Benjamin Breaking Barriers

Benjamin Breaking Barriers Benjamin loves giving inspiring and educational presentations on autism, and he would love for you to read his blog! A Q&A period concludes the presentation.

Benjamin Tarasewicz, a bright young man with high-functioning autism, is making a positive impact on his community by educating his peers and teachers, as well as the general public, on the challenges of living with autism. Benjamin has had years of intensive autism therapy and has exceeded expectations of what might be achieved by someone with the diagnosis. In addition to his love for theater and acting and his participation in Boulder’s top-level youth symphony (as a violinist), Benjamin has recently taken on the role of public speaker and advocate. Together with his mother, he has developed both a power-point presentation and a blog. Benjamin’s multi-media presentation is structured to fit a standard 50-minute class period, and is geared towards high-school age students (including 8th graders) through adults. The presentation consists of a 30-minute talk accompanied by a 28-slide Power Point Presentation consisting of great photos and visuals. This is followed by a 5-minute performance element (Polynesian poi-swings choreographed to Celtic music). Benjamin’s mother generally gives a 5-minute introductory talk which is intended to give background information and to provide a sense of perspective. This is particularly important for college students contemplating work with autistic individuals and for parents of children with autism, but is helpful for high-school-age audiences as well. For situations where time-constraints are an issue, Benjamin has an abbreviated version of his presentation which runs 20 minutes in length (total timing); this includes a brief introduction given by his mother, as well as a shortened version of the performance element that concludes Benjamin's presentation. Benjamin also has a blog which is focused on the happenings, thoughts, and perceptions that are of interest to Benjamin as he moves into adulthood. Read about what life is like as seen through the eyes of a talented individual who happens to be different, and get some extra perspective from the viewpoint of Benjamin’s mother, who is his primary helper and team-mate in this endeavor. Find the blog at our website www.benjaminbreakingbarriers.com If you would like to engage Benjamin as a speaker, please contact us at [email protected]

Growing Community Awareness – May 2025from Malva: Following his heart, Benjamin continues reaching out, making new frie...
03/25/2026

Growing Community Awareness – May 2025

from Malva: Following his heart, Benjamin continues reaching out, making new friends, and attending social functions geared to connecting neurotypical individuals and persons-with-diverse-differences. The number of groups is growing, and oftentimes, there’s an inter-generational aspect as well, providing some feel of extended family. Follow in Benjamin’s footsteps, connect yourself to meaningful, inclusive, and supportive communities: Tapestry Theater has been in Benjamin’s life for over a decade (see our many archived blog posts about musicals performed with Tapestry)....

from Malva: Following his heart, Benjamin continues reaching out, making new friends, and attending social functions geared to connecting neurotypical individuals and persons-with-diverse-differen…

A Unique Invitation – April 2025Benjamin received a unique invitation: to mark National Autism Awareness Month, he prese...
02/18/2026

A Unique Invitation – April 2025

Benjamin received a unique invitation: to mark National Autism Awareness Month, he presented (via zoom) for employees of Propelus (a company that develops innovative healthcare technology/software). Kudos to their forward-thinking engagement manager, Jason Grubb, for cultivating understanding and connection amongst Propelus employees, many of whom work virtually and also identify as neurodiverse. We particularly loved our Q&A at the end, hearing what was in people’s hearts, sharing our thoughts in return....

Benjamin received a unique invitation: to mark National Autism Awareness Month, he presented (via zoom) for employees of Propelus (a company that develops innovative healthcare technology/software)…

April 30, 1996 - March 1, 2024 In my annual Christmas letter this past December (2023), I wrote: “The big transition for...
04/03/2024

April 30, 1996 - March 1, 2024 In my annual Christmas letter this past December (2023), I wrote: “The big transition for me has been the full retirement of my horse, Orion, in April around his 27th birthday. His age finally caught up to him, and riding no longer felt safe nor enjoyable for either of us. Overall though, he is still in good health, enjoys his pasture, mates, and no longer wearing shoes....

April 30, 1996 – March 1, 2024 In my annual Christmas letter this past December (2023), I wrote: “The big transition for me has been the full retirement of my horse, Orion, in April around hi…

In November of 2022, a full year ago, Benjamin had an inexplicable breakdown – first came tendinitis, weight loss, and a...
03/30/2024

In November of 2022, a full year ago, Benjamin had an inexplicable breakdown – first came tendinitis, weight loss, and a stress fracture, then terrible panic/anxiety/OCD attacks, insomnia and even more dramatic weight loss, with clinical depression resisting medication. Psychiatry, counseling, various medications…only one medicine was helpful, and then the months crawled by with medication trials that brought no further improvement....

