Christopher Ulmer is an American
disability-rights advocate, former
special education teacher,
YouTuber, and founder of the
non-profit Special Books by Special Kids.
Early life and education
Ulmer was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended
Upper Moreland High School. He attended
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
, where he majored in media effects. He received a master's degree in special education from the
University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky, where he was a student teacher.
Career
After graduation, he moved to
Jacksonville, Florida. He coached soccer at a university and was offered a free degree in special education. He began teaching special education to students aged 7 to 10.
As a
special education teacher, he taught students with
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
,
agenesis of the corpus callosum
Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) is a rare birth defect in which there is a complete or partial absence of the corpus callosum. It occurs when the development of the corpus callosum, the band of white matter connecting the two hemispheres ...
and
traumatic brain injury.
With permission from his students’ parents, in the classroom Ulmer "began to film interviews with his students and post them on social media," which attracted an online presence. After 12 months, Special Books by Special Kids "evolved into an acceptance movement that’s reached over one billion people."
Ulmer began his online presence through
Facebook in 2016 and a year later reached 1.2 million followers.
In 2017, Ulmer created the
YouTube channel Special Books by Special Kids (commonly abbreviated as SBSK). On November 19, 2018, the Special Books by Special Kids
YouTube channel reached 1 million subscribers.
He crisscrossed the country interviewing disabled children to give them, as
ABC News put it, "an opportunity to be seen and accepted." As a result, Ulmer has created more than 500 videos of those interviews. A partial transcript, as an example of an interview of a child by Ulmer, is included in the book ''Flying Starts for Unique Children''
by author and special-needs teacher Adele Devine.
Awards and nominations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulmer, Chris
1989 births
Ulmer, Christopher
YouTube channels launched in 2016
American disability rights activists
University of the Cumberlands alumni
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Educators from Florida
Activists from Jacksonville, Florida
Educators from Philadelphia
21st-century American educators
YouTubers from Philadelphia
YouTubers from Florida