In My Mind

Meet Alex Olinkiewicz. If you live on Shelter Island, you probably already know him, at least casually. But until you sit down and talk with him, you may know little of his warmth, charm, intelligence and his self-awareness about coping with Asperger's syndrome and other peoples' reactions to it. The 21-year-old 2009 Shelter Island High School graduate has a subtle shyness about him that he somewhat masks with a self-deprecating sense of humor. Many of his classmates may have left the Island for college or jobs but you're likely to find Alex often alone at home, hunched over a computer dealing with graphics, one of the many talents this young author possesses. The book was written with the cooperation of Islander Dr. Richard O'Connell, a retired guidance counselor and author, who spent two years recording sessions with Alex, having them transcribed and then working with him to organize his thoughts into the book, for which Alex created the graphics. Unlike the scholarly tomes that have been written about autism and Asperger's syndrome, Alex's story is very personal and it paints a vivid picture of what it's like to be someone or have a family member who has Asperger's. The idea of a book started with a YouTube video Alex made when he was 16. The video got a few hundred hits and then, with promotion from YouTube, hundreds turned to thousands of views and finally more than a million views!