In the spirit of a proud momager, I’m re-posting a short blog by Jesse Saperstein, Activities Coordinator for the College Experience. Jesse and his College Experience participants travelled nearly four hours to see Samantha and her fellow cast members in EPIC’s most recent production, Peter and the Star Catcher. I’m happy to report that Jesse–accompanied by David Lieberman, Nick Williams and Alek Fisher–all enjoyed the show and will hopefully make the trek again to see EPIC’s next production, Midsummer Night’s Dream in May.
Jesse has already returned to New York City on the date of Saturday, January 11, 2020 to spend time with Samantha and support her with her callbacks to Shakespeare’s A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream. Included is a photo of them at a Japanese restaurant.
Jesse A. Saperstein is a best-selling author, autism advocate and motivational speaker. He is considered one of the most respected leaders in the Anti-Bullying movement of his generation. Jesse also has a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome (AS) that gives individuals some profound talents and challenges.
Here is Jesse Saperstein’s review of his EPIC experience.
The Alumni Activities Club from the College Experience once again ventured beyond the boundaries of the Capital Region all the way to New York City on Saturday, December 14, 2019. They were happily led by the Activities Coordinator to see a production with EPIC Players (https://www.epicplayersnyc.org) – a neuro-inclusive theatre company of professional performers most of whom live with disabilities. The show they saw was, “Peter and the Starcatcher,” which is a prequel to the J.M. Barrie classic, Peter Pan. Joining the group in one of the photographs is actress Samantha Elisofon, who played the nanny character of Mrs. Bumbrake with a perfected English accent! Samantha is also one of the romantic leads in the critically acclaimed movie, “Keep the Change,” which won a Best U.S. narrative feature and best new narrative director at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival along with a special mention for the Nora Ephron Prize. While Samantha’s talents would be impressive enough, she is also thriving as a professional who happens to be on the autism spectrum. The College Experiences thanks Samantha and all of her associates at EPIC Players for their continuous support of the College Experience and encouraging our alumnus Nick Williams with pursuing his thespian ambitions.
Jesse’s story, “Atypical: Life with Asperger’s in 20 1/3 Chapters,” was published by Penguin Group (USA) in April 2010. His second book, “Getting a Life with Asperger’s: Lessons Learned on the Bumpy Road to Adulthood” was released on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 and focuses on surviving the difficult transition into adulthood for a person with an autism spectrum disorder. Jesse serves as the Media and Activities Liaison for the College Experience that is run by Living Resources, Inc. The College Experience is a program that gives individuals with disabilities the ability to attend a mainstream college with a modified curriculum and provides life skills as well as employment training. The web page is: www.thecollegeexperience.org, and feel free to check out his blog entries on the site.
Marguerite Elisofon is a New York City writer and the author of My Picture Perfect Family, a memoir about how her family navigated life with a child on the autistic spectrum before the internet and support groups existed. She also blogs about parenting young adults and disability related issues in The Never Empty Nest. Her writing has been featured in a variety of publications, including Time and NY Metro Parents magazine, and her family’s story has been featured by the NY Post, Fox News, The Daily Mail, and on Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty Sexy Funny radio show. A Vassar graduate, Marguerite was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives with her husband, Howard, in their mostly-empty nest. She is available to speak about a wide variety of issues relating to twins, parenting, and autism. 