Discover what’s possible when people connected to autism inspire change and build community
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Discover what’s possible when innovative technology empowers parents to interact with their children in new, creative ways.
Michael Huang is the president and co-founder of UPlus Academy, an autism center in Nanjing, China.
With a background in IT, Michael describes the moment when he discovered he could utilize his multi-media technologies to help children with autism. It was fascinating to learn about the ways he and his staff are using 3-D mapping rooms to teach communication and generalization in the natural environment.
The Global Autism Project partnered with UPlus in January 2019. Since then, we have sent three SkillCorps® volunteer teams to provide sustainable clinical training to their teachers. We have also created an authorized curriculum to administer the six courses required by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board.
Earlier this year, we learned of the impact the coronavirus was having on our partners in China. We immediately scheduled video calls and closely worked together to create solutions for their students in quarantine.
Now, three months after they were forced to close their centers, Michael shares the current situation in his region, as well as his determination to not lay off any of his staff amidst the crisis. By offering online parent training, the staff at UPlus have motivated parents to transition to home programming. They even created an app for parents to track their children’s progress.
You can learn more about Michael Huang and UPlus Academy here: UPlus.
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Thursday Apr 23, 2020
Thursday Apr 23, 2020
Discover what’s possible when the answer to how is YES.
Molly Ola Pinney is the CEO and founder of the Global Autism Project. She is also the #1 supporter of this podcast.
In this episode, you’ll hear Molly give a history of our organization, highlighting important turning points over the last 17 years. As an employee, it’s always fun for me to hear about how the organization has evolved — from the heart of a 23-year-old with a mission to change the world, to a global movement involving almost 20 countries.
Molly tells us of her early years in Ghana and also reflects on how the understanding of autism in Africa has changed since then. Although the stigma is still real, there has been an increase in the awareness that autism is not caused by evil spirits.
Molly explains how our SkillCorps® volunteer program works and why it differs from voluntourism. Watch Molly's TEDx Talk to learn why doing things for others doesn't help.
We describe the relationships we have with our partners and share stories from our first Global Summit held in August of 2019. Check out our Global Summit video to see our partners in action.
Molly illustrates how decisive action in leadership helped her to respond appropriately to the coronavirus crisis back in January. We discuss the impact this has had on the work we do as an organization, and why she sees this pause as an opportunity.
We also talk about how traveling internationally with SkillCorps® has actually prepared some of our volunteers to better cope with the current climate of uncertainty.
For more information about our work, please visit: globalautismproject.org.
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Thursday Apr 23, 2020
Thursday Apr 23, 2020
Discover what's possible for the Global Autism Community.
In this brief introduction, I want to give you an idea of what the Global Autism Project is, who I am, and what this podcast is about. For more information about our movement, please visit globalautismproject.org.
I recorded this episode on April 18th, 2020. Of the first five episodes released for the launch, this one just happened to be recorded last. It was done on a Saturday night, at around 8:15 pm. We had just come back from clapping alongside our neighbors on our balcony. Every night at 8:00 pm, all of Spain cheers for the healthcare practitioners working on the frontlines during this coronavirus pandemic. The homage also serves as a daily reminder that we are all in this together.
I waited for silence in the streets to record one last take. By this point, I was exhausted from a long day of editing. I gathered some energy and powered through, knowing that this introduction would be important. It would set the tone for the whole podcast, and our message needed to be delivered clearly.
As I was recording the last couple of minutes, I couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. All of the months of preparation were soon coming to fruition. I was suddenly very aware of the impact this show may have on our community. I thought of my colleagues, our partners, our SkillCorps® family. I was inspired by the fact that, even though we have all been affected in different ways by the current global crisis, we still remain united to encourage compassion for the autistic population. This podcast is our platform in the world at this crucial moment in history.
You may hear me choke up at some point. I was torn about giving it another try, to present a cleaner ending without my voice quivering, but I decided to leave this take as is. This is me, raw and exposed. As you listen, I invite you to sense what I was feeling in those last couple of minutes. I hope you find inspiration through my story and understand why this mission means so much to me.
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