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July 11, 2025 61 mins
Our guest this week is Dr. Paul Collins, of Portland, OR a professor at Portland State University, a prolific author, and father of two boys including one with Autism.

Paul and his wife, Jennifer Elder, have married for 28 years and are the proud parents of two boys: Bramwell (21) and older brother Morgan (26) who is Autistic. 

Paul is a professor of English in the college of Liberal Arts & Science at Portland State University.  In addition to teaching English, Paul has been a prolific author including the book: Not Even Wrong: A Father's Journey Into the Lost History of Autism (Bloomsbury, 2004), which is a brilliant story including a fascinating look back on the history of Autism. 

We’ll hear Paul's story on this episode of the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast.

Show Notes -
Phone – (503) 725-3504
Email – pcollins@pdx.edu
Website – https://www.pdx.edu/profile/paul-collins
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Collins_(American_writer)
Books –
  • Blood & Ivy (W.W. Norton, 2018)
  • Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living (New Harvest, 2014)
  • Duel With the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America's First Sensational Murder Mystery (Crown, 2013)
  • The Murder of The Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars (Crown, 2011)
  • The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World (Bloomsbury, 2009)
  • The Trouble With Tom: The Strange Afterlife and Times of Thomas Paine (Bloomsbury, 2005)
  • Not Even Wrong: A Father's Journey Into the Lost History of Autism (Bloomsbury, 2004)
  • Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books (Bloomsbury, 2003)
  • Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World (Picador, 2001)
  • Community Writing: Researching Social Issues Through Composition (Erlbaum, 2001)
Special Fathers Network -
SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated.  There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."

SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.

Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videos

Please support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/

Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/  

SFN Mastermind Group - https://21stcenturydads.org/sfn-mastermind-group/
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