Brody Muthard takes honors courses at Nazareth Area High School, enjoys video games, plays drums in the school band, hopes by next year to achieve a third-degree black belt in martial arts, and is an Eagle Scout candidate.
The Lower Nazareth Township teenager could be a model for every hypercompetitive high school student driven to succeed, with one exception: He and his parents, Tara and Adam, have dealt with Brody’s double-whammy diagnosis of autism and ADHD from an early age.
The disabilities delayed Brody’s early development. He didn’t talk until he was 4 and wasn’t able to carry on a conversation until a year later, according to his mother. But that hasn’t stopped the bright, mop-haired 16-year-old when it comes to overcoming obstacles.
“Make the negatives not as bad, but there are still negatives,” Brody said during a recent interview with his parents. “You will still have some of the negative effect, but you learn how to cope with it, and you learn how to utilize the strengths to balance out the weaknesses.”