Darius Brown, known as DJ, is a vibrant 10 year-old-boy living with his family in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.  DJ was first diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 22 months. Once diagnosed, he received extensive speech therapy and other services to enhance his limited speech abilities.

Now a 5th grader, DJ has transitioned to the “High Functioning Autism” end of the spectrum.  He is currently on grade level for reading and math, but comprehension techniques and mathematical word problems require extra time and assistance for him to process and understand.

DJ loves, loves Thomas the Train. He plays with his trains for hours at a time. He builds what seems like mile-long tracks and watches the trains move around the tracks. DJ loves to write stories about his trains, things that he doesn’t like, his friends, and   family.  He has written several books, yet Darius Hates Vegetables was the first one that he chose to get published.  

DJ lives with his mother, father, and little brother Matthew.