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About Alex

Alex Gilpin has accomplished more in his lifetime than most people even aspire to accomplish. His life, and his love for life, is what inspired his father’s publishing company Future Horizons, a company that has grown well beyond the family’s expectations. Through the books, conferences, and through Alex’s remarkable presence and success in the world, the autism community has been permanently infused with positivity and hope.
Everyone who met Alex was touched by his vibrant character. He was a person incapable of dishonesty or deceit of any kind. He loved music, food, and his family and friends. But of all his passions, his passion for food may have trumped all! He scrupulously savored every bite he ever took. He enjoyed explaining each meal in great detail, coining the now-famous phrase, “It was so good that I loved it.”

Though it’s been said that people with autism cannot comprehend sarcasm and humor, Alex developed a sharp, intuitive sense of humor that left smiles on countless faces. His love for puns and other jokes always made for lively conversations. The worse the joke, the larger his grin! It is also a common myth that people with autism do not have empathy for others. But Alex’s politeness and his genuine compassion continuously encouraged those around him to see only the good in people, as Alex did. He not only thrived as an independent person, but he was always striving to help others any way he could. He has inspired people with autism all over the world to defy expectations and disprove false stereotypes. In addition, he has motivated us all to focus on the positives in life and to truly appreciate one another

Alex’s Emails

When Alex received a computer with email capacity, no one knew how he would feel about using it. To his family’s delight, he rapidly grew into the great communicator of the 21st century! Alex’s unique perspective quickly spread smiles and laughter throughout cyberspace. We still don’t know how many people his emails actually reached, but we know that people were reading them all over the world. Here are a couple examples of his more humorous ones:

Dear Aunt Carole
Aunt Carole I know you think that I am a funny guy but I can’t help it because I have a disease called “Saying Funny Thingstism”.
It is a disease that makes me a funny guy. Yes I also have made my mother laugh before. So your birthday is on January the 25th huh.
I hope neither you nor Uncle Larry let the dogs out again or else one of you might have to sing that song WHO LET THE DOGS
OUT WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF I will be hearing from you soon.
Take good care of yourself. Goodbye.
Love,
Alex Gilpin

[The following was in response to Alex’s father telling him that he did not have to respond to joke emails.]

Dear Dad
Dad, the reason I replied to the E-mails about jokes and other interesting things is because I wanted to thank the person who sent me that interesting E-mail. In other words I thought it would be kind of rude for me to just not say anything at all. I didn’t want to do anything that makes the people sending me those E-mails feel like they’re not being a good enough E-mail sender. I just wanted to do what I can to make them feel good. I hope you understand that. I am glad to hear that the conference went well and that they LOVED the story about the linguini. I hope to hear from you soon.
Take good care of yourself. Goodbye.
Love Alex Gilpin

Dear Mom
Thank you for that nice shirt from Wyoming that you gave me. It was so nice for you to think of me. I think that I will wear this shirt soon that is how much I like the shirt. I sure hope you can give me more presents like this one in the future. I really would like it if you would do that. Once again thank you for the shirt.
Love Alex