Discover what’s possible when people connected to autism inspire change and build community
Episodes
Thursday Jan 21, 2021
Thursday Jan 21, 2021
Discover what’s possible when everyone has a place they belong.
David Bodanis is a father to three young men, two of which are on the autism spectrum. David and his wife Irene are the founders of Jake’s House, a charitable organization based in Canada whose mission is to support individuals on the spectrum throughout their lifespans. They offer four core initiatives: annual holiday parties, the Legends Mentoring Program, employment mentoring, and inclusive housing solutions.
In this conversation, David talks about the dynamic between his three sons growing up, how the understanding of autism in Canada has changed over the last 20 years, and why he and his wife decided to start Jake’s House.
David also describes a recent, exciting project at Jake’s House in which they formed the band ASD, comprised of young musicians with autism.
For more information about Jake’s House, please visit jakeshouse.ca.
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Thursday Jan 07, 2021
Thursday Jan 07, 2021
Discover what’s possible when a team is built on strong values.
Happy New Year!
I’d like to kick off 2021 with a special episode featuring our Global Autism Project team. I’m joined by our CEO and Founder, Molly Ola Pinney, as well as five other members of our core staff: Cassie Harden Scott, Mandy Childs, Liz Castillo, Trang Tran, and Aja Davis.
The seven of us have weathered through 2020 together and supported each other from different corners of the world, especially during a time when the organization was on very unstable ground. I think many people will agree that you learn a lot about someone when you go through a pandemic with them, and certain bonds can even be strengthened when put under pressure.
One thing I love about this team is our ability to communicate effectively and take action when needed. This has allowed us to shift our work and step into new possibilities with confidence.
I wanted you to get a sense of our true team culture, so we’ve left some parts unedited for you to hear for yourself how we really treat each other like family.
In this conversation, you’ll have a chance to meet the staff behind the scenes and learn some fun facts about us. We discuss which values of the organization we most connect with, some obstacles we’ve overcome together, and how the company culture came to be what it is today. We also talk about what we’ve learned from 2020 and what we look forward to in the coming year.
If you’d like to learn more about the Global Autism Project’s history and mission, please listen to episode 2 with Molly. You can also listen to episode 23 to hear more about Cassie’s role as Director of Outreach.
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Wednesday Dec 23, 2020
Wednesday Dec 23, 2020
Discover what's possible when stories from around the world inspire change.
We made it to episode 41! I know 41 doesn’t sound like a magical number, but this will be the last episode we’ll be releasing this year, so I thought it would be nice to review some of my favorite moments from our first 40 episodes.
Since we started working on this podcast almost a year ago, we’ve brought on a wide range of guests, including prominent self-advocates like Temple Grandin and Michael John Carley, autism parents like Eileen Lamb and Jamiel Owens, some of our Global Autism Project partners like Yaser Aljaaidi from Saudi Arabia and Sangeeta Jain from India, and other professionals in the field like Dr. Megan Miller and Robert and Nadine Schramm.
If you’ve been with us for a while, this 2020 recap will bring you back to the heartfelt stories we’ve been hearing from our guests. And if this is your first time listening to us, welcome! This episode will help you get a good idea of what Autism Knows No Borders is all about. Either way, I hope that you’re left feeling inspired to create some change in your own communities.
As I was reflecting on these past episodes from 2020, I was overcome with immense gratitude for our community. A huge thank you to our guests for sharing your stories, to our listeners for your continued support, and to our team for putting it all together. Special thanks to Linda, our podcast intern, for joining us at just the right moment when we needed you most, to Tarik Davis for lending us your voice for our intros and outros, to Tremayne Ebanks for video production, and to Marc Aliana for music, audio and text editing, and all-around moral support. Of course, none of this would have been possible if Molly hadn’t believed in my little idea last year.
From all of us at the Global Autism Project, we wish you a happy and safe holiday season and hope you can spend some quality time with your loved ones in some shape or form, even if it happens to be through a screen. We’ll be back on our regular release schedule on January 7th in 2021!
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Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Discover what’s possible when a company is led with care.
Jenny Llorca is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the Chief Clinical Director of Early Autism Services. EAS is an international company that provides individualized ABA therapy to children with autism in the US, India, and Australia.
