Autism Knows No Borders

Discover what’s possible when caring is enough to make a difference. 

Today’s episode is part two of Team Saudi Arabia’s SkillCorps® journey. If you haven’t yet listened to part one, I encourage you to go back to episode 100 so that you can hear about the first half of the team’s trip. 

If you have any personal or professional connection with autism — that is, if you’re a self-advocate, teacher, therapist, or another type of service provider — these two special episodes are meant for you. 

Today, you’ll hear excerpts from conversations about: 

• Clinical training at our partner site Namaee
• The Namaee therapists sharing insights about their culture
• The impact of our work on future generations of autistic people
• The Namaee staff’s takeaways from our collaboration
• Our team’s personal and professional growth
• Advice for future SkillCorps® travelers

Trips for July 2022 have filled up fast. We’re still taking applications for travel in October to Saudi Arabia and other partner sites, including Ecuador, Dominican Republic, China, India, Indonesia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda. Spots are limited so if you’re thinking about applying, now is the time. 

Sign up today at skillcorps.globalautismproject.org and use the coupon code “autismpodcast” to waive the application fee. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when caring is enough to make a difference. 

We’ve made it to episode 100! To celebrate this huge milestone, we’ve put together this special episode taking you on a journey with our SkillCorps® Saudi Arabia team. 

For almost 20 years, the Global Autism Project has been providing sustainable clinical, administrative, and leadership training to autism centers around the world seeking guidance.

Our SkillCorps® volunteer program is an opportunity for self-advocates and professionals to travel to our international partner sites and collaborate with their local teachers and therapists. 

If you follow our work closely, you may already know that we recently sent two of our SkillCorps® teams back into the field for the first time since the start of the pandemic. We were thrilled to see our partners again in Saudi Arabia and Kenya. 

We usually send out teams of up to 10 people three times a year for two weeks at a time. The team members are complete strangers when they meet for orientation in NY, and by the end of their two-week trip, oftentimes they’ve become close friends. I still keep in touch with many of the teammates that I’ve traveled with. So far, over 500 volunteers have joined our SkillCorps® Alumni community, and many are repeat travelers. 

Each SkillCorps® team has a trip leader, and sometimes a leader-in-training, or LIT for short. I led the team in Saudi Arabia and was accompanied by an LIT, Korey Taylor.

I thought it would be really interesting to document moments throughout the two weeks, so that we could share the experience and give you a glimpse of what happens on a SkillCorps® trip. 

After reviewing hours and hours of great content, we realized that trimming down too much would be a disservice to you. So, this episode will be a two-parter. 

Today, you’ll hear excerpts from conversations about: 

• Learning and self-discovery
• First impressions of Saudi culture
• Openness and flexibility
• Cultural humility
• Building rapport with the staff at Namaee Center
• Collaboration and teamwork
• Community outreach
• Making an impact 

We’re currently taking applications for trips in July and October to Saudi Arabia and other partner sites, including Ecuador, Dominican Republic, China, India, Indonesia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda. 

Join us today at skillcorps.globalautismproject.org and use the coupon code “autismpodcast” to waive the application fee. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when love begins with acceptance.

What challenges do autistic people face when it comes to dating? 

If you’re interested in hearing the autistic perspective on dating and relationships, you’ll want to listen to this roundtable discussion with our Global Autism Community, which was originally released on March 17, 2022.

Participating in this event were autism self-advocates Olivia Hops, Thomas Iland, Mary Johnston, Scott Edgar, Taylor Duncan, and David Sharif, as well as community members Danielle Terrell, Ben Sharif, and Kia Burton.

In part 1 of this conversation, we discuss:

• Different ways to meet people
• Transitioning from friendship to romance
• How to have a healthy relationship when one person is neurotypical and the other is neurodivergent
• Long-distance relationships

Round-table discussions like the one you’ll hear today are open exclusively for members of our online Global Autism Community. If you’d like to attend and participate in any of our future events, sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org.

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when winning comes second. 

Scott Edgar is an autistic voice actor in Orlando, Florida, who has been recently featured in London’s Autism’s Got Talent. He has also participated in the Special Olympics, competing in basketball, bowling, and powerlifting. 

In today’s conversation, we discuss:

• How Scott found out about his diagnosis
• How autism affects his life 
• Transitioning into independent living
• Voice acting and where he gets his inspiration
• Differences of autism awareness between England and the US
• Participating in the Special Olympics 

Are you also self-advocate willing to share your experiences and educate others? Or are you a professional seeking to hear directly from autistic voices and improve your practice? Are you a family member hoping to support and empower your loved one? Whatever your role related to autism is, you can join our Global Autism Community to connect and collaborate with people all over the world. 

Sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org. Let’s work together to transform how the world relates to autism. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when experience informs best practice. 

