Discover what’s possible when people connected to autism inspire change and build community
Episodes
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Discover what’s possible when obstacles become opportunities.
This week’s episode is a recording of one of our Global Autism Community exclusive events!
The topic of this roundtable discussion was Overcoming Obstacles. Participating in this event were autism self-advocates Stephanie De Kremer, Cassidy Hooper, Jeff Snyder, and David Sharif, as well as community members Kia Burton and Karen Shapiro.
As with previous live event recordings, the sound quality is a bit inconsistent because we hadn’t originally planned it as a podcast episode. However, I assure you that the stories and perspectives shared are really worth listening to.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- Setting boundaries
- Finding a job
- Making friends
- Dating
- Maintaining relationships
Roundtable discussions like the one you’ll hear today are open exclusively for members of our online Global Autism Community. We select a different theme each month, and our moderators monitor posts daily to ensure that our online space remains safe and respectful. If you’d like to attend and participate in any of our future events, you can sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org.
To learn more about the participants in this discussion, please visit:
Stephanie De Kremer - IG @kiara_wrestler
Cassidy Hooper - The Diverse Butterfly Podcast
Jeff Snyder - Going the Distance Blog
David Sharif - IG @david_thetraveler
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Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Discover what’s possible when your response is in line with your truest intentions.
With over 20 years of experience working with neurodiverse individuals, Lafaya Mitchell is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the creator of The Lafaya Way, a relational approach that helps to build bridges for effective interactions in difficult relationships and social situations. She is also the mother of three children, two of whom are autistic.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- The types of families that seek her services
- The four core strategies of The Lafaya Way
- What she calls the “emotion soaking phenomenon”
- How a parent’s past experiences might impact their ability to make decisions now
- The different levels of acceptance and how they are tied to a parent’s personal growth
- Some common struggles of parents trying to understand their child’s needs
- The hidden effects of family dynamics
- Why the expression “problem child” is problematic
- Cultural sensitivity and how the Black community responds to her program
- One of the most rewarding experiences she’s ever had working with children on the spectrum
To learn more about Lafaya, please visit lafayaway.com.
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Thursday Oct 21, 2021
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
Discover what’s possible when we expand the meaning of independence.
We’ve received great feedback about our previous Global Autism Community episodes, so we’ve decided to release another one!
The topic of this roundtable discussion was Preparing for Adulthood, and its diverse panel included Dani Bowman, Robert Schmus, Cheryl Albright, and Cammie McGovern.
Dani is an autism self-advocate, animator, illustrator, teacher, and public speaker; Robert is an autism self-advocate, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and writer; Cheryl is an occupational therapist, certified yoga instructor, and autism sibling. Cammie is the mother of a 25-year-old autistic adult and has recently published a book titled Hard Landings: Looking into the Future of a Child with Autism.
Other community members who participated in this event were Jeff Snyder, David Sharif, Kia Burton, and Karen Shapiro.
As with previous community-event recordings, the sound quality is a bit inconsistent because we hadn’t originally planned it as a podcast episode. However, we’ve done our best to improve it, and I assure you that the stories and perspectives shared are really worth listening to.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- Support and programs to help transition into adulthood
- Essential skills that children and adolescents ought to learn
- Different adult services available across the US
- Living independently versus in communities
- Applying for college or a job
- Financial planning and budgeting
To learn more about the panelists in this discussion, please visit:
Dani Bowman - danibowman.com
Robert Schmus - schmus898@gmail.com
Cheryl Albright - Soul to Soul Yoga
Cammie McGovern - cammiemcgovern.com
Roundtable discussions like the one you’ll hear today are open exclusively for members of our online Global Autism Community. We select a different theme each month, and our moderators monitor posts daily to ensure that our online space remains safe and respectful. If you’d like to attend and participate in any of our future events, you can sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org.
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Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Discover what’s possible when rehabilitation fits the crime.
