Discover what’s possible when people connected to autism inspire change and build community
Episodes
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
Thursday Feb 15, 2024
Discover what’s possible when your work environment helps you flourish.
Have you ever been at work and felt like your colleagues just didn’t understand you, or maybe didn’t even try? Or have you ever worked up the courage to request accommodations, only to then have your needs minimized?
If you want to hear about a company with a work environment just the opposite of that, stay tuned for today’s conversation with Maxwell Huffman and Jen Goubeaud, where we discuss how Aspiritech creates opportunities for their neurodivergent employees to thrive.
Maxwell is Autistic himself and oversees operations across all of Aspiritech’s program lines, including software quality assurance, accessibility, and data services. And Jen, who has ADHD, is the program manager for the company’s accessibility program line.
In this conversation, among other things, we discuss:
- How Brenda and Moshe Weitzberg founded Aspiritech to help their son find suitable employment, scaling it up from a kitchen-table start-up to a company with over 100 employees, 90% of which are Autistic
- Common accommodations, such as written instructions and hybrid work options
- Aspiritech’s hiring and training process
- How to match skill sets to a job
If you’re enjoying this episode and you don’t want to miss part 2, where we’ll talk about digital accessibility for neurodivergent individuals, be sure to hit the subscribe button! It will help you stay up-to-date, and it will also help us continue to bring you great guests, like Jen and Maxwell.
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Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Discover what’s possible when communication operates beyond words.
Have you ever heard anyone say that speech therapy is only for children who need to learn how to talk? Or that dyslexia only affects the ability to read and write? Or that an AAC device might hinder language development?
In today’s throwback episode, we revisit these common misconceptions and many, many more.
This episode with Jeannette Washington was originally released in July 2020. We’re re-releasing it today to celebrate Black History Month and highlight the great work of Black professionals in our community.
A certified teacher, speech pathologist, coder and author, and the digital creator behind Bearly Articulating, Jeannette has many years of experience providing services to people with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.
In this conversation, among other things, we discuss:
- Who can benefit from speech therapy
- How autism and dyslexia overlap
- Why collaboration between professionals from different fields is essential for progress
- Ways in which an AAC device can improve communication
- How differently-minded individuals can – and should – contribute to the tech industry
- Helpful tips for parents trying to increase their child’s communication skills
Would you like to submit your own questions for our upcoming guests? Follow us on Instagram @autismpodcast and watch out for posts asking for contributions! We want you to get the most out of our podcast, so your input is always appreciated.
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Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Discover what’s possible when autism representation in the media is accurate.
Have you ever been disappointed by the representation of autism in movies, TV shows, or other media? Or, on the other hand, have you ever resonated with some of the characters with autistic traits that you’ve seen on screen?
Whether you’ve had one of these experiences or both, stick around, because today’s episode is a roundtable discussion where we address the question, “How can the entertainment industry improve their representation of autism?”
I’m sure you’ll find this conversation as engaging as I did. Among other things, we talked about:
- How movies like Rainman and other early representations of autism led to inaccurate stereotypes
- The ethics of Autistic characters being played by Autistic vs. non-Autistic actors
- Implicit vs. explicit Autistic characters in shows like Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Atypical and The Big Bang Theory
- The need to increase representation of non-speaking Autistics
Participants in this roundtable include Autistic Self-Advocates Andrew Bennett, Michelle Vinokurov, Corben Havener, Mary Johnston, and Christina Kaspersen, and fellow members of our online Global Autism Community Ali Carbone, Cheryl Albright, Tj Larum and Danielle Terrell.
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Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Thursday Jan 25, 2024
Discover what’s possible when you live label free.
Livia Sara is an Autistic Self-Advocate, eating disorder survivor, author, and the host of the podcast Liv Label Free. Livia is currently working on her fifth book, and her publications include a memoir, Rainbow Girl, and a cookbook titled Nourishing Neurodiversity. She is also a 1:1 coach for autistic people recovering from an eating disorder.
In this conversation, we discuss:
- Livia’s autistic strengths
- How having an eating disorder led to the journey of discovering her autism
- Why Livia thinks her eating disorder was a way of masking
- How to disentangle autistic traits from eating-disorder behaviors
- Examples of eating disorders that can be linked to autism
- Tips for autistic people suffering an eating disorder
To learn more about Livia Sara please visit livlabelfree.com.
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Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Discover what’s possible when passion drives purpose.
In today’s episode, we’re continuing to highlight our recent SkillCorps® trip to Rwanda. Our SkillCorps® volunteer program is an opportunity for self-advocates, family members, and professionals to travel to our international partner sites and collaborate with local stakeholders on outreach initiatives in their communities.
This carefully curated 10-day journey includes developing culturally-relevant and sustainable training with our partner staff, listening to local Autistic Self-Advocates and family members to learn about their lived experiences, sharing meals with community members to brainstorm ideas and solutions, and executing a high-impact project to build on existing work being done in the country.
