Barefoot Autism Challenge closing out 2025

 I hope everyone had a great time with the holidays. I hope 2026 will treat you all well and is filled with autism advocacy and fun. I look forward to seeing what the Barefoot Autism Challenge will have for next year as the challenge comes to it's tenth year!

Autism on Reality TV

 If there's one thing that gets people talking, it's reality TV show competitions. You either love them or you hate them. Other times people watch them for the drama or because they see people who remind them of their own lives. In the case of autism, it's not that represented on reality TV because some people haven't disclosed it or they try to keep it a secret so other contestants won't take advantage of the fact or just want people to see those individuals as themselves and not autism. Here are some examples of autistic people on reality TV.

To start, Ian Terry was on Big Brother 14 and 22 as well as Traitors. Ian was to this day the only winner on the autism spectrum although he was diagnosed in between his Big Brother seasons. Ian was known for his analytical approach to the game where he first won $500,000 but come the all star season, he was the first person to be on the jury. Terry even represented the United States in the 2021 World Backgammon Team Championship in Trier, Germany. He'll be on the 2026 season of The Traitors.

Speaking of Big Brother, we now have Britini D'Angelo. A member of the Jokers from Big Brother 23, Britini was sadly on the chopping block from week 3 to 5 but saved herself by winning a veto on week 5. But week 6 housemate Kyland Young (more on him later) won Head of Household and D'Angelo tried to make a deal with him to keep each other safe. But Kyland was focusing on other targets and the Cookout convinced him Britini was the bigger threat landing her as the first member of the jury. She revealed to the jury that she hid her autism because she wanted to see people for herself, but the jury was very accepting of her and was proud for saying she has autism. D'Angelo is a kindergarten teacher and a black belt in taekwondo and MAN CAN SHE RAP!! She even rapped for me in a Cameo video congratulating me on getting picked for Team Iowa for the USA Special Olympics.

Onto Kyland Young, he too was on Big Brother 23 but he was placed 4th and was a member of the jury as well. The difference from him and Britini was he was diagnosed with autism AFTER the show and on the launch of The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion. Currently he is competing on the Amazing Race with his girlfriend Taylor Hale. I'm making this blog prior to the finale so you'll have to watch and see how they survive the final leg of the race.

You either loved Survivor 48 or you hated it. I loved it! Especially since the castmate I was rooting for needs no introduction. Watch episode 5 of that season or read my blog about Eva and you'll know what I mean Eva Erickson was the first Survivor contestant to be openly autistic. She is working towards her PhD, captain of the Brown University Men's Hockey Team, and the runner up of her season. If Kamila didn't cut Eva off about blindsiding Shauhin, I feel like Eva could have won with Joe being a tie breaker between her and winner Kyle, but she said that the friendships she made on the show even if they weren't allies, were far more important than winning a million dollars.

Other autistic reality show personalities include Amber Borzotra from Big Brother and the Challenge, L Rodgers from the Voice, Adin Boyer, Sam Finelli, and James Durbin from American Idol and Demi Burnett from the Bachelor franchise. Feel free to give those guys a follow to see more of their autism journey.