Leland Vittert, News Nation, On Autism Awareness Day and Author of Born Lucky | 4-2-26

! born lucky that's the name of the book news nations lilin viddert who I was watching last night actually following the president's address to the nation he joins us on KCMO talk radio and he's here because today is world autism awareness day and lilin viddert news nation has worked through autism his entire life his book has been well received you can buy it and get it wherever you get your books born lucky a dedicated father a grateful son and my journey with autism lilin great to have you on KCMO in Kansas City thanks for being here when you put this book together of course it launched late last year who are you writing it for I was really writing it for every kid and every family who was struggling the way I did and what we've understood after born lucky came out is it is really hope for every family of a parent having a hard time every every parent of a kid having a hard time and it's not just parents and kids with autism like I struggled with but ADHD and anxiety the bullying and difficulty is growing up we've heard from hundreds of parents kids with physical disabilities all who say that born lucky is something that now gives them hope and I think that's the one thing for world autism day that people are now realizing is how many families feel alone they're not alone and how there is real reasons for every parent to have hope that they can make an enormous difference you know people always think about the kids obviously like yourself when you were young who were battling through the autism I think we forget about what the parents go through as well when you wrote this book was there's something that you learned about your parents struggles during this time and in in helping raise you that that wasn't eye-opener for you yeah it's a great question because my parents didn't ever tell me or anyone else about my diagnosis and my dad became my best and only friend so he would be there every night and every day when I got home from school to take the emotional and the psychological and sometimes the physical toll that I had gone through off on himself right and when I interviewed my dad for the book and my mom my mom said you know you would go into your room and he would come and he would talk to you and talk to you about the bullying and tell you that it was gonna get better and sort of put you back together every day and my mom would often then at 1 2 o'clock in the morning after my dad had gone to you after my dad put me to bed he would come downstairs or our house in st. Louis grew up in Missouri and my mom would come out and find him in the living room all the lights off sitting by himself crying right and and feeling like the world had turned against him and against his child so I didn't know that you I never heard about that I in another part of this is it's not just parents and siblings right I asked my sister what was the first memory she had of me my younger sister and when I was in fifth grade she was in kindergarten she said this was her first memory when I interviewed her and every day I would walk her home from school so I'd go from my fifth grade classroom to her kindergarten we walk around the school out to the back through the the fields the B field to a fence line where there was a bunch of trees and as soon as we would get to the fence line every day I would start sobbing because of the bullying and the isolation that I was going through and she would hold my hand and that was her first memory of what it was like to have a big brother so I think you're right to point out that it's it's not just the kid it's the parents and the families that need help to what was that moment for you I mean amidst all that going on as a kid where you felt like things started to turn the confidence started to change I mean you go to Northwestern one of the best universities in the country when did things start to feel more normal for you well probably once I got into the real world of working I think is the best way and sort of I was able to have real accomplishments in that sense my dad you know when I was five my dad realized things were gonna be a little hard for me pretty hard for me and he figured out that I'm gonna have to give this kid self-esteem and I wasn't gonna be good at school I wasn't gonna be good at athletics and I certainly wasn't gonna have any friends my own age so he started me doing push-ups 200 push-ups a day five days a week and you get some kind of reward but it was trying to teach me that hard work yielded results and that's been sort of a standard all through my life that my dad has has taught me and I think it's such a gift that parents can give their kids which is a present you know which is the gift of resilience of teaching them they can do hard things and that's a lot of the born lucky story Leland Vittert is here of course you may know him from his time at Fox News now he is anchoring weeknights on News Nation today is World Autism Awareness Day and he's joining us his book that released last year born lucky a dedicated father a grateful son and my journey with autism when you look back on on your childhood Leland how did how did those difficult times shape you today as a man and I know you're you're recently married as well so how did all that lead to the success that you've had and who you are today well the one thing about doing hard things as you know you can do hard things and you think about when I was in eighth grade I was in art class and the teacher I guess didn't think I was gonna become Picasso or whatever so he says to me in front of the entire class you know Vittert if my dog was as ugly as you I would shave its bleep and make it walk backwards you get the idea if the teachers are doing that what the kids are doing right so I come home I tell my dad about it and my dad you know kept telling me hey look you know middle school is not real life things get better the currency of middle school in a high school is not the currency of real life what he didn't tell me is that middle school in high school is about the best training you could ever get for a Washington newsroom which which is true but after after that eighth grade night many nights like it he would make me go back to school the next day right because you just got up and he kept doing it again and you mentioned that I worked at Fox News after the 2020 election I was invited not to return to Fox News because of some questions tough questions I asked about Trump's claims of the 2020 election and I almost died of COVID in the same month and I had lost my long-term girlfriend in our our relationship that ended so I was I was pretty low and I remember being in my parents house I'd all I had in my life was a backpack and my dad looks at me I was living there and he goes you know you're feeling pretty low aren't you I said