FTV: Aiden Levy
I have an admission to make: I have always been and continue to be addicted to reading newspapers. It began innocently enough when I would grab the Marquette Mining Journal that the paperboy would put behind our screen door each day. The first and only order of business when this started was to flip to the back page where the comics were printed. As I got older, I began exploring the rest of the paper, but my ‘funny pages first’ introduction to the newspaper started another life-long habit that some find odd: I always skim the papers from the back to the front. Magazines get the same treatment, but at least I read books the old fashioned way from front to back (but I will also admit that I have to read the back sleeve notes before I dive in).
When I first started teaching in Ontonagon in 1975, one of my students had a paper delivery route for the Milwaukee Journal. I started a subscription and he would drop it off in my mailbox at the school each day. It became an essential part of my daily routine. If time allowed, the MJ would get read during my lunch or prep hour and if time was tight, it would make its way home. This became a running joke in the teacher’s lounge: “Hey, what happened to the paper? Did you take it home again?” When my copy of the MJ got left on the table in the lounge, it went through so many hands I felt bad that the poor delivery kid couldn’t get more people to subscribe. I relented to the peer pressure and began bringing back the issues that got toted home. I never asked for monetary donations, but the papers were not returned until I clipped out the parts I could use in my Jr High Geography / Earth Science classes (and yes, this included some of the comic strips).
Eventually, the carrier route for the MJ ceased to exist in Ontonagon so I began subscribing by mail. Changes in our mail delivery systems over the years meant the usually prompt ‘day after publication’ arrival of the MJ eventually became a ‘sometimes two or three days later’ delivery. These days, I won’t see a paper for a couple of days and then get four in my mailbox. I often wonder if they are getting read at some Post Office mail center (I am kidding). It seems strange to get all of the papers except, say, Tuesday for a given week only to have the missing issue pop up six or ten days later. It is a bit annoying to have my serial comic strips arrive out of order, but we have gotten used to these delivery anomalies. The current iteration (The Milwaukee Journal – Sentinel) has so much quality information in its pages, it is something we won’t give up. To me, it is the best major city newspaper around.
One of the most popular sections is called the ‘Green Sheets’. Why? It contains the most important part of any daily newspaper – the comic strips! There was a time when the Green Sheets were not actually green, but (thankfully) that didn’t last too long. The other part of the GS I read religiously are the Arts and Entertainment features. For many years, articles about music happenings in Milwaukee have been penned by Piet Levy. If one glances at the title of this FTV, the subject of this article will come into better focus. You see, Aiden Levy is MJS Arts and Entertainment reporter Piet Levy’s son. In the November 23, 2025 issue of the paper, Piet wrote an expansive piece about Aiden. Aiden’s story is so compelling that I wrote to Piet and asked if I could quote directly from his article. The whole Levy family story is an amazing one. Piet’s article spans nearly three full pages of the MJ so please bear with me as I attempt to reduce it to fit this space.
The main article in this Sunday edition of the MJS was titled Aiden’s long and winding road to McCartney – How my son, a nonspeaker with autism, became a Beatles Channel host. In a companion Behind The Story piece, Piet supplies readers with some background information about his son: “Aiden is a nonspeaker with autism and apraxia who began communicating by spelling out his thoughts on a letterboard at age 6. With apraxia, fine motor skills, such as writing with a pen, are difficult. Pointing to letters on a letter board, however, involves gross motor coordination, which Aiden can learn more easily, though it still requires years of practice, focus, and stamina. He has been practicing since he was six.”
Aiden, now 14 years old. is in his first year of high school. He attends four general education classes each day with a paraprofessional who assists him with his classwork. Being non-verbal doesn’t mean Aiden can’t learn. His parents explained to the teachers in his self contained special education classes that he knew everything they were teaching him through repetition, but he needed more. Aiden himself went on strike from school until he was allowed to attend general education classes. Using the letter board to communicate his thoughts and feelings was time consuming as he improved his gross motor skills. Using a keyboard will follow and text to voice apps have given Aiden his voice. This greatly condensed version of his education thus far does not do justice to what a long journey it has been for Aiden and his whole family.
Piet describes his son as a ‘generally a very positive kid who sees the best in things,’ and who takes great joy in teasing his twelve year old twin sisters, Ava and Mia. Aiden takes delight in tormenting his sister’s love of the Twilight movies: “I can’t take it anymore,” he spelled after bailing during a viewing of the third film. “Awful in every possible way.” While Aiden’s sisters are themselves music lovers, he channels his energy into being a super Beatles fan. His own version of Beatlemania has opened doors for Aiden as well as other nonspeakers who have been inspired by what he has accomplished. As one would suspect with his father’s vocation, Aiden has been exposed to music all his life. It was his love of The Beatles that has led him to be the co-host of a new monthly SiriusXM segment called We Want To Tell You. Aiden’s co-host of the show (carried on The Beatles Channel of SiriusXM) is Elizabeth Bonker who is a non-speaker with autism. Elizabeth is also the founder of the nonprofit organization Communication 4 All. The pair use text-to-speech technology (utilizing voices they picked) to spread their thoughts and opinions about The Fab Four’s music.
