Bells Corners man defies odds, receives special award

His accomplishments are many and overshadow the fact that he is both autistic and aphasic, having learned to communicate as a deaf person.

"To us, this was a big thrill for him to get the award," said Judi Roy, Mike's mother. "When he was a young child, I was told to put him in an institution and to forget about him, as if he didn't have a brain. He hadn't been diagnosed and back then autism was almost unheard of and ...Next...