{"id":3743,"date":"2026-01-24T19:48:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T19:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3743"},"modified":"2026-01-24T19:52:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T19:52:46","slug":"ftv-aiden-levy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3743","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Aiden Levy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I have an admission to make:\u00a0 I have always been and continue to be addicted to reading newspapers.\u00a0 It began innocently enough when I would grab the <\/span>Marquette Mining Journal<\/span><\/i> that the paperboy would put behind our screen door each day.\u00a0 The first and only order of business when this started was to flip to the back page where the comics were printed.\u00a0 As I got older, I began exploring the rest of the paper, but my \u2018funny pages first\u2019 introduction to the newspaper started another life-long habit that some find odd:\u00a0 I always skim the papers from the back to the front.\u00a0 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).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When I first started teaching in Ontonagon in 1975, one of my students had a paper delivery route for the <\/span>Milwaukee Journal<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 I started a subscription and he would drop it off in my mailbox at the school each day.\u00a0 It became an essential part of my daily routine.\u00a0 If time allowed, the <\/span>MJ<\/span><\/i> would get read during my lunch or prep hour and if time was tight, it would make its way home.\u00a0 This became a running joke in the teacher\u2019s lounge:\u00a0 \u201cHey, what happened to the paper?\u00a0 Did you take it home again?\u201d\u00a0 When my copy of the <\/span>MJ<\/span><\/i> got left on the table in the lounge, it went through so many hands I felt bad that the poor delivery kid couldn\u2019t get more people to subscribe.\u00a0 I relented to the peer pressure and began bringing back the issues that got toted home.\u00a0 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).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eventually, the carrier route for the <\/span>MJ<\/span><\/i> ceased to exist in Ontonagon so I began subscribing by mail.\u00a0 Changes in our mail delivery systems over the years meant the usually prompt \u2018day after publication\u2019 arrival of the <\/span>MJ<\/span><\/i> eventually became a \u2018sometimes two or three days later\u2019 delivery.\u00a0 These days, I won\u2019t see a paper for a couple of days and then get four in my mailbox.\u00a0 I often wonder if they are getting read at some Post Office mail center (I am kidding).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It is a bit annoying to have my serial comic strips arrive out of order, but we have gotten used to these delivery anomalies.\u00a0 The current iteration (<\/span>The Milwaukee Journal – Sentinel<\/span><\/i>) has so much quality information in its pages, it is something we won\u2019t give up.\u00a0 To me, it is the best major city newspaper around.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of the most popular sections is called the \u2018Green Sheets\u2019.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 It contains the most important part of any daily newspaper – the comic strips!\u00a0 There was a time when the Green Sheets were not actually green, but (thankfully) that didn\u2019t last too long.\u00a0 The other part of the GS I read religiously are the Arts and Entertainment features.\u00a0 For many years, articles about music happenings in Milwaukee have been penned by Piet Levy.\u00a0 If one glances at the title of this <\/span>FTV, <\/span><\/i>the subject of this article will come into better focus.\u00a0 You see, Aiden Levy is <\/span>MJS<\/span><\/i> Arts and Entertainment reporter Piet Levy\u2019s son.\u00a0 In the November 23, 2025 issue of the paper, Piet wrote an expansive piece about Aiden.\u00a0 Aiden\u2019s story is so compelling that I wrote to Piet and asked if I could quote directly from his article.\u00a0 The whole Levy family story is an amazing one. \u00a0 Piet\u2019s article spans nearly three full pages of the <\/span>MJ <\/span><\/i>so please bear with me as I attempt to reduce it to fit this space.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The main article in this Sunday edition of the <\/span>MJS<\/span><\/i> was titled <\/span>Aiden\u2019s long and winding road to McCartney – How my son, a nonspeaker with autism, became a Beatles Channel host.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 In a companion <\/span>Behind The Story <\/span><\/i>piece, Piet supplies readers with some background information about his son:\u00a0 \u201cAiden is a nonspeaker with autism and apraxia who began communicating by spelling out his thoughts on a letterboard at age 6.\u00a0 With apraxia, fine motor skills, such as writing with a pen, are difficult.