Bob Perkins is a talented young man who graduated from Hill Top only several years ago. Like many of our students, Bob was bright and verbally creative with great puns and always played with language. But his real huge standout ability was with cartoons. His creative drawings knocked it out of the park every time. He was enjoyed by fellow students and appreciated by the faculty. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Hill Top that Bob developed a special relationship with Ms. Kassab over his high school years.
So..... Bob graduated from Hill Top and headed out into the independent world.
Now, fast forward the story to about two years ago. Ms. Kassab received a phone call from a former Hill Top trustee who is also a therapist by trade here in the Bryn Mawr area, Dr. Frances Sutherland. She was writing a book on ADHD and what she has learned about supporting individuals and their families.
Fran says, "I had been thinking about pulling my thoughts and ideas together for a number of years. I had written several articles that got published in the New York Times and received some very encouraging comments. If I could actually write this book, it could be the capstone of the work throughout my career."
She was looking for Ms. Kassab to give her some creative ideas to illustrate her thoughts in the book. Ms. Kassab thought of Bob, right away and said, "This is the guy you should be working with."
Dr. Sutherland describes that she loved the idea of working with a Hill Top student and met with Bob each week here on our campus for over a year. "In the beginning, it was a bit of an uncomfortable dance as we got to know each other and learned how to work together. Marion was a great help by translating for Bob and me what we needed. She understood the creative process to help me and knew Bob really well so he was comfortable with her."
Bob tells me that he felt a bit different in the beginning. "I asked Ms. Kassab if she thought I could really do this and if she thought that this was a good idea. I wasn't sure it was a good idea." But, as they all worked together, Bob says one of the most important things for him to feel comfortable, to relax and to let his creativity come out was "when I got praise when I got it right." Ms. Kassab "stayed in the picture with us for months" and "kept me from getting too distracted and really helped me to stay on track."
Bob says the process wasn't always perfect. "Once I didn't get the work done from the earlier meeting and they told me that it couldn't happen again. It made me realize how serious that this was."
The end result for Bob is that he shares the professional copyrights on the book with Dr. Sutherland. This is a first for Bob and he feels that he"has matured and learned how to stay focused and stick to the job." He tells me that he is working on a comic book of his own on the life of a young man with autism and his own experiences.
Bob's website is www.bob-perkins.com
His email address is: bobperkinsdrawsthings@gmail.com
"From Morning 'til Night, Perspectives on ADHD and Its Management" , written by Frances C. Sutherland, PhD and illustrated by Bob Perkins is going to the publisher this month. Not only printed in hard copy it will also be available on Kindle as well.
We are hoping to have Dr. Sutherland and Bob come and speak at a Dinner with Dads soon. We will make it a Ladies Night so everyone can enjoy hearing more about the book, the process of writing and illustrating the book and even buy their own copy.
I am also interested to see if we can convince Bob to come and teach an Activity Period next year for our students on illustrating their own creative writing.
Lastly, we will do some more in this blog on Dr. Sutherland and what she learned about collaborating with a neurodiverse adult. She will describe her insights on what were the most important elements of a successful partnership. So stay tuned !!!
So..... Bob graduated from Hill Top and headed out into the independent world.
Now, fast forward the story to about two years ago. Ms. Kassab received a phone call from a former Hill Top trustee who is also a therapist by trade here in the Bryn Mawr area, Dr. Frances Sutherland. She was writing a book on ADHD and what she has learned about supporting individuals and their families.
Fran says, "I had been thinking about pulling my thoughts and ideas together for a number of years. I had written several articles that got published in the New York Times and received some very encouraging comments. If I could actually write this book, it could be the capstone of the work throughout my career."She was looking for Ms. Kassab to give her some creative ideas to illustrate her thoughts in the book. Ms. Kassab thought of Bob, right away and said, "This is the guy you should be working with."
Dr. Sutherland describes that she loved the idea of working with a Hill Top student and met with Bob each week here on our campus for over a year. "In the beginning, it was a bit of an uncomfortable dance as we got to know each other and learned how to work together. Marion was a great help by translating for Bob and me what we needed. She understood the creative process to help me and knew Bob really well so he was comfortable with her."
Bob tells me that he felt a bit different in the beginning. "I asked Ms. Kassab if she thought I could really do this and if she thought that this was a good idea. I wasn't sure it was a good idea." But, as they all worked together, Bob says one of the most important things for him to feel comfortable, to relax and to let his creativity come out was "when I got praise when I got it right." Ms. Kassab "stayed in the picture with us for months" and "kept me from getting too distracted and really helped me to stay on track."
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| One of Bob's comic books before he became a published illustrator |
The end result for Bob is that he shares the professional copyrights on the book with Dr. Sutherland. This is a first for Bob and he feels that he"has matured and learned how to stay focused and stick to the job." He tells me that he is working on a comic book of his own on the life of a young man with autism and his own experiences.
Bob's website is www.bob-perkins.com
His email address is: bobperkinsdrawsthings@gmail.com
"From Morning 'til Night, Perspectives on ADHD and Its Management" , written by Frances C. Sutherland, PhD and illustrated by Bob Perkins is going to the publisher this month. Not only printed in hard copy it will also be available on Kindle as well.
 |
| Here are four the characters from the new book. |
I am also interested to see if we can convince Bob to come and teach an Activity Period next year for our students on illustrating their own creative writing.
Lastly, we will do some more in this blog on Dr. Sutherland and what she learned about collaborating with a neurodiverse adult. She will describe her insights on what were the most important elements of a successful partnership. So stay tuned !!!
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