[Storyline Online intro]
Welcome to Storyline Online, brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
I'm Holly Robinson Peete, and today I'm going to read, 'My Brother Charlie,'
written by, me, Holly Robinson Peete, and my daughter, Ryan Elizabeth Peete, with pictures by Shane W. Evans.
We’ve always been together—even in Mommy’s tummy—my twin brother, Charlie, and me.
We still share lots of things: Curly hair and brown eyes.
How much we love hot chocolate with marshmallows.
Our dog, Harriett.
Rolling in the grass.
Music.
Football.
And names that start with the letter C—
Callie and Charlie.
But being twins doesn’t make us exactly the same.
I’m two minutes younger than Charlie. I can stare for hours at the Big Dipper and the moon.
And I love to talk.
Charlie is skinnier and goofier than me.
He hates math. When he looks at the sky, he finds jets and helicopters.
And sometimes my brother gets very quiet.
When we were babies, I pointed out flowers and cats and fireflies.
I snuggled and giggled with Mommy on dark nights. And told Mommy again and again how much I love her.
But Charlie was different. He wouldn’t play with me. Or kiss Mommy’s cheeks when she hugged him.
And he didn’t say “I love you.” Seems those words were locked deep inside my brother.
Everyone told Mommy not to worry. “He’s just being a boy,” they said.
But Mommy knew there was something different about Charlie. I knew it, too.
As we grew older, Mommy watched Charlie very carefully. She and I could see he was struggling.
Then Mommy discovered that Charlie’s brain works in a special way, because Charlie has autism.
It’s harder for Charlie to make friends. Or show his feelings. Or stay safe.
One doctor even told Mommy that Charlie would never say “I love you.”
That made Mommy and me saddest of all.
I have learned from Charlie that love doesn’t always come from what you say.
It can also come from what you do. And so we do right by Charlie.
We love Charlie strong. We watch over him with the might of angels. We have to.
When Charlie wants something, nothing stops him. Even when it’s dangerous.
And there are days when it’s hard to be Charlie’s sister. Sometimes he can ruin the best playdates.
Other times he seems so far away, like when he won’t look at me. Or speak. Or play.
I wish I could crawl inside Charlie’s world to move things around for him and for me.
I know Charlie wants to be in my world, fitting in, making friends, having fun, and laughing.
There are good times with Charlie, too—when Charlie looks right at me and welcomes me with his smile.
He lets me touch his face. He laughs when we lock fingers in a holding-hands game.
That’s Charlie’s 'I love you,' said in the silly ways we play together.
Charlie is good at so much.
He knows the names of all the American presidents!
He’s a fish in the water.
He has a special way with animals, especially Harriett.
When Harriett and Charlie are together,
there’s even more 'I love you,' said in the way only Charlie can,
when he gets Harriett to sit, run, or listen.
Charlie’s got a mind that tests things.
Shoelaces. Paper clips. Apples. Pinecones.
And he enjoys sharing.
He likes to show off his shell collection, his new sneakers,
and how well he plays “Itsy Bitsy Spider” on the piano.
Charlie likes to share how sweet he is and how much he cares about other people.
When I fall off my bike or bump my head, Charlie comes running.
He always makes my hurts feel better with the caring that comes from his eyes.
Sometimes, when Charlie can find the words—
when they unlock themselves from inside him—
he does say “I love you.”
I will always remember the first time I heard him say it.
So clear and kind. So Charlie.
I banged my toe hard, and cried.
There was my brother, patting my back,
saying over and over again,
“Don’t cry, Callie, I love you.”
It wasn’t just the words that were so strong.
It was the love that Charlie showed me, just by being there.
“I love you, too, Charlie,” came from me fast.
Charlie has autism. But autism doesn’t have Charlie.
If you ever get to meet my brother, you’ll feel lucky to be his friend.
He won’t care if you have the coolest sneakers, or if you are the best at sports.
He’ll just like you for who you really are. That's Charlie.
I’m blessed to be Charlie’s sister and to share so much.
I count my “Charlie Blessings” every day.
At the very top of my “Charlie Blessings” list
is the love Charlie and I have for each other.
Said in so many ways.
One of the reasons why I'm so in love with 'My Brother Charlie'
is because my daughter came to me with the idea to write this book and we wrote it together.
What a cool thing to be able to write a book with your daughter
who was twelve years old when we wrote this book.
She decided that she wanted to advocate for her twin brother.
I think Ryan's goal was to get people to come into her twin brother's world,
and maybe just understand that it takes a little extra effort
but makes a big difference if you just try to engage with him.
Children with autism are special, unique and amazing if you just give them a chance,
if you just accept who they are with love and patience, and kindness.
And so, if you know a family or you know someone who is struggling
or who has autism or a family who just got diagnosed,
the number one thing I tell people is never give up hope.
And never, ever, let anybody tell you what your child will be
or what they will never do.
Thank you for watching Storyline Online.
Make sure to check out all of our stories.
Keep watching and keep reading.
[Storyline Online credits]