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He has been practicing since he was six.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Aiden, now 14 years old. is in his first year of high school.\u00a0 He attends four general education classes each day with a paraprofessional who assists him with his classwork.\u00a0 Being non-verbal doesn\u2019t mean Aiden can\u2019t learn.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Aiden himself went on strike from school until he was allowed to attend general education classes.\u00a0 Using the letter board to communicate his thoughts and feelings was time consuming as he improved his gross motor skills.\u00a0 Using a keyboard will follow and text to voice apps have given Aiden his voice.\u00a0 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Piet describes his son as a \u2018generally a very positive kid who sees the best in things,\u2019 and who\u00a0 \u00a0 takes great joy in teasing his twelve year old twin sisters, Ava and Mia.\u00a0 Aiden takes delight in tormenting his sister\u2019s love of the <\/span>Twilight<\/span><\/i> movies:\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d he spelled after bailing during a viewing of the third film.\u00a0 \u201cAwful in every possible way.\u201d\u00a0 While Aiden\u2019s sisters are themselves music lovers, he channels his energy into being a super Beatles fan.\u00a0 His own version of Beatlemania has opened doors for Aiden as well as other nonspeakers who have been inspired by what he has accomplished.\u00a0 As one would suspect with his father\u2019s vocation, Aiden has been exposed to music all his life.\u00a0 It was his love of The Beatles that has led him to be the co-host of a new monthly SiriusXM segment called <\/span>We Want To Tell You<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Aiden\u2019s co-host of the show (carried on <\/span>The Beatles Channel<\/span><\/i> of SiriusXM) is Elizabeth Bonker who is a non-speaker with autism.\u00a0 Elizabeth is also the founder of the nonprofit organization Communication 4 All.\u00a0 The pair use text-to-speech technology (utilizing voices they picked) to spread their thoughts and opinions about The Fab Four\u2019s music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It took Aiden \u2018an hour or two\u2019 to spell out his path toward Beatlemania for his father\u2019s article:\u00a0 \u201cFor years I couldn\u2019t express my feelings with words.\u00a0 But I had so many feelings inside of me.\u00a0 The Beatles\u2019 music was so inspiring, so joyful, so hopeful.\u00a0 It expressed how I often felt, or aspired to feel, before I could express it myself.\u201d\u00a0 Piet noted that a few years ago, Aiden expressed a desire to see Paul McCartney perform live.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Aiden spelled the experience, \u201cwas more than a dream come true.\u201d\u00a0 Piet noted, \u201cI have been privileged to see a lot of special concerts as the music reporter for the <\/span>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 This one, with Aiden and the rest of our family, was right at the top.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the family learned about Aiden\u2019s love of The Beatles music, SiriusXM\u2019s <\/span>The Beatles Channel<\/span><\/i> became their minivan radio music channel of choice.\u00a0 In particular, they tuned into a segment called <\/span>My Fab Four<\/span><\/i> featuring people discussing their four favorite Beatles songs.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Piet translated Aiden\u2019s words using a text-to-speak app and submitted his comments to SiriusXM in late 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Piet explains the chain of events that followed Aiden\u2019s submission to <\/span>My Fab Four<\/span><\/i>:\u00a0 \u201cIn July of 2024, Lou Simon, the vice president of music programming at SiriusXM, emailed me, asking for a zoom meeting.\u00a0 He loved that Aiden had a unique perspective to share as a young Beatles fan and as a nonspeaker.\u00a0 But Simon didn\u2019t want to air Aiden\u2019s <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>Fab Four\u201d segment.\u00a0 Instead, he wondered if Aiden wanted to host his own show.\u00a0 We were in our living room when I broke the news.\u00a0 Mia and Ava screamed.\u00a0 Aiden spun around in excitement.\u00a0 Christy\u2019s face filled with pride.\u00a0 A wave of gratitude washed over me.\u201d\u00a0 Aiden wrote Simon back, spelling, \u201cThank you SiriusXM for recognizing that nonspeakers have a place on the radio.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To put this in perspective, let me quote Aiden\u2019s thoughts on what it meant for him to \u2018find his voice\u2019 prior to being asked to join SiriusXM:\u00a0 \u201cGrowing up, I always felt loved by my family.\u00a0 I knew they would do anything to help me.\u00a0 So as I struggled to control my body, as I struggled to say words, hope and faith were always with me.\u00a0 But it was still hard, sometimes very hard.