Lucas Warren is the first child with Down syndrome selected as a Gerber Baby. As you can see, Lucas has an amazing smile. It’s no surprise that he also has an engaging warm personality.
Lucas was chosen from more than 140,000 entries to be the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby. We think Gerber made an excellent choice and applaud its decision.
Jason Warren (Lucas’ dad) said "We're hoping this will impact everyone — that it will shed a little bit of light on the special needs community and help more individuals with special needs be accepted and not limited. They have the potential to change the world, just like everybody else."
Lucas’ parents plan to use the $50,000 prize money for his education. Click here to read a letter from our Executive Director congratulating Lucas. Click on the picture of Lucas himself to see a video about him.
Temple Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University and a pioneer in the humane treatment of cattle being processed for meat. She invented “the hug box” which is used to calm people on the autism spectrum. As someone with autism herself, her life is an example of the amazing things those with special needs can achieve.
Prior to receiving her doctorate, she earned a master’s degree from ASU. Time magazine declared Professor Grandin one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. Award-winning actress Claire Danes played Temple Grandin in the TV movie of the same name.
Although he’s a fictional character, we thought it would be good to mention Shaun Murphy, the lead character on a new ABC hit television show. Dr. Murphy is a surgical resident using his exceptional skills to improve and save lives.
He finds people are not always tolerant of the effects of his autism despite the fact it’s Dr. Murphy’s autism that often allows him to interact with patients more effectively than his non-autistic colleagues.
The show’s writing and acting are very good. Dr. Murphy isn’t written as a perfect doctor. His inability to pick up on social cues sometimes gets him in trouble. However, his lack of guile, ego, or a hidden agenda serve him well. The show demonstrates that autism doesn’t have to be the barrier that too much of our society believes it is.