Martin Slyngstad is an autistic behavior specialist from California and the co-author of Chatter Box: My Life with Autism, A Mother and Son’s Perspective. 

In today’s conversation, we discuss:

• Martin co-writing his autobiography with his mother 
• Coping with anxiety
• Music, snowboarding, and other special interests
• Martin’s work as a behavior specialist
• Ideas to improve the field of Applied Behavior Analysis
• Stimming in the classroom
• Advice for other practitioners working with autistic children 

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when travel is for everyone. 

Dina Farmer is a Certified Autism Travel Professional, the Founder of Lily & Magnolia Travel, and the mother of a 10-year-old autistic boy. Her goal is to help parents plan autism-friendly family vacations while avoiding stress and overwhelm. 

In today’s conversation, we discuss:

• Dina’s passion for traveling
• How traveling with an autistic loved one benefits the world
• Overcoming challenges on a trip
• What it means for an establishment to be an Autism Certified Center
• Requesting accommodations while away from home
• Common questions families ask when thinking about a vacation 
• How to make kids feel more included in the planning process 

To learn more about Dina and her work, please visit lilyandmagnoliatravel.com. 

Other resources:

autismtravel.com 

ibcces.org 

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when community inspires change. 

This week’s episode is part 2 of our 2021 Highlights. Today we’ll be covering some of my favorite moments from episodes 72 to 89. To listen to the highlights from episodes 42 to 71, you can check out part 1 of this special highlights series. And if you’re curious about episodes 1 to 40, you can also listen to our 2020 Highlights episode from last year. 

As I was reflecting on these past episodes from 2021, I was overcome with immense gratitude for our community. A huge thank you to our guests for sharing their stories, to our listeners for your continued support, and to our team for putting it all together.

Special thanks to our Global Autism Community moderators, Kia Burton, Jeff Snyder, and David Sharif for monitoring posts daily and keeping our online space safe and respectful. 

We’re taking an extended pause of releasing episodes to set goals and intentions for the upcoming year. We’ll be back on our regular release schedule on January 20th in 2022. This will give you some time to catch up on any episodes you might’ve missed or that have caught your interest from listening to our highlights. 

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!

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when change inspires community. 

We made it to the end of 2021! To celebrate, we’ll be reviewing some of my favorite moments from this year’s episodes. This will be a two-parter due to the volume of content. Part 1 will highlight episodes 42 to 71, and next week we’ll review from 72 to 89. 

Since we started working on this podcast almost two years ago, we’ve brought on a wide range of guests, including prominent self-advocates, such as Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Stephen Shore, Dr. Kerry Magro, Dani Bowman, and Anthony Ianni; parents like Tiffany Hammond and Bobby Rubio; some of our Global Autism Project partners, such as Yaser Aljaaidi from Saudi Arabia and Pooja Panesar from Kenya; and other professionals in the field, such as Dr. Megan Miller from the DoBetter Movement and Camille Proctor from The Color of Autism. 

If you’ve been listening to our podcast for a while, this 2021 recap will bring you back to the heartfelt stories we’ve been hearing from our guests. And if you’re joining us for the first time, welcome! This episode will give you a good idea of what Autism Knows No Borders is all about. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when you’re true to yourself. 

This week’s episode is a recording of one of our Global Autism Community exclusive events. 

The topic of this roundtable discussion was Masking and Authenticity. Participating in this event were autism self-advocates Thomas Iland, Michael Gilberg, Terra Vance, Kate Jones, Jeff Snyder, and David Sharif, as well as community members Colleen Dorsey, Danielle Terrell, and Kia Burton. 

In today’s conversation, we discuss:

• What masking means to different people and its potential dangers
• Situations in which people might feel the need to mask
• Autistic values
• Being authentic 

To learn more about the participants in this discussion, please visit: 

Thomas Iland - thomasiland.com 

Michael Gilberg - michaelgilbergesq.com 

Terra Vance - neuroclastic.com 

Kate Jones - neuroclastic.com 

Jeff Snyder - Going the Distance Blog 

David Sharif - IG @david_thetraveler 

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Discover what’s possible when information fuels advocacy. 

Camille Proctor is the mother of a 15-year-old autistic boy and the founder of The Color of Autism, a non-profit organization committed to educating and assisting African American families with autistic children. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Camille’s son and his interests 
• Her ideas to reduce the stigma of autism in the Black community
• Religion’s role in denying autism
• The difficulty of getting a diagnosis
• How to overcome distrust in the healthcare system
• Harmful stereotypes of autistic black people
• What made Camille decide to start the Color of Autism and the different programs they offer
• Experiences specific to Black families
• Ideas to include more Black people in autism research 
• How to successfully teach police officers about autism
• Advice for parents who want to be better allies to their autistic children

To learn more about Camille Proctor and her work, please visit thecolorofautism.org.

Read the rest of this entry »