ATLANTA — When Tyrone Green’s youngest son was diagnosed with autism, his wife was immediately ready to get the 3-year-old the support he needed. But Green was stuck: He had questions about his son’s future and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness — like no one, not his wife, not his friends, understood his experience.
“ … (M)y wife couldn’t understand what I was going through as a Black father, all these hopes and dreams I had for my kid,” said Green, who lives in Michigan. “She didn’t feel the same way.”
In 2021, he joined a Black fathers’ support group and met a few other dads eager to discuss their unique challenges. They started their own podcast in 2023 called AutisHIM, a place where Black dads talk about the wins and setbacks of having autistic children.
Green is among a growing number of Black fathers of autistic children looking to be more visible in the national autism conversation through podcasts, nonprofits and summits that specifically address their experience…