\u00a0 There were times I felt so frustrated and didn\u2019t know if I\u2019d ever share my thoughts and feelings.\u00a0 But on the hardest days, I knew that my family would always love me and fight for me.\u00a0 And I knew I\u2019d never stop fighting and loving myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It would take months of Zoom meetings and a lot of coordinated dialog between Lou Simon, Aiden\u2019s speech therapist, and Elizabeth Bonkers (whom Simon invited to co-host the show with Aiden).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 When Simon presented the demo to the board of directors at Apple Records (The Beatles label) in November of 2024, they approved it.\u00a0 Paul McCartney himself wrote, \u201cWow!\u00a0 This is amazing.\u00a0 Their personalities are so cool and it makes for great listening.\u00a0 Please let Aiden and Elizabeth know that I love it and look forward to hearing their show.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Aiden heard Paul\u2019s message, he was so excited it took him hours to calm down enough to spell out his reply.\u00a0 In a follow up thank you, he told McCartney, \u201cAnything really is possible.\u00a0 The Beatles\u2019 music helped me to believe that.\u201d\u00a0 After the first episode of <\/span>I Want To Tell You <\/span><\/i>aired on September 24, 2025, Aiden wrote, \u201cI am the luckiest person in the world.\u201d\u00a0 Aiden has also heard from Olivia Harrison (the late George Harrison\u2019s wife) and The Beatles\u2019 drummer Ringo Starr.\u00a0 McCartney\u2019s letter welcoming Aiden as a new host included a doodle of a face and a personalized autographed copy of <\/span>Let It Be, <\/span><\/i>both of which he counts as treasured possessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Aiden\u2019s new adventure is not only inspiring, but groundbreaking.\u00a0 He is the youngest person to host a program in the channel\u2019s history.\u00a0 He and Elizabeth are the first nonspeaking hosts on the SiriusXM network.\u00a0 I can not wait to share Aiden\u2019s story with the Communications Class students I help supervise on WOAS-FM 91.5.\u00a0 This is the third year this class has been included in the Ontonagon Area Schools curriculum.\u00a0 My role is to get them comfortable being on the air.\u00a0 Once the Communications students learn their way around the broadcast board, they do fine.\u00a0 Their instructor, Natalie Rios, and I have found that the first big hurdle for some is talking on the air.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Aiden\u2019s excitement about sharing his love of The Beatles\u2019 music is a wonderful illustration of how great it is to be able to talk to listeners about the music they are sharing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I will let Aiden have the last word here because this is, after all, his story.\u00a0 \u201cI had big dreams.\u00a0 Hosting a radio show wasn\u2019t one of them,\u00a0 It\u2019s nothing I ever thought could be possible as a non-speaker.\u00a0 But Lou Simon saw something I couldn\u2019t see, something special beyond words.\u00a0 This opportunity from him and SiriusXM is the greatest joy and privilege of my life.\u00a0 And to hear my thoughts on the radio, not knowing for a time if I\u2019d ever be able to share my thoughts at all, is a gift I will cherish always.\u00a0 I hope it opens eyes and minds and ears, to show the world who nonspeakers with autism are, that we\u2019re smart and have feelings and love brilliant bands like The Beatles like anyone else.\u00a0 \u201cLove is all you need,\u201d John Lennon sang.\u00a0 Nonespeakers like me have so much of it to give.\u201d\u00a0 – Aiden Levy<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many thanks to Piet Levy and the <\/span>MJS <\/span><\/i>for this inspirational look at Aiden\u2019s life.\u00a0 Thank you and congratulations to Aiden and Elizabeth on their new show, <\/span>We Want To Tell You.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Peit\u2019s full article can be found at the following link (may ask you to sign up for the site):\u00a0 <\/span>https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2025\/11\/17\/how-my-son-a-nonspeaker-with-autism-became-a-siriusxm-beatles-channel-host\/86800662007\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 So many songs to choose from so we hope Aiden approves:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I have an admission to make:\u00a0 I have always been and continue to be addicted to reading newspapers.\u00a0 It began innocently enough when I would grab the Marquette Mining Journal that the paperboy would put behind our screen door each day.\u00a0 The first and only order of business when this started was to flip to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3743"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3746,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743\/revisions\/3746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}