Autism Stories

"I was almost 47 when I was diagnosed. How can you advocate for yourself, how can you know your needs if you don't know yourself? I didn't know myself. I say self awareness is the greatest gift you can give yourself," says Wanda Deschamps. Wanda joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss her work on increasing the participation level of the neurodiverse population in the workforce. To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free zoom call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min. If you are not comfortable with video then we can turn your video off for the call. If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"I didn't even know what an instructional designer was. I did my own research and from what I read thought this would actually be a pretty interesting field. When you don't learn like everyone else you feel left out. I realized as an instructional designer I might be able to help shape curriculum or instructional materials for people on the spectrum," says Dennis Hammers. Dennis joins us to talk about being an instructional designer as well as his experience of being an autistic actor in a film.  To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free zoom call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min. If you are not comfortable with video then we can turn your video off for the call. If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"Nothing about us without us. We must include those people that we are creating policies, making decisions, they have to be at the table in equal seating. Alot of these programs are born out of a deep desire for the community, but if you don't include neurodivergent people when you doing neurodivergent hiring programs or any of these initiatives you are greatly undermining your own success,"says Amy Root. Amy joins us on this episode to discuss the pros and cons neurodivergent hiring programs and much more.  To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free zoom call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min. If you are not comfortable with video then we can turn your video off for the call.  If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"A whole lifelong developmental embodying experience, when you look at the black community and they talk about passing, the LGBTQIA community and they talk about the closet. These are notions that marginalized groups talk about all the time. The autistic experience to this is often unique to autistic people in terms of how we do that. This the narrative of masking that is completely missed because we can pick it up, put it back on, and take it off again. The exhaustion that takes