up with Jacob LLC, and he also writes, blogs and gives talks.
As a child, he held up a sign to say he needed water or a break. Now he's the one asking the questions.
He still writes about food, too. For a while as a child, he would only eat one thing: a grilled cheese sandwich his father made for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the same bread, the same cheese and the same pan. He writes about eye contact, friendship and school in the same way he writes about the show and the books. For him, they're all part of one life, and the hard parts didn't simply end when the good ones started.
Jacob wants to keep writing and drawing. He wants to see his characters on screen. One day he'd like to see one of them as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
When a child says very little, looks away or takes longer to answer, it's easy for the adults around him to fill the silence with their own assumptions.
Jacob's story shows why it helps to tell the difference between a child who hasn't answered yet and a child who hasn't understood. Often the answer is already there. It just takes him longer to say it.
As a child, he held up a sign to say he needed water or a break. Now he's the one asking the questions.
He still writes about food, too. For a while as a child, he would only eat one thing: a grilled cheese sandwich his father made for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the same bread, the same cheese and the same pan. He writes about eye contact, friendship and school in the same way he writes about the show and the books. For him, they're all part of one life, and the hard parts didn't simply end when the good ones started.
Jacob wants to keep writing and drawing. He wants to see his characters on screen. One day he'd like to see one of them as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
When a child says very little, looks away or takes longer to answer, it's easy for the adults around him to fill the silence with their own assumptions.
Jacob's story shows why it helps to tell the difference between a child who hasn't answered yet and a child who hasn't understood. Often the answer is already there. It just takes him longer to say it.