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear our SkillCorps® Rwanda team members’ personal experiences and takeaways. Special shout out to SkillCorps® Alum and leader Kelly Cotter, who helped me guide this professionally diverse team of 10 global visionaries on this transformational journey. Even though the team members were complete strangers before they met in New York for orientation, by the end of our trip they had formed friendships that will last a lifetime.
Apart from collaborating with our partners at Silver Bells, our SkillCorps® team also took in Rwandan culture through a range of activities, such as shopping at a night market, learning a local dance, and visiting an important historical museum. Each day left us surprised, inspired, and moved.
The team had a virtual reunion two weeks after returning from our trip. We reviewed what we had learned and reminisced about some of our experiences.
In today’s conversation, we discuss:
- Memorable moments from the trip
- Global collaboration
- Sustainability
- The Global Autism Project’s model of Do With Not For
- Personal and professional growth
- Leadership
- Each team member’s post-trip commitment to their own community
- Tips for future SkillCorps® travelers
Friday Jan 12, 2024
Friday Jan 12, 2024
Discover what’s possible when awareness spreads.
These next two episodes will highlight takeaways from our SkillCorps® volunteer trip to Rwanda last October!
For the last 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, family members, and professionals to travel to our international partner sites and collaborate with local stakeholders on outreach initiatives specific to their communities.
This carefully curated 10-day journey includes developing culturally-relevant and sustainable training with our partner staff, listening to local Autistic Self-Advocates and family members to learn about their lived experiences, sharing meals with community members to brainstorm ideas and solutions, and executing a high-impact project to build on existing work being done in the country.
Last October, I led our SkillCorps® team to visit our partners at Silver Bells in Kigali, Rwanda. Silver Bells offers comprehensive services for families, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and vocational training.
In today’s episode, you’ll hear the Founder of Silver Bells, two of the clinical department heads, and several community members who attended the three outreach events we hosted in Kigali.
Next week, you’ll hear some of our SkillCorps® volunteers talk about their personal experiences and takeaways.
As you probably know if you follow our work closely, we’re also sending teams out in the field this March, and we’re currently taking applications for travel in October 2024!
Join us today at skillcorps.globalautismproject.org and use the coupon code “AUTISMPODCAST” to waive the application fee.
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Friday Jan 05, 2024
Friday Jan 05, 2024
*THROWBACK EPISODE*
This roundtable discussion with our Global Autism Community was originally released on February 17, 2022. We're re-releasing it today to kick off the year with setting intentions.
What are your goals for 2024? How will you hold yourself accountable? We’d love to hear from you over in our online Global Autism Community! Sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org. Let’s work together to transform how the world relates to autism.
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Friday Dec 29, 2023
Friday Dec 29, 2023
*THROWBACK EPISODE*
This roundtable discussion with our Global Autism Community was originally released on January 20, 2022. We're re-releasing it today to show the wide range of interests within our community!
What are some of your special interests? We’d love to hear from you over in our online Global Autism Community! Sign up today at community.globalautismproject.org. Let’s work together to transform how the world relates to autism.
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Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Discover what’s possible when we learn together.
This week’s episode is part 2 of our 2023 Highlights! Today we’ll continue to review some of our favorite moments from this year’s episodes, specifically from 145 to 158.
As we were reflecting on these past episodes from 2023, we were overcome with immense gratitude for our community. A huge thank you to our guests for sharing their stories, to you, our listeners, for your continued support, and to our team for all the work behind the scenes.
Special thanks to Anh Ngoc and Danielle Terrell for helping to manage guest communications and social media, and to all of our community moderators this year: Andrew Bennett, Cassidy Hooper, Stephan Guidon, Korey Taylor, and Christina Kasperson for monitoring posts and keeping our online space safe and respectful.
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.
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Saturday Dec 16, 2023
Saturday Dec 16, 2023
Discover what’s possible when we learn together.
We’ve reached the end of 2023! To celebrate, we'll be reviewing some of our favorite moments from this year’s episodes – there are so many that this will have to be a two-parter! Part 1 will highlight episodes 129 through 144, and next week 145 through 158.
Since we started working on this podcast almost four years ago (which is unbelievable to say out loud!), we’ve brought on a wide range of guests, including prominent self-advocates, such as Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Stephen Shore, Dr. Kerry Magro, Rachel Barcellona, and Anthony Ianni; parents like Tiffany Hammond and Bobby Rubio; some of our Global Autism Project partners, such as Sangeeta Jain from India and Evas Kyomugisha from Rwanda; and other professionals in the field, such as Michelle Garcia Winner from Social Thinking and Harald Neerland from Autism Europe.
If you’ve been listening to our podcast for a while, this 2023 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.
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