Ben Gretchko: the 2017 high school graduate and now the successful college student.

The Detroit Jewish news recently caught up with Ben Gretchko, a 19-year-old who once journeyed through The PLAY Project. Ben may be recognizable to some; Ben’s high school commencement speech went viral and has over 2 million views. To watch “Graduating with Autism: The Ben Gretchko Story” visit PLAY’s blog post: Graduating with Autism.

Since his speech, Ben Gretchko has not just survived his first year of college but thrived! Ben finished his first year at Western Michigan University, where he is a journalism student, with a 3.77 GPA, second semester A’s, a place on the Dean’s List, and an invitation to the Honors College. Not only did Ben achieve academically, but he also formed new friendships and was involved in campus life activities.

Reasons for Ben’s success? Ben’s mom implementing PLAY’s early intervention program, the Birmingham School District, Western’s Autism Services Center, and of course, Ben’s hard work.

“The secret to Ben’s success is really no secret at all. His monumental accomplishments can be directly traced to the intensive training and guidance his parents, Lisa and Steve Gretchko of Birmingham, received through Dr. Solomon’s PLAY Project.”

Dr. Solomon is proud of Ben’s achievements, maturity and emotional intelligence; Dr. Solomon believes Ben’s story is an inspirational testament to the potential of people with autism.

“If people decided to go to college because of my story,” Ben says, “it would feel really, really good.”

To read the full article click here.