In November of 2022, a full year ago, Benjamin had an inexplicable breakdown – first came tendinitis, weight loss, and a stress fracture, then terrible panic/anxiety/OCD attacks, insomnia and even …

Benjamin has long desired to experience the cog railroad that winds its way up Pike’s Peak. I remember riding these rail...
01/27/2024

Benjamin has long desired to experience the cog railroad that winds its way up Pike’s Peak. I remember riding these rails as a child myself, marveling that the line was so old – the first cog trains began chugging up the mountain in 1891. The 9-mile journey took us past waterfalls, craggy rock formations, and golden aspen groves, providing magnificent views....

Benjamin has long desired to experience the cog railroad that winds its way up Pike’s Peak. I remember riding these rails as a child myself, marveling that the line was so old – the first cog train…

First, a historic cold snap during early September, dropping from low 90’s to high 20’s for two days, preceded by franti...
03/26/2023

First, a historic cold snap during early September, dropping from low 90’s to high 20’s for two days, preceded by frantic harvesting of delicate crops like basil and tomatoes. Then, four days of increasing warmth, and Benjamin’s encore performance on a shining, breezy, Indian-summer day.A newly learned pop-song made it onto the program, and like last month’s concert, folks hungrily soaked up the energy and vitality of Benjamin’s live performance....

First, a historic cold snap during early September, dropping from low 90’s to high 20’s for two days, preceded by frantic harvesting of delicate crops like basil and tomatoes. Then, four days of in…

New Orleans is a vibrant and fascinating city that lives up to its nickname, “The Big Easy,” with a friendly and laid-ba...
03/26/2023

New Orleans is a vibrant and fascinating city that lives up to its nickname, “The Big Easy,” with a friendly and laid-back feel. Various cultures, (primarily French, African, Native Indian, and American) have commingled here during the past two-plus centuries, and below are snapshots of the cultural insights we gained during our 5 ½ day visit in February. The French Quarter…...

New Orleans is a vibrant and fascinating city that lives up to its nickname, “The Big Easy,” with a friendly and laid-back feel. Various cultures, (primarily French, African, Native Indian, and Ame…

from Benjamin: I was ten when I first visited my grandparents, plus my aunt and uncle, on the island of Oahu. My intense...
03/07/2023

from Benjamin: I was ten when I first visited my grandparents, plus my aunt and uncle, on the island of Oahu. My intense life of 24/7 autism therapy had brought me to the point of our first ever family vacation trip. Since then (2004), we’ve been back four more times, including this October visit, which also included a few days on Maui....

from Benjamin: I was ten when I first visited my grandparents, plus my aunt and uncle, on the island of Oahu. My intense life of 24/7 autism therapy had brought me to the point of our first ever fa…

We are celebrating over 10 years of Benjamin Breaking Barriers events with a newly constructed website! www.BenjaminBrea...
03/06/2023

We are celebrating over 10 years of Benjamin Breaking Barriers events with a newly constructed website! www.BenjaminBreakingBarriers.com Please visit us virtually and enjoy many photos on 5 inviting pages. In Summary: Benjamin has been performing since childhood, and has been advocating, plus creating new and special events on behalf of the autism community since 2012. He has become somewhat of a local celebrity, spearheading many inclusion events and awakening the greater community to wonderful collaborations (...

https://benjaminbreakingbarriers.wordpress.com/2023/03/06/celebrating-over-10-years-of-bbb-events/

We are celebrating over 10 years of Benjamin Breaking Barriers events with a newly constructed website! www.BenjaminBreakingBarriers.com Please visit us virtually and enjoy many photos on 5 invitin…

For the first time since Covid lockdown, the Autism Society of Boulder County held a gala fundraiser, and just as in pre...
12/05/2022

For the first time since Covid lockdown, the Autism Society of Boulder County held a gala fundraiser, and just as in previous years, I was invited to be the emcee. This was an awesome opportunity to introduce my newest project: a series of speed-dating events (or social mixers, or some variation on this theme) for people on the spectrum – as well as for those with other special needs!...

For the first time since Covid lockdown, the Autism Society of Boulder County held a gala fundraiser, and just as in previous years, I was invited to be the emcee. This was an awesome opportunity t…

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