SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS
BEAR Hugs & Autism Hope:
Tikko™ and Dorian’s Story
D
orian, my 12-year-old autistic son, is
kind, compassionate and has a great
sense of humor! He loves Pokemon,
Minecraft, and Skylanders and has dreams of
becoming a rock star someday. Dorian takes
his drum lessons and singing very seriously. It
wasn’t always like this. In the early years prior
to Dorian’s diagnosis (it took 7 years), we spent
many days lost, confused, losing hope and very
worried about his future. Enrolling Dorian at a
local school specializing in children with neurological disorders at the start of Grade 2 was
the best decision we ever made. It wasn’t long
before we realized that given the proper support, understanding and acceptance, children on
the spectrum can grow up in a world that gives
them every opportunity for success!
So … “Where’s Tikko Been?” Since 2013, Tikko™ has travelled to Africa, the Arctic, Asia,
Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Amsterdam, Arizona,
Australia, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bolivia,
Brazil, British Columbia, Bulgaria, California, the Caribbean, the
Carolinas, the Cayman
Islands, Cuba, China,
Costa Rica, Crete,
Croatia, Denmark, the
Dominican Republic, England, Florida, France,
Georgia, Germany, Greenland, Hawaii, Holland,
Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Illinois, India,
Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Kentucky, Korea, Kuwait, Labrador, Lithuania,
Louisiana, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nepal, the Netherlands,
Nevada, New Brunswick, New Mexico, New
Jersey, New York City, the Northwest Territo-
One day, when Dorian was 9, he came across a
story of a young girl who was terminally ill. Unable to travel herself, she experienced the world
through the eyes of her
traveling teddy bear.
“Dorian became inspired and
Dorian became inspired
and decided to se