Alex Grevious: One-kid content production team

Alex Grevious is like plenty of other 11-year-old kids. He indulges in reading superhero comic books and mastering the art of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but he’s got more tricks up his sleeve. In between video game sessions and novels, Grevious recently published his first book, Ausomely Aaron. He also hosts The Alex Speaks Podcast in which he interviews local community leaders and beyond. Recent guests have included Grevious’ coding teacher, Brannon Harris, and community organizer Ryan McClinton. Grevious was diagnosed with autism at age four and was bullied about his disability. He says that two years ago, he’d had enough and decided to write a book about autism. “I want the book to inspire people and educate them about autism,” Grevious says. The young entrepreneur took time out of his busy schedule to chat with SN&R about his must-reads, actor Tom Holland and his approach to just being yourself.

What is your book about?

It’s about a kid with autism who gets bullied for being different. People don’t really understand him, but he realizes his disabilities are like superpowers and his differences are superpowers. He sees the world in a completely different way than most people and learns that being different is perfectly OK.

Is the main character modeled after you?

He has a lot of my experiences, like the bullying aspect. I got bullied in the third grade because people didn’t understand me as a person. Another aspect, I see the world differently. Like, I view it as entertaining. So I was like, “Maybe I should just make this book about myself, but not really myself because it’s a different character’s name.”

What was your favorite part about writing your story?

My favorite part was that I could put my own story in my own book. I want people to know more about my own experiences with [autism] and so I implemented those elements into my book except with entirely different characters.

Top three favorite authors or books?

Right now, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, because it’s just a really fun series to read. I really liked the books even though each book gets longer, way longer. I like one of the Star Wars books called Star Wars: Smuggler’s Run, and The Lorax.

Advice for anyone who has been bullied because they were different?

If my dad was here, he’d say, “Just write a book about it,” but I don’t think a lot of people want to go through that whole process. My advice is to just be yourself, ignore them and tell your parents or teacher. If you have a disability, you should try to educate the people who are bullying you about it.

What is your podcast about?

My podcast is called The Alex Speaks Podcast where I interview community leaders and we tell jokes. I really want to interview Tom Holland, but in Sacramento I want to interview Dr. [William] Lee, the publisher of the Sacramento Observer, and Mayor Darrell Steinberg. But definitely Tom Holland, because he’s really cool.

What’s next for you?

I want to make a chapter book series that basically expands on Ausomely Aaron and him getting older and understanding the world more differently. My next picture book is going to be about anxiety. I’m also going to be working on a comic book series with my uncle.