‘GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN’
11-year-old Danbury student with autism shares stories of Conn. residents in new podcast
With a microphone and a lineup of local guests, 11-yearold Caio Leaf has been curating stories of people “going against the grain” through his new podcast, “Caio Talks.”
“It means taking the road less traveled, having challenges, having lessons,” the Danbury student said. “Going the rough way, that’s going against the grain. … But the fruits of labor are worth it.”
For Caio, a sixth grader at St. Joseph School, navigating the world on the autism spectrum is his version of “going against the grain.”
Diagnosed at age 2, Caio was nearly nonverbal for the first five years of his life, communicating with what he called “very indecipherable phrases.” He and his mother, Emanuela Palmares, are now handling sensory issues and other changes in his development.
Palmares, who works to support and celebrate immigrants as vice president of the Danbury-based nonprofit New American Dream Foundation, said she often wonders how Caio’s life would have been different if he were navigating autism while living in Brazil.
“Caio is the first American in my family,” said Palmares, who moved from Brazil to the U.S. as a child. “But even within the scope of Caio’s autism, I think often if my parents hadn’t made the leap of courage to come to the U.S. how much different his life would have been if he had been born in Brazil. The resources there are light years behind the resources available here. We’re always grateful to my mom and dad and the courage they had 30 years ago.”
His journey with autism pushed him “on the hard path,” Caio said.
“There’s some people that accept me, some places that accept me, and some places and people that make me feel like I’ve got to leave,” he said. “But in the end, look at me: I’m a very happy and grateful son with a loving family, a podcast show, lots of friends, lots of good people that know me and a happy life, so you could say all the suffering is worth it.”
He announced the launch of the “Caio Talks” podcast in the first week of April, just in time for World Autism Acceptance Week. It is produced by Ian Bick at Creative Evolution Studios by Ian Bick, a 2013 Danbury High grad and former nightclub owner who served a nearly three-year federal prison sentence on fraud charges.
“Caio Talks” will be available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and new episodes will be released at 7 p.m. Sundays.
Each episode will focus on guests’ experience in “going against the grain,” he said. The opening episode of “Caio Talks” launched April 7 and featured Caio’s interview with AJ Galante, owner of the Champs Boxing Club and former owner of the Danbury Trashers hockey team who served over seven years in prison on charges related to unfairly controlling the garbage industry.
Future episodes will feature interviews with Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves, former Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito, Mark and Emily Kilpatrick of Affinity Esports and Union Savings Bank CEO Chelen Reyes.
‘Get inspired’
Although her son is generally introverted, Palmares said Caio “transforms” whenever he’s in front of a camera and microphone.
“He needs to be in an environment that’s completely comfortable for his personality to shine,” she said.
Before launching “Caio Talks,” he was creating videos through his YouTube channel “Caio Ninja” to warn people about the dangers of COVID-19.Palmares said “Caio Ninja News” started as a series of videos during the pandemic to send to family members and explain COVID-19 to Caio, who was born with a lung condition.
Through his passion, “Caio Ninja News” shared updates on COVID-19 from the federal Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and got a shoutout from Gov. Ned Lamont, she said.
Caio later used his platform to stand up to John Oliver in response to the TV host’s scathing comments about Danbury.
When he returned to inperson learning for fifth grade, Caio decided to take a break from “Caio Ninja News.” Palmares said the idea for the podcast surfaced a year later when they were brainstorming different formats Caio could use to connect to people. The podcast allows Caio to prerecord episodes so he can better manage his school schedule, she said.
Caio said he plans to make more episodes and hopes to get 1 million visitors through his podcast. For now, he said he plans to enjoy his podcast’s progress.
“It helped me get lessons that I as a preteen need and you also get to meet new people, talk to old friends and get inspired by their stories,” Caio said.