This year, after significant and impressive growth, EAS was facing challenges that are common with large companies that grow rapidly. They were struggling to cultivate company culture across their local branches, and levels of employee satisfaction were dipping. With a determination to shift their company environment, Jenny and the board of executives at EAS took action and hired the Global Autism Project to step in.
For close to 20 years, the Global Autism Project has been providing coaching and training to autism service providers and organizations worldwide to help them scale, thrive, and realize their visions. This summer, we worked with the EAS directors to make our Leadership Academy program accessible to over 90 members of their staff. We tailored our training to meet their needs and delivered the program as a 6-week online course that included video lessons, worksheets, downloads, live virtual classrooms, and small group coaching.
We recently released a case study that details the challenges EAS faced, our approach and design of Leadership Academy, and the outcomes measured through pre-and post-surveys. The results have been overwhelmingly positive. 100% of participants reported new skill acquisition in one or more of four key areas: time and task management, decision-making, integrity, and effective communication. Zero participants reported that they were in a state of burnout after Leadership Academy, compared to 24% from before. 94% of participants said that they would recommend Leadership Academy to other professionals in the field.
You can access the full case study here: EAS Case Study. We’re excited to announce that we’re looking for the right company to participate in our next case study. If you think yours would be a good fit, get in touch with us through the link on the page.
In this conversation, Jenny describes how attending Global Autism Project’s in-person Leadership Academy earlier this year inspired her to invest in her own team. We discuss some of her personal breakthroughs and the gains she’s noticed in her staff. Jenny explains how Leadership Academy has transformed the company culture at EAS and, most importantly, the services they provide families.
You’ll hear us mention SkillCorps, which is our volunteer program that has been put on hold due to COVID travel restrictions. For more information about the training we provide our international partners, please listen to episode 2 with our CEO, Molly Ola Pinney.
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Friday Nov 27, 2020
Friday Nov 27, 2020
Discover what's possible when you uncover your blind spots.
In this bonus episode, I share how attending Global Autism Project's Leadership Academy shifted how I relate to work, relationships, and anything else that happens in my life.
Leadership Academy will empower you to lead with confidence in everything that you do — whether it’s improving staff retention in your business, having hard conversations with supervisees, or empowering others to take ownership of their work. The great news is, Leadership Academy now available for you to access online as a 6-week course!
Don’t miss out on these opportunities to elevate your leadership to the next level and plan for a successful new year.
If you’re still not sure if Leadership Academy is for you, take this 2-minute QUIZ to learn where you are in your leadership journey and what steps you need to take next.
Are you ready to take bold action that will help you improve the way you lead? Are you ready to take charge of your life?
I hope to see you in our virtual classroom!
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Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Discover what’s possible when you beard the lion in his den.
Brian Middleton is an autism self-advocate, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and the host of the Oh Behave! podcast. He is also the creator of the Bearded Behaviorist, an initiative dedicated to the dissemination of behavior science and the inclusion of trauma-informed care standards in Applied Behavior Analysis and other human services.
In this conversation, Brian shares what it was like for him to be bullied in school and how he learned about his autism as an adult. We also discuss his theory around why autism can be seen as both a disorder and a neurotype, the disagreement between the neurodiversity movement and the field of ABA, and the basic components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, also known as ACT.
For more information about Brian Middleton and his work, please visit: Bearded Behaviorist.
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Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Discover what’s possible when the world says no, but mothers say yes.
Our guests today are Catherine Verhoeff Shauf, Enesa Muratovic, and Moji Swartjes. These three strong and determined women are mothers of children on the autism spectrum. Another thing they all have in common is that they are ex-pats living in the Netherlands. Catherine is from the US, Enesa is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Moji is originally from Nigeria but has also lived in the US and Scotland.
Catherine is the founder and owner of Stichting REACH, an autism center in The Hague that applies a multidisciplinary approach based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Both Enesa’s son and Moji’s receive services there.
The Global Autism Project partnered with REACH from 2017 to 2019. We sent five SkillCorps volunteer teams to provide hands-on training to their therapists. As the Global Autism Project’s Regional Coordinator in Europe last year, it was exciting for me to witness the center’s growth.