yeah I am and he says well he says I understand that he says but in eighth grade you got up and went back to school after that teacher compared you disfavorably to his dogs rear end I said yeah he says well you can get up again tomorrow and start fighting again and that's really what the born lucky story is about I think you know we've heard from so many families of kids not just with sort of the types of problems I'm having but profound autism in these just enormous difficulties about how how parents now feel empowered to help their kids be more and push them to be more and if you permit me there's a child who's with profound autism lives in the group home and his father kept reading the reports this kid was having a terrible time with his physical issues and his emotional outburst and on and on in the only time this young man his name was Tom was happy was three days a week when the group home did a trip to a community center with a pool the kid was splashing the pool and the dad said I'm gonna teach my son to swim that's what we're gonna do because it's the only time he's happy and they all said they the group home and the counselors everything we can't do this he's gonna get scared he's gonna get sick not gonna not gonna work now the kids swim to a mile and a half every morning all because of a father and that's what so many fathers are thinking about every day with their children or ever a hard time all because of father said my my son can do more or my my child can do more that's amazing Leland Vitter is here on KCML what would you say right now Leland as as obviously times have changed from when you know you were being raised but it does seem like the model that your parents had for you might have been ahead of its time in some respects based on how parents handle whether it's autism or ADHD today what have you seen when it comes to positive developments in the parental side of raising children with autism and ADHD and others versus where they were you know 35 plus years ago well the fact now that we're talking about it is such a great thing the fact now that is the scientific question of our time why is it gone from you know one in a thousand when I was diagnosed to one in 32 yes the part of it that we know more and we watch for it more and on and on but there are other there are going to be other reasons and other causes we're gonna figure out and that conversation I think is so important I think also the conversation of what we can do to help kids rather than just meet them where they're at and make endless accommodations you're seeing now a real understanding of there are ways to adapt kids to the world which is what my dad's fight was starting when I was five years old and that is such a powerful message and in thought first for so many that again for so many families there is now hope that they can make a real difference that things do get better and that really I think is why more lucky ended up on the you know debuted at number four in the New York Times that's why we've heard from so many countless families is because there's nobody talking about that hope that parents should have is there a resource on this front for parents that they may not be aware of that you want to make sure that they know about here on World Autism Day well I think there's the autism community certainly has done an enormous amount to advocate for itself and that's that is fantastic the book is born lucky you can get it on Amazon right now don't do it while you're driving but when you get there and it's also if you forget it it's born lucky dot com which we got to make it make it easy for folks I can't believe that URL was available born lucky dot com that's great I love it and last thing before we let you go Leland I know last night you had a great show I saw what Mick Mulvaney was on there Steve Cortes you were talking about the president's address to the nation what what was your takeaway from President Trump last night and what the purpose was of his address to the nation on day 32 of Operation Epic Fury you know it's a great point I think what both Mick Mulvaney and Steve Cortes and others on the show made is that there is so many different audiences for last night's speech right there's the skeptical American people which the American people are skeptical of the war in Iran and I think laying out very clearly how well the US military is doing but it's also I think to show the Iranian regime that America won't quit and there is more tools in the tools box there is more pain that can be inflicted on this regime either so the regime falls or those who remain in power remain alive decide that it is not worth it right that that there is a different path in chanting death to America every Friday will they take it don't know but the resolve I think President Trump's show that he's willing to escalate is something that the world needed to hear that's well said Leland Vitter on balance with Leland Vitter weeknights on News Nation make sure you're watching you probably don't remember Leland but back when you were doing weekends at Fox and you guys would have on I think it was like a radio host every Saturday I did join you going back several years ago now so it's great to have you on this show back in your home state on KCMO talk radio thanks for taking it easy on me and when I saw your name today I thought you know that that sounds familiar I know the guy was a lot smarter than me thank you well great job congratulations on the book success and keep keep Bill O'Reilly in check there all right that's a tall order that's an impossible test he's a friend of the show as well hey Leland thanks so much we appreciate your time appreciate you all right have a great day Leland Vitter on KCMO talk radio 95 7 FM this is in your average podcast this pot is about to be crazy I don't even know what's gonna happen this is full send it's just like a boy scrap join the party we threw like a spontaneous party out of nowhere is crazy and we pulled off a crazy prank pranks parties and viral culture at its wildest seeing like the guys that you brought in and like seeing their different personalities and stuff it's been entertaining dude this could be the greatest content bill of all time right the full send podcast let's get ready to rumble follow and listen on your favorite platform let's do it hi I'm Joe Salci hi host of the stacking Benjamin's podcast most economists agree small amount of inflation is actually good 2% is what you're going for but why is everybody freaking out oh because it's the fallout people don't track their budget you have this slow slipping that happens every month tall sudden you go man I don't have any money the reason is now two people go to a restaurant the bill is 60 bucks for two guys walking to a restaurant they start screaming hilarious $60 stacking Benjamin's follow and listen on your favorite platform