Tom Oliver is an autism self-advocate, a TEDx Speaker, and an aspiring lawyer from Australia who has dedicated his career to helping autistic individuals caught up in the justice system.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- Autism acceptance in Australia
- Tom’s finding out about his diagnosis
- How autism affects his everyday life
- How Tom became interested in the law
- Three characteristics that are underlying causes of crimes among autistic people
- Challenges autistic people may face in the prison system
- Ideas to mitigate injustices against autistic individuals
To learn more about Tom Oliver, please visit tomoliver.biz.
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Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Discover what’s possible when communication breaks down both ways.
Our guests this week are Terra Vance and Kate Jones. Terra is the founder of NeuroClastic, an autistic-led non-profit organization that publishes articles by autistic writers and professionals advocating for autistic representation and human rights. Kate is an artist and visual designer at NeuroClastic.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- Being diagnosed later in life and growing up without proper support
- Anxiety and autistic burnout
- The medical model vs the social model of disability
- The consequences of masking
- The double empathy problem
- How to teach neurotypical children to interact with autistic peers
- Utilizing special interests
- Interdependence and collectivism
- Advice for allies
We also touch on the controversial topic of Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, which Terra and Kate strongly oppose. In previous episodes, you may have heard from Autistic guests who have reported positive experiences from receiving ABA therapy, as well as autistic behavior analysts currently practicing ABA.
As many self-advocates have repeatedly reminded us on this podcast, if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. As we intentionally share different, and even opposing views in this space, we encourage you to step outside the realm of right and wrong and engage with the wide range of nuanced perspectives coming from the autistic community on hard topics like this.
I invite you to listen to this episode from a place of openness and curiosity. If you hear something that triggers an immediate thought of, “No, that’s not true!”, I encourage you to pause, and instead ask yourself, “Could this be true?” I know how hard this can be, mainly because it has happened to me many times since we started this podcast... But how much can we really learn if we’re not willing to lean into discomfort? What's possible lives in the realm of curiosity.
If you have any questions or comments, please join us in our online Global Autism Community, where very diverse opinions are continuously engaging in these types of conversations.
To learn more about Terra, Kate, and NeuroClastic, please visit neuroclastic.com.
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Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Discover what’s possible when everyone gets a chance.
This week’s episode is a recording of one of our Global Autism Community exclusive events. The topic of this roundtable discussion was Navigating Social Situations, and its diverse panel included Anthony Ianni, Sangeeta Jain, and Vanessa Lista.
Anthony is an autism self-advocate, a former NCAA Division 1 basketball player, and a motivational speaker; Sangeeta is the mother of an autistic young man and she is also our Global Autism Project partner in Chandigarh, India; and Vanessa has an autistic brother and is a kinesiology and psychology student.
Other community members who participated in this event were Mary Johnston, Andrew Bennett, Priya Vijayan, Beverly Sujit, Happy Arora, and Anshul Sharma.
As with previous community events, we hadn’t originally planned to produce a podcast episode from this discussion, but we later thought it would be great to make this conversation available to our podcast listeners as well. We apologize for the inconsistent sound quality, but I assure you that the stories and perspectives shared by our guests are really worth listening to.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- Strategies to mitigate misunderstandings in social situations
- Respecting personal space and boundaries
- Teaching social skills to young autistic children
- Teaching peers how to communicate with autistic children
- Action steps towards true inclusion
To learn more about the panelists in this discussion, please visit:
Roundtable discussions like the one you’ll hear today are open exclusively for members of our online Global Autism Community. We select a different theme each month, and our moderators monitor posts daily to ensure that our online space remains safe and respectful. If you’d like to attend and participate in any of our future events, you can sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org.
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Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Discover what’s possible when connection builds confidence.
