__________________ Merrick _________________
HAPPY
HERALD
Holidays!
Jennie KaSPtz ERSON REAL ESTATE SALE M: 516 .319.0505 What’s
iNSiDE NY.com BlueIIslandHomes
$1.00
DECEMBER 25 - 31, 2025
Vol. 28 No. 52
HERALD PERSON oF thE YEAR Nattie MartiN
She makes sure every voice is heard
Nattie Martin, Calhoun senior, breaking barriers in the neurodiverse community By Hernesto Galdamez
Bellmore-Merrick district hosts STEAM event. Page 6
During the past year, Merrick resident Nattie Martin emerged as a powerful and thoughtful voice for autism acceptance and neurodiversity — and her advocacy has left a lasting mark on schools, community spaces, and stages across the hamlet. A 17-year-old senior at Sanford H. Calhoun High School, Martin has spent the past year educating peers, parents, educators, and the community about autism from a perspective that is still too rarely heard — her own. Through public presentations, school advocacy, theater initiatives, and volunteer efforts, she has helped shift how neurodiversity is understood and discussed throughout Merrick. As a result of that work, Martin has been named the Merrick Herald’s 2025 he’s Person of the Year. extremely Martin is a lifelong Merrick resident who attended Chatterton Elementary bright, School and Merrick Avenue Middle empathetic, and School before enrolling at Calhoun. fearless in her Diagnosed with autism just before the age of 3, her parents, Peter and sense of play. Jessica Martin, said they focused early on helping their daughter understand JaMES CRiChtoN herself — not as someone who needed Calhoun High School to be “fixed,” but as someone whose brain simply works differently. “She always knew she was different,” Peter said. “She would ask questions like, ‘Is there a name for how my brain works?’ That curiosity really stayed with her.” While Nattie said she always loved learning and the arts, it was during middle school — amid the isolation of the pandemic and the social challenges that came with it — that she first felt compelled to speak publicly about neurodiversity. “I didn’t feel understood by a lot of people,” Nattie said. “Neurodiversity wasn’t really talked about in school, and a lot of misinformation was coming from people who hadn’t lived that experience.” At 13, she gave her first presentation after school at Merrick Avenue Middle School to a small group of students, but the response stayed with her. “She came home energized,” Jessica said. “Even though it was a difficult time socially, that was the moment we saw how powerful it could be for her to turn those experiences into something positive.” When Nattie arrived at Calhoun, that advocacy only grew. Over the past year, she delivered presentations at Chatterton
S
Honoring former Councilman Chris Carini. Page 8
Seth Tabor shows strength amid medical adversities. Page 19
For BrEAKING NEWS go to liherald.com
Elementary, health classes at Calhoun High School, an all-ages program at the Merrick Library during Autism Acceptance Month, and a meeting of the Merrick SEPTA attended by parents, educators, and administrators. Meira Broderick, assistant director at the Merrick Library, coordinated Martin’s April presentation and said the impact was immediate. “We often bring in therapists or counselors to speak to parents,” Broderick said. “It was really unique to have a high schooler speak directly from lived experience. It was completely different hearing it from her.” Broderick said the room was full, questions were thoughtful, and children in attendance felt comfortable speaking up. “One child raised his hand and said he was autistic and different from everyone else, but still special,” she recalled. “And Nattie immediately affirmed him. She was incredibly encouraging to kids of all ages.” Martin’s advocacy also reached the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s Board of Education, where she spoke as a sophomore about replacing the puzzle piece symbol for autism with the infinity symbol. “That was a moment where we realized people were really listening,” Peter said. “She wasn’t just sharing her story — she
Continued on page 2 Courtesy Peter Martin
Photo: At Calhoun, she serves as the accessibility consultant and sensoryfriendly performance coordinator for Calhoun’s January production of ‘The Old Man and the Old Moon,’ to create a welcoming environment for audience members with sensory sensitivities.