What is it like to understand life in a way that doesn’t always match up with others around you? Children and adults on the autism spectrum live this reality every day. Today we speak with Derek, Amy & Dylan Volk, whose experience is detailed in Derek Volk’s well-regarded book, Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Spectrum.
Amy Volk is the State Senator for District 30, which includes most of Buxton, most of Scarborough, and all of Gorham. Prior to being elected to the Senate, she served two terms in the Maine House as the Representative for House District 127, coastal Scarborough. Senator Volk resides in Scarborough with her husband, Derek, the President of Volk Packaging Corporation, a third-generation family business. They have four children.
Derek Volk is the author of the internationally acclaimed Amazon best seller, Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Spectrum. Derek is a Maine businessman, supporter of Autism awareness, volunteer and philanthropist who, along with his family, was recently named the 2015 Spurwink “Humanitarian of the Year.” He is currently the president and co-owner of Volk Packaging Corporation, a third generation, family owned, corrugated box manufacturer in Biddeford, Maine. Derek actively participates on the Maine Business Leadership Network (BLN), a national organization that focuses on connecting employers with potential employees who have disabilities. He resides in Scarborough with his wife, Amy and their four children.
After years of what his parents called “the diagnosis of the month club,” Dylan Volk was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of eight. Life has always been challenging for Dylan. When he was little, he struggled with how to learn the rules and follow directions that often did not make sense to him. As he got older, he was challenged, especially socially, by a world that often seemed to go too fast for him to keep up. Even today, Dylan works hard to figure out what he needs to do in order to get through each day as a 24-year-old adult in a very fast-paced society. Dylan graduated from Scarborough High School in 2010.
