Co-Founders Kate Winslet and Margret D. Ericsdottir met when Kate recorded the English narration for Margret’s documentary, A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism, which captured her journey to find a way for her nonverbal autistic son, Keli, to communicate.

Deeply moved by Margret and her family, Kate remained in close contact. Together, the two decided to create a foundation with the purpose of bringing autism awareness to a new level by focusing on abilities and changing negative stigmas.

The Golden Hat

This boy had a golden hat.
The hat was magical. It could talk.
The boy did not have any voice. He had autism.
His hat was always with him.
His hat was lost one day.
Now he had no way of telling them his stories.
His mom and dad became sad.
They taught him spelling on a letterboard.
It was hard.

- Written by 12-year-old Keli Thorsteinsson, a nonverbal autistic boy who had just learned to communicate by pointing on a letterboard.

One night Keli wrote a poem (seen above) on his letter board about a magical golden hat. Without knowledge of Keli’s inspiring poem, Kate Winslet, on the very same night, thought of an idea that involved a hat as well. To raise money, she would pass her favorite hat and an old camera around to 100 A-list celebrities and cultural luminaries for a self-portrait book entitled, The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism. They were also asked to provide a quote as to what they would say if they had never spoken before, but were finally given the chance.

In addition to these unique photos and ‘first word’ quotes, the book includes: Keli’s poetry, photos of ten young people with autism with their inspiring first words, and Kate’s intimate emails with Margret, taking you on a journey through the world of autism and ending with the inception of the Golden Hat Foundation.

Please join Kate’s efforts to help those with autism shine with a voice of their own! Read more about A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism, the film that inspired the Golden Hat Foundation, and the book, The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism!