"You would always have my back": Brothers with autism navigate life together

Liyna Anwar

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Brothers Russell, 28, and Remmick Wadsworth, 27, have autism. As kids, they had trouble with social interactions, so they often relied on each other for support during tough situations. Now, as the siblings navigate the working world, they're still looking out for each other.

Remmick remembers his first job, working with his older brother in a coffee shop. "You would always have my back, talking to customers for me, handle them for me while I make their drinks," he tells Russell during a StoryCorps conversation.

Russell was supervisor at the cafe, where he says almost every employee had autism. He recalls a certain worker who was unaccustomed to talking to people.

"He would have this scowl on his face. But that was just how he was," he says. "And a customer came up, and took his scowl the wrong way, and just got so mad. He was about ready to punch his lights out."

So Russell pulled the customer aside and let him know that the employee was on the autism spectrum. "After I explained this to him, this man started crying because he didn't realize this," Russell says.

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