With every can or bottle he collects and returns, Tyler Laviolette takes one step closer to fulfilling the dream of his parents, who wanted him to live a normal, independent and productive life despite being born with cerebral palsy and diagnosed with autism.

As a young man in White Lake, Michigan, Tyler always loved putting cans in the return machines, according to his mother, so it seemed perfect for him.

"I am doing great," Laviolette said.

(READ the story from the Oakland Press)