PAOH President’s Letter: Hackie Never Lost a Fight
Dr. Perlman with his friend, Hackie Reitman.
By Steven Perlman, DDS, MScD, DHL (hon), PAOH President
As I sat down to write this month’s President’s Message, I was shocked to hear about the passing of a dear friend, colleague, and a hero for the disability community, Dr. Harold (Hackie) Reitman. Hackie experienced a massive heart attack on the day he was leaving the hospital after having a hernia repaired. For 32 days, this gentle giant fought the fight of his life but was unable to walk out of the ring one more time.
When Dr. Rick Rader (Editor-in-Chief of HELEN Journal) and I first met Hackie 10 years ago, we became aware of this remarkable orthopedic surgeon, entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist who founded Different Brains, a not-for-profit organization that provides neurodiversity resources and inclusive support for people with autism and other neurological disorders.
Hackie touched everyone he met with his enormous heart, oversized personality, and fierce dedication to those with disabilities. His life’s journey needs to be told to preserve his legacy and to demonstrate how one man can have such a profound impact on so many lives.
Hackie was born in 1950 in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he grew up. At the age of 13, he started boxing at the Jewish Community Center in Jersey City. This experience would later impact upon his career path.
At 18, he entered the Boston University School of Medicine’s accelerated six-year program. Unbeknownst to his faculty and classmates, he began training for the 1971 New England Golden Gloves Championship in Lowell Massachusetts. He won all four of his fights by knockouts and became the New England Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion as a full-time Medical Student.
After internship and orthopedic residency, Hackie moved to Plantation Florida to begin his illustrious career as founder of Orthopedics Associates USA, specializing in sports medicine.
A turning point in Hackie’s career occurred in 1986, when his three]year-old child, Asa, required emergency brain surgery and had to be transported by helicopter to the Mayo Clinic. In the waiting room while the surgery was being performed, Hackie made a personal vow to revive his boxing career and donate all the proceeds of his fights to children’s charities if Asa survived.
Following Asa’s recovery, Hackie kept his vow. In 1988, at the age of 37, he turned professional. He had 26 sanctioned fights and gained media attention as the “Boxing Doctor” or the “Fighting Surgeon.” By 1992, Hackie had become the 12th ranked Heavyweight Boxer in the world. Years later, he would be inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.
As a philanthropist, Hackie was supportive of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. He donated the existing building which they named after him.
These achievements are remarkable enough, but Hackie’s passion and legacy lie in what he did for the disability community and the huge footprint he left on so many lives.
Besides Different Brains, Hackie authored a book “Aspertools: The Practical Guide for Understanding and Embracing Asperger’s, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Neurodiversity.” In 2015, it climbed to number one on Amazon’s Best Seller list within the Autism and Asperger’s Category. In 2010, He wrote, produced, and co-directed the film, “The Square Root of 2” inspired by Asa. In 2017, he produced a documentary based on the life of legendary Boxer, George Foreman.
Most significant to us at People Advocating for Optimal Health (PAOH) and HELEN Journal was our relationship with Different Brains and all that Hackie and his team brought to the table. This mutually benefited and strengthened us by providing education and other resources to those in the disability community we serve.
Hackie developed the Different Brains Mentorship Program allowing neurodivergent adults to participate in creating content, research, scriptwriting, video production, editing and hosting. His speaker series varied between prepared presentations and panel discussions. Many featured self-advocates who provided useful tools in a live interactive virtual setting to help neurodivergent individuals navigate professional, educational, and social environments. For his video and audio podcast show Exploring Different Brains, Hackie interviewed over 300 leaders from the neurodivergent community, and he worked tirelessly to give a platform to those with lived experience. To date, Different Brains has published over 2,000 pieces of neurodiversity content that has been seen by over 1.1 million users.
“I think few people could claim to have helped as many people as Hackie. When I first started working for him 10 years ago, he put me on a positive trajectory I never would’ve reached without him. In the years since, I saw him do that for others time and again. ”
In all of Different Brains’ programs, Hackie was always able to bring out the best in people with his unique style of professionalism, intellect, humor, grace, and integrity. He never gave up the fight to reduce stigma and misunderstanding surrounding the neurodivergent population and the challenges they face by having an “invisible disability.” Here is a remembrance from his longtime assistant and the coordinator of Different Brains, Joseph Satchi:
“I think few people could claim to have helped as many people as Hackie. When I first started working for him 10 years ago, he put me on a positive trajectory I never would've reached without him. In the years since, I saw him do that for others time and again. Friends, acquaintances, strangers –Hackie was always wanting to help anyone he could. Over the last weeks, I have met so many people for whom Hackie represented the positive turning point in their lives.
That alone would've been more than enough, but Hackie also made sure he instilled in everyone he helped the importance of them paying it forward. He wanted you to not only offer someone else help, but for you to feel empowered. He wanted you to know that YOU also have the ability to make a positive impact on people's lives.”
Hackie’s love of life, love for his family, his friends, his profession, and his mission will live on forever in all our hearts and minds.
Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time, was fond of reminding us that, “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
Hackie was indeed courageous and took risks and accomplished all that was possible. He served as an inspiration for all of us, especially those in the Different Brains community, to take risks. To those of us at HELEN Journal, we will always remember Dr. Harold “Hackie” Reitman as the Champion in everything he stood for, promoted, and encouraged. In reality, Hackie never lost a fight.
May you rest in peace, our brother!
Steven Perlman, DDS, MScD, DHL (hon), PAOH President
MOU Signed Between PAOH and Special Care Dentistry Association
Dr. Allen Wong, Dr. Dian Chit Kit -Wells and Dr. Steve Perlman
On March 21, 2025, at the Special Care Dentistry Association Annual meeting in Orlando Florida, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between People Advocating for Optimal Health (PAOH) and the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA). This formalized agreement will bring the two organizations together to collaborate and focus advocacy, policy and education as a means of reducing inequalities in healthcare for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It will also include SCDA’s participation in the PAOH publication, Helen Journal.
Dr. Allen Wong, SCDA Past President, said: “The theme of our SCDA conference was about collaboration and advocacy. Together we are better, as we augment each other’s strength for the cause of improving equitable quality health for marginalized populations. We are looking forward to more progress in our collaboration and advocacy efforts.” The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) and SCDA also formalized an agreement.
This collaboration clearly demonstrates the axiom of former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. C. Everett Koop, “ You’re not healthy without good oral health.”
The triad of SCDA, PAOH and HELEN Journal will be dedicated to promote, emphasize, and celebrate these game-changing words of wisdom as they impact on all patient populations.