BEN LEVIN

Turns the Page on Autism

by Melissa Fales

In the Hole is the newly published YA novel by prolific writer Ben Levin. Nineteen-year-old Levin has had his ups and downs over the course of his journey with autism, but he’s come to have a very positive attitude about the disorder. “Autism is not a curse, it’s a gift,” he says. “It’s not easy. Sometimes I struggle, but I feel it’s helped me in so many ways. I feel like if I didn’t have autism, I wouldn’t be able to come up with so many storylines or be able to remember them or write them down. Autism has helped me to be a better writer.”

Levin was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. “I spent a lot of time alone,” he says. “I needed some help to be with others.” His concerned parents enrolled him in a program that was designed to foster socialization skills in autistic children and promoted the mindset that they could recover from autism. Looking back now, Levin believes the program’s message, that autism could be cured, was harmful to his self-esteem. “That confused me,” he says. “I wondered if the fact that I had autism made me less human ... I thought that it made me a lesser being.”

For some time after completing the program, Levin believed he was no longer autistic. When he changed schools, he made the conscious decision to leave autism in his past. He made new friends, omitting any reference to autism in the story he told them about his life. But eventually, Levin and his family came to accept that Levin was, in fact, still autistic, and that he would spend his life living with the disorder. At first, Levin tried to keep his autism under wraps, but he grew frustrated with the effect his secret had on his relationships. “I wasn’t able to grow friendships,” he says. “I could make friends, but I could not develop friendships, because I was keeping this huge secret.”

In April 2021, Levin made a brave decision to stop hiding. He was ready to share his story, autism and all, with the world. He announced the truth through an Instagram post. “For three and a half years, I’ve kept a major part of my identity a secret to half of everyone I know: I’m autistic,” he wrote. “I’d just switched schools; not having my new friends know my secret felt redeeming. But this year, I began to get that redemption does not mean denying who you are … I want to accept who I am, show the world, and focus on the good things that came from it … so here I am, Ben Levin, autistic and ready to accept what I am. And if there’s anyone who has a thing they’re ashamed of who sees this, I just want to say never try to hide what you are. Embrace it!”

The response to his post was heartening for Levin. “People told me, ‘I’m so proud of you,’ and ‘You’re amazing,’” he says. “I started to realize I could use my story to show that autism is not a bad thing. Writing that post was very liberating. It was very empowering for me.” Being true to himself opened Levin up for deeper friendships with those he connects with. “Another positive thing about autism is that it’s not only made me a better writer, it’s made me a better friend,” he says.

When Levin was in the fourth grade, he started writing down stories and over the years, he’s written many books for younger children. “Most of the things I write about are inspired by things I read, see on TV, or happen in my life,” he says. “As I’ve gotten older, I’m starting to read and experience more advanced things so I’m starting to write more advanced things.” In the Hole is about David, a 9-year-old who finds himself suddenly homeless when the family business goes under. First, David and his family live in a borrowed car. When they lose the car, they take temporary shelter in a rundown inn. “I first got the idea for In the Hole in religious school,” Levin says. “After learning about children facing homelessness in Florida, I wanted to help. Aside from the fact that homelessness is such a prevalent thing, and that’s not right, I wanted to help others. I wanted to show that so many of the harmful myths about homeless people aren’t true.”

Levin has written 44 books in his Nellie’s Friends children’s series about a little girl who, along with her family, makes a big cross-country move. “Making new friends becomes her favorite thing to do,” says Levin. “In each book, she makes a new friend, and they go on an adventure together.” The first five Nellie’s Friends books will be published later this year. Levin has a particular fondness for his early reader book, Ollie and the Race, which he wrote for a favorite teacher. “It’s about a little boy who gets a toy car,” he says. “Then a fairy comes and turns it into a real car. Then the fairy brings him to a forest where he can race with other little boys.”

Levin says his favorite part of writing is getting the story down on paper. “For me that’s the fun part,” he says. Sometimes he writes on a computer and sometimes he writes the stories out by hand. “One of my best friends is also an autistic author,” says Levin. “He loved a (handwritten) story I wrote about a boy who struggled with behavioral issues so much that he offered to type it up so it could get published.” Levin says his least favorite part about being an author is what happens after he completes a first draft. “I despise editing,” he says. “It’s hard killing my darlings.”

One of Levin’s motivating factors is to encourage others with autism to see what’s possible. “Autism is overstigmatized,” says Levin. He admits that sometimes his autism gets the best of him and says that if he’s having a bad day, he might need to go for a walk or do some other activity to help him deflect stress. “I’m working on my self-care, just like everyone else,” he says. “I keep writing because I think that sharing my story can help others on the spectrum. Maybe I can stop them from having the same self-esteem issues I dealt with. I want them to follow their dreams and embrace who they are.” 

For more information about Ben Levin and his books, visit benlevinauthor.com.