Joseph Caputo: A Young Man Who Never Lets Asperger's Hold Him Back

Joe Caputo doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him. He's athletic, he's personable, he's a good student, and he's quite handsome. He doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him because there's not.

He's not the type of kid to let a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome hold him back. And he's certainly not the type of kid to be told there's something he can't do.

"I always viewed it as something that would hold me back, if people knew," Joe said. "I don't like to be held back, I like to push forward."

He also likes to dive, a sport he discovered in his sophomore year of high school.

"There is no feeling like jumping from a big height into a body of water. It's so much fun-I'm flipping through the air," he described. He enjoys the brotherhood of a team filled with young men with work ethics and drive just like him. He also loves being able to do what most people only do in the summer all year long.

"I know that every mom thinks that their child is amazing, but mine truly is!" said his mom, Denise Caputo. She's very proud of the young man who said his favorite thing to do on a weekend is enjoy a nice big Sunday dinner with his family. (Sorry, girls, he does have a girlfriend).

The 18-year-old Naugatuck High School senior has had many challenges. "Many people told him that he couldn't do things that normal kids could do but Joe always proved them wrong! He has had a rough road but you would never know it," his mom said.

His challenges started at birth. "He was born five weeks early and he wasn't supposed to make it. But he did," said Denise Caputo. "He was severely bullied and made fun of in school. But, not once has he felt sorry for himself or let others hold him back or used his condition as an excuse."

Joe doesn't even like people to know about his diagnosis because he feels like people look at him different and feel sorry for him. He has made honors in school and is now getting ready to start his college career. In the fall, he'll go to Naugatuck Valley Community College where he'll begin taking core courses, and then he'd like to move on to another college to study criminal justice.

"I don't feel Aspbergers should be an excuse. I feel I should work hard to equate with other kids, and then rise above," he said.

"He doesn't want breaks cut for him, he wants to go on his own merits, and he does," said Denise Caputo.

He has his eye on Southern Connecticut State University, since they have a dive team.

"Not bad for a kid who the Stamford School System said would never make it out of special ed," said Denise Caputo. 

"Joe is such an inspiration to everyone that meets him. He has nothing but great things ahead of him and I am so excited to be along for the ride!" said his mom.