In today’s conversation, our guests discuss the attitudes around autism in the Netherlands compared to those in their respective home countries, the challenges they have faced in accessing proper services, and their ideas on how to promote autism inclusion within their community.
Catherine talks about her journey of creating REACH and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected services at the center. Catherine, Enesa, and Moji also comment on how they dealt with managing stress during the quarantine and offer advice for parents to combat burnout.
For more information about Stichting REACH, please visit http://stichtingreachholland.nl/
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Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Thursday Sep 17, 2020
Discover what’s possible when a global community is built on resilience.
We have a very special episode today, featuring a few of our Global Autism Project staff and partners. Actually, more than a few... There are a total of 13 people in this episode! This conversation offers a glimpse into the deeply rooted relationships of our Global Autism Community.
Here’s a little bit of context:
For over 17 years, the Global Autism Project has partnered with international autism centers to provide sustainable clinical, administrative, and leadership training. Three times a year, we’ve sent SkillCorps volunteer teams to our partner sites around the world to work directly with their local teachers and therapists.
When COVID-19 hit, we were forced to cancel all international travel and innovate new programs to stay afloat as an organization. Throughout this time, we’ve continued to meet with our partners every month over large Zoom calls. It’s always fun to see a mosaic of faces from across the globe on a single screen.
We recently thought it would be exciting for our followers on social media to join a call with our partners. So, during our meeting last week, we went live on Facebook and our partners shared the impact that the pandemic has had on their centers, the current situation in their respective countries, and some positive takeaways they’ve gained from this crisis. The audience was able to follow along and contribute questions in real-time.
Our CEO and Founder, Molly Ola Pinney, led the discussion between some of our staff and eight of our partners, many of which you might recognize from previous episodes. They called in from Kenya, India, China, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Rwanda.
We had originally scheduled a different episode for this week; however, right after we hung up, we realized that the content of our call was really worth sharing with you as well. As one could expect from a live call with 13 participants from 13 different locations across the world, we had some sound issues, but we have done our best to correct them for this podcast.
Just a reminder that you can find this conversation and all of our interviews on our YouTube channel: Global Autism Project.
For more information about our work, please visit globalautismproject.org.
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Friday Jun 05, 2020
Friday Jun 05, 2020
Discover what’s possible when communities are built on dignity, fairness, and respect.
This episode was originally scheduled to be released later in the month; however, in light of recent events, we have decided to move it forward.
Today’s guest is Joy Johnson, M.Ed, M.S. Joy is a behavior specialist, inclusion specialist, autism self-advocate, and leader in the black autistic community. As the mother of an individual with autism, and as someone on the spectrum herself, she offers an interesting perspective to individuals, families, and organizations who are looking to improve the lives of those impacted by autism.
Joy advises parents about the benefits of ABA therapy and the importance of teaching social skills, including how to interact with police officers. She empowers parents and children by promoting preparedness rather than fear.
In this conversation, Joy explains what services she received growing up, how she related to peers in high school, and why she struggled after having her first child.
Having lived in Germany for seven years, Joy talks about the country’s education system and attitudes towards autism.
We also discuss the functions of self-stimulatory behavior, the consequences of masking, and the frustrating lack of support for adults with autism in the US.
To learn more about Joy and the work she does, please visit: Autism Support Services.
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Thursday May 21, 2020
Thursday May 21, 2020
Discover what’s possible when we extend a helping hand and truly make a difference.
The CEO and founder of the Global Autism Project, Molly Ola Pinney, is back on the show.
The Global Autism Project partners with autism centers around the world. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, our partners have been adapting their services to support some of the most vulnerable children and their families. These dedicated changemakers continue to inspire us with their perseverance and flexibility.
In previous episodes, we’ve featured our partners from China, Ecuador, Kenya, and Tanzania, among other guests. We’ll continue to bring you community leaders from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Czech Republic, and Indonesia, to name a few.
All of our partners are doing the best they can, yet their schools are in danger of permanent closure. In this episode, Molly shares an important announcement in response to these unprecedented circumstances. Watch Molly's video message to see our partners at their schools.
You can take bold action right now by making a donation here: COVID-19 Relief Fund.
If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Global Autism Project and the mission that drives our work, please listen to my conversation with Molly in episode 2.
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