It took Aiden ‘an hour or two’ to spell out his path toward Beatlemania for his father’s article: “For years I couldn’t express my feelings with words. But I had so many feelings inside of me. The Beatles’ music was so inspiring, so joyful, so hopeful. It expressed how I often felt, or aspired to feel, before I could express it myself.” Piet noted that a few years ago, Aiden expressed a desire to see Paul McCartney perform live. The entire family joined in this adventure and joined 50,000 other fans for an October 17, 2025 concert in the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Aiden spelled the experience, “was more than a dream come true.” Piet noted, “I have been privileged to see a lot of special concerts as the music reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This one, with Aiden and the rest of our family, was right at the top.”
When the family learned about Aiden’s love of The Beatles music, SiriusXM’s The Beatles Channel became their minivan radio music channel of choice. In particular, they tuned into a segment called My Fab Four featuring people discussing their four favorite Beatles songs. When his dad asked if Aiden would like to submit his Fab Four comments in 2023, he got right to work spelling out what he wanted to say about his favorites. Piet translated Aiden’s words using a text-to-speak app and submitted his comments to SiriusXM in late 2023.
Piet explains the chain of events that followed Aiden’s submission to My Fab Four: “In July of 2024, Lou Simon, the vice president of music programming at SiriusXM, emailed me, asking for a zoom meeting. He loved that Aiden had a unique perspective to share as a young Beatles fan and as a nonspeaker. But Simon didn’t want to air Aiden’s “Fab Four” segment. Instead, he wondered if Aiden wanted to host his own show. We were in our living room when I broke the news. Mia and Ava screamed. Aiden spun around in excitement. Christy’s face filled with pride. A wave of gratitude washed over me.” Aiden wrote Simon back, spelling, “Thank you SiriusXM for recognizing that nonspeakers have a place on the radio.”
To put this in perspective, let me quote Aiden’s thoughts on what it meant for him to ‘find his voice’ prior to being asked to join SiriusXM: “Growing up, I always felt loved by my family. I knew they would do anything to help me. So as I struggled to control my body, as I struggled to say words, hope and faith were always with me. But it was still hard, sometimes very hard. There were times I felt so frustrated and didn’t know if I’d ever share my thoughts and feelings. But on the hardest days, I knew that my family would always love me and fight for me. And I knew I’d never stop fighting and loving myself.”
It would take months of Zoom meetings and a lot of coordinated dialog between Lou Simon, Aiden’s speech therapist, and Elizabeth Bonkers (whom Simon invited to co-host the show with Aiden). Putting together a demo program took a lot of hard work selecting songs, spelling out dialog, and then converting their thoughts using text-to-speach technology. When Simon presented the demo to the board of directors at Apple Records (The Beatles label) in November of 2024, they approved it. Paul McCartney himself wrote, “Wow! This is amazing. Their personalities are so cool and it makes for great listening. Please let Aiden and Elizabeth know that I love it and look forward to hearing their show.”
When Aiden heard Paul’s message, he was so excited it took him hours to calm down enough to spell out his reply. In a follow up thank you, he told McCartney, “Anything really is possible. The Beatles’ music helped me to believe that.” After the first episode of I Want To Tell You aired on September 24, 2025, Aiden wrote, “I am the luckiest person in the world.” Aiden has also heard from Olivia Harrison (the late George Harrison’s wife) and The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr. McCartney’s letter welcoming Aiden as a new host included a doodle of a face and a personalized autographed copy of Let It Be, both of which he counts as treasured possessions.
Aiden’s new adventure is not only inspiring, but groundbreaking. He is the youngest person to host a program in the channel’s history. He and Elizabeth are the first nonspeaking hosts on the SiriusXM network. I can not wait to share Aiden’s story with the Communications Class students I help supervise on WOAS-FM 91.5. This is the third year this class has been included in the Ontonagon Area Schools curriculum. My role is to get them comfortable being on the air. Once the Communications students learn their way around the broadcast board, they do fine. Their instructor, Natalie Rios, and I have found that the first big hurdle for some is talking on the air. The microphone can be intimidating, but once they stop thinking about it and just talk to each other and their audience, they improve their communication skills rapidly. Aiden’s excitement about sharing his love of The Beatles’ music is a wonderful illustration of how great it is to be able to talk to listeners about the music they are sharing.
I will let Aiden have the last word here because this is, after all, his story. “I had big dreams. Hosting a radio show wasn’t one of them, It’s nothing I ever thought could be possible as a non-speaker. But Lou Simon saw something I couldn’t see, something special beyond words. This opportunity from him and SiriusXM is the greatest joy and privilege of my life. And to hear my thoughts on the radio, not knowing for a time if I’d ever be able to share my thoughts at all, is a gift I will cherish always. I hope it opens eyes and minds and ears, to show the world who nonspeakers with autism are, that we’re smart and have feelings and love brilliant bands like The Beatles like anyone else. “Love is all you need,” John Lennon sang. Nonespeakers like me have so much of it to give.” – Aiden Levy
Many thanks to Piet Levy and the MJS for this inspirational look at Aiden’s life. Thank you and congratulations to Aiden and Elizabeth on their new show, We Want To Tell You. Peit’s full article can be found at the following link (may ask you to sign up for the site): https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2025/11/17/how-my-son-a-nonspeaker-with-autism-became-a-siriusxm-beatles-channel-host/86800662007/
Top Piece Video: So many songs to choose from so we hope Aiden approves: