Imagine being told to give up on your 3-year-old child.The doctors say the situation looks hopeless.Your son has Autism, and you are doomed to suffer with him.This is exactly what happened to me in 2003.The problem with Autism, is that it's cunningly unpredictable.It’s a spectrum disorder, which means that no two cases are the same.Parents' lives become a constant struggle.You spend many sleepless nights, worrying what will happen when you’re gone.With my son, it wasn’t easy.Max was falling behind in school. Found it hard to make friends.At one point it looked like he was condemned to a life of suffering in a Group Home.No one seemed to understand him, and it broke my heart.I needed to find a way to get through to my son. I needed to find a way to help him.I’m not a doctor, or a therapist.Most parents aren’t, and it’s easy to give up.While I was working in Law Enforcement and the Diplomatic Service, millions of dollars were invested in communication skills, so you can de-escalate a situation, and make sure everyone gets home to their families.When everything was at its darkest, I thought "Why not?"Why not use the exact same skills I honed serving as a Special Agent to help my child?I failed numerous times to get through, but I refused to give up on my son.Not like the doctors did.It worked.Max's grades started improving. Slowly at first, but with continued support he quickly rose to the top of his classes.Max started to communicate with his classmates, and even joined the basketball team.When he finished high school, I was the proudest father in the world.My son even got a scholarship to his FIRST-CHOICE college. From struggling to communicate, to studying languages in college. Autism became his SUPERPOWER. Gone are the sleepless nights worrying who will look after my son when I'm gone.He’s flying free.No, I’m not a doctor. Chances are - neither are you.But you don’t have to be.After all, hope starts at home

In January 2021 I was assigned to lead a 12-man team in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and manage $35M of government funds.My remit – Provide training to the General Directorate of Narcotics.What they needed was someone with a cool head and sound judgement, who can take control in life and death situations.Armed with high communication skills and 30 years of experience, I accepted the challenge.It was a culture shock, to say the least.Saudi culture is about as far from the USA culture as Saudi Arabia is from the USA…… and I learned once again that strong communication skills transcend language barriers.When you are trying to calm down a situation where the other person doesn’t speak your language, it puts your skillset to the test.You have to try and reassure them with only your tone of voice, and a careful use of body language.That means avoiding quick movements.Keeping your posture open and neutral.Making sure you make the right amount of eye contact.Every time the challenge changes, but the more you have to do it, the easier it gets.You begin to understand the culture.The playbook gets rewritten, and everything that didn’t work is thrown out.The skills and training constantly get refined, until eventually what is left is tailor-made for the environment.The same is true with ANY training program.The thing is, skills that work for one person in one situation, may not work in the next.It doesn’t mean they aren’t useful skills to know - quite the opposite.The best training programs provide you with a toolbox full of different skills, and teach you HOW and WHEN to apply them.I use the very same principles for the company I run today, Autism 2 Awesome.My goal is to help You become an awesome parent to your awesome kid.In Autism 2 Awesome, my courses still use that same $35M skillset.The only difference is - I know that those who need my help don’t have a 7-figure budget.

Winston Churchill once said “Diplomacy is the art of telling plain truths without giving offence.”When leading International Criminal Investigations, that’s easier said than done.In September 2017, I was assigned to Ecuador, and had only 6 months to learn Spanish.The training was intense, but by the end of the program, I learned a new language.My point?Diplomacy is about Communication. Your audience needs to understand you.Leading interviews and investigations in another language pushes every skill to its limits.The suspect sits in a room, and has no intention of saying anything incriminating.Before anyone enters the room and opens their mouth, several things need to happen:Documents need to be collected.Analysts need to go through every detail from the suspect's criminal history to their favourite bar & prepare a briefing.Gaps in the story need to be identified & questions prepared.Preparation is the key to Success.Preparation means you can set REALISTIC GOALS for the interview."Good Cop, Bad Cop" doesn’t work.Instead, you need to build a human connection.Make them feel safe, and give them a little control.“Do you want a drink?”“Hot or cold?”“Tea or coffee?”Giving them a choice, no matter how small, gives them a sense of power.It gives them a stake.The same skills can be used in almost any situation.You kid hates vegetables?Ask them "Do you want sprouts or broccoli?"It’s these simple principles that form the foundation of Human Connection.And human connection is at the heart of any successful Communication.

Chicago has 943 violent crimes per 100k people, according to CBS.If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time…well, good luck.As a Senior Special Agent for the DEA, you are always in the wrong neighbourhoods.From forged prescriptions to armed robberies - Chicago has it all.In every classroom, every community group, there is someone who’s a victim of substance abuse.Another who’s been taught to distrust cops.And a third that thinks narcotics could be their escape route.However, there is one thing you need to remember.NO ONE is born a criminal.Most people you meet are victims themselves.And lucky for me, I was the one who was trained to protect, and to serve.The hardest part is knowing if you fail to connect, someone’s life will be ruined.But with the right choice of words, in the right order, at the right moment, you have the power to give someone a FUTURE.The same goes for being a father of an autistic child.Victims of circumstance, vulnerable, they are often condemned to a life they don’t deserve, because someone they trust led them astray.Getting through to a person with Autism is a challenge.Especially in high pressure situations, as their senses become overstimulated. They panic. Act out.“To protect, and to serve.” Hmm.Yet most training ignores special populations. It’s not in the budget.The most vulnerable members of society are overlooked.The ones that need protecting THE MOST. As a Law Enforcement Officer with 30 years’ experience……No. As a Father of a son with Autism - that is UNACCEPTABLE.Special populations need to be at the HEART of your communication training.Their lives are the ones destroyed when words fail to connect.So, when I organise my teams' training, I ask myself "How would someone with Autism respond?What words would they need to hear? In what order?"The moment you can connect with the most vulnerable people of society, everything else becomes easy in comparison.

"Don’t go out after dark", the last words you expect to hear when starting a new role.To say Nigeria is dangerous, is an understatement.Murder, kidnapping, terrorism, and armed robbery are a daily part of life.Even when working as a Diplomat, you need to travel with armed guards, keep the windows rolled up, and be prepared for a fire fight on every street corner.For the average member of the public, it’s even worse.Some of the things I saw in Lagos still cause me to wake up in a cold sweat.Even with all my Communication Training, words often aren’t enough.I have countless stories about how my skills diffused life or death situations in Lagos, but they aren’t what I want to draw attention to.My role was to give Law Enforcement the skills they needed to survive after dark.The problem was, in an environment as tense as Lagos, fatal mistakes are easy to make.Innocent people live in fear, and fear makes them irrational.Irrational people make mistakes.Mistakes paid for in blood.Our approach?Hope.In places like Lagos most criminals are just desperate men and women struggling to find a way out of their own personal hell.They need someone to show them a better way, and give them hope for a better future.The same goes for parents of a child with Autism.Many of them feel trapped, helpless, victims of circumstance, living in their own personal hell.They need someone to hold their hand, remind them they aren’t alone, and guide them to a better future.Writing the training program in Lagos was one of the most dangerous, and rewarding experiences of my life.It provided the core value Autism 2 Awesome is built upon.

In January 1992, I began an amazing career that has allowed me to be of service to my community and my country. It all started in St. Louis, MO and during the next 20 years I would work in Miami, Cyprus and Phoenix, AZ. I knew from day one that this was my life purpose and I continue to serve others for almost 32 years as an officer of the law.In role of Special Agent with both specialty teams (Risk Management/Emergency Preparedness and Team Building/Safety and Security, investigations) , planned/directed complex criminal investigations of individuals/ groups engaged in domestic and international drug trafficking.