Our guests this week are Gary Jesch and Leslie Baldwin. Gary is a live animation performer and the founder of Invirtua, a telehealth learning service that uses animated avatars to interact with autistic children. Leslie is Invirtua’s Senior Partner as well as a member of their Board of Advisors. She was previously a manager and special educator at Texas Children's Hospital.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- Gary’s inspiration for designing his characters
- Example goals they might target in a session
- Generalizing skills into everyday life
- Academic research that utilizes Invirtua’s technology
- Tips for parents wanting to improve the lives of their autistic children
Gary and Leslie also demonstrate a live interaction with one of Invirtua’s avatars, a fish named Marley.
To learn more about Gary, Leslie, and Invirtua, please visit invirtua.com.
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Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Discover what’s possible when success is measured in belonging.
Cammie McGovern is the mother of a 25-year-old autistic adult and has recently published a book titled Hard Landings: Looking into the Future of a Child with Autism. She has also authored three novels for adults, including Eye Contact; two books for young adults, Say What You Will and A Step Toward Falling; and two books for middle-grade readers, Just My Luck and Chester and Gus. All feature young people with a variety of disabilities at the center.
Cammie is also one of the founders of Whole Children and Milestones, a resource center for children and young adults with disabilities and their families in Hadley, Massachusetts.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- The “Disability Cliff” for autistic adults who turn 22
- Varying types of adult services available across the US
- The movement away from institutional settings and sheltered workshops
- The overlooked value of congregate settings
- Skills parents should prioritize when preparing their kids for adulthood
- Tips for parents whose children are approaching this stage in life
- Sex education
To learn more about Cammie, please visit cammiemcgovern.com.
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Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Discover what’s possible when awareness educates safety.
This week’s episode is a recording of one of our Global Autism Community exclusive events. The topic of this round table discussion is Safety in Public.
The diverse panelists include autism self-advocates Rachel Barcellona and Thomas Iland, autism father and host of The Ausome Show, Jamiel Owens, and our Global Autism Project partner from the Dominican Republic, Maricarmen (Kaki) Hazoury.
Other community members present at the event and part of the discussion are Jeff Snyder, David Sharif, Kia Burton, Karen Shapiro, and Ben Sharif.
We hadn’t originally planned to produce a podcast episode from this exclusive event, but we later thought it would be great to make this rich conversation available to our podcast listeners as well. We apologize for the inconsistent sound quality, but I assure you that the stories and perspectives shared by our guests are really worth listening to.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- Navigating around the community
- Autism-disclosure ID cards
- Interactions with strangers and law enforcement
- Setting boundaries on social media
Roundtable discussions like the one you’ll hear today are open exclusively for members of our online Global Autism Community. We select a different theme each month, and our moderators monitor posts daily to ensure that our online space remains safe and respectful.
If you’d like to attend and participate in any of our future events, you can sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org.
Also, just a heads up that next week we won’t be releasing a new episode in observance of Labor Day in the US. September is a good time of the year to reset and prioritize your own well-being, and our team will be taking the week off to do just that. I encourage you to find a moment for self-care during this weekend, whatever that means for you. For those of you living in the US, have a safe, happy, and restful holiday weekend. We’ll be back on our regular release schedule on Thursday, September 16th.
To learn more about the panelists in this discussion, please visit:
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Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Discover what’s possible when A is for action.
Dr. Stephen Shore is an autistic professor of special education at Adelphi University. He has written several books, including College for Students with Disabilities, Understanding Autism for Dummies, Ask and Tell, and Beyond the Wall.
Currently, Dr. Shore serves on the boards of Autism Speaks, the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association, the US Autism and Asperger Association, the Scientific Council of OAR, and other autism-related organizations. He formerly headed the Asperger’s Association of New England and was on the board of the Autism Society of America.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- Stephen’s background and how his parents helped in his development
- How autism affects his everyday life
- His strengths related to autism
- Benefits of music for autistic people
- What Stephen describes as “The 4 A's of Autism”
- The controversies surrounding ABA therapy and Autism Speaks
- Awareness of autism around the world
- Meaningful inclusion strategies
- Disclosure and self-advocacy
For more information about Dr. Shore and his work, please visit drstephenshore.com.
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