863: Julie and Ryan Neale: Mother & Son Neurodiversity Advocacy on College Campus

Julie Neale is a life and leadership coach, mom to two neurodivergent boys, and creator of Mother’s Quest, the Mother’s Quest Podcast, and the Live Your EPIC Year Planner. Started in 2016, Mother’s Quest provides inspiration, coaching, and community for mothers who want to live their version of an E.P.I.C. life while raising their children. At the age of 50, Julie received a diagnosis of ADHD, realizing that she is also neurodivergent. The diagnosis explained a lot and has provided a window for her to understand better what it’s like for her children to embrace their differences while finding strategies to address the challenges. This year, Julie is serving on the UCLA Parents' Council. She looks forward to working alongside her son Ryan, from a parent perspective, to support neurodivergent students and their families at UCLA.

Ryan Neale is a neurodivergent sophomore at UCLA, planning to double major in Communication and Disability Studies with a minor in Film Studies. He is part of the College Scholars Program at UCLA and recently was selected as part of the 2023 Chancellor's Leadership Program cohort. He is passionate about neurodiversity advocacy and sharing his own experiences to pave the way for others. He is currently a staff member at the Bruin Resource Center, where he is a student lead on a new campus-wide neurodiversity initiative to make UCLA more inclusive for students like him. This summer, he served on staff for the Stanford Neurodiversity Project - Research, Education, and Advocacy Camp for high schoolers wanting to create neurodiversity advocacy projects. He was also a speaker at the 2021 Stanford Neurodiversity Summit and has been a guest host on the Mother’s Quest Podcast. Ryan was diagnosed with autism at the age of 18 months old and also identifies with ADHD and anxiety.

April is Autism Awareness Month. April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day. I was so honored to have Ryan and Julie here to talk about neurodiversity, including autism, and all that Ryan is doing to build inclusive spaces for kids like him on college campuses.  

Listen in to hear Ryan and Julie share:

• Ryan’s optimism around the neurodiversity movement, esp in collegiate environments
• Ryan’s autism diagnosis at 18 months and his experience of learning of his diagnosis at age 13
• Ryan’s disconnection from his diagnosis given his propensity for rich connections
• How Julie was diagnosed with ADHD when going through menopause 
• The difference in the ways Ryan and Julie accepted and integrated their respective diagnoses
• What Ryan’s transition into college life has been like
• How Ryan has leaped into neurodivergence advocacy at UCLA

Links mentioned:

• Connect with Julie: https://mothersquest.com
• Connect with Ryan: www.ryanjneale.com 
• Mother’s Quest on IG: www.instagram.com/mothersquestpod
• Ryan on IG: www.instagram.com/ryan.neale04
• Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-neale-031112176/
• Autism Story Telling Project in San Fransisco: https://www.autismstorytellingproject.com/ 
• Spark Course about Ryan’s college experience 
• Mother's Quest Podcasts with Ryan related to neurodiversity:
• https://mothersquest.com/ep-93-learning-outside-the-lines-in-college-with-neurodivergent-advocates-ryan-neale-jonathan-mooney/
• https://mothersquest.com/embracing-neurodiversity-and-being-an-adult-with-julie-lythcott-haims-and-ryan-neale/
• https://mothersquest.com/ep-18-yolo-you-only-live-once-and-other-milestone-reflections-with-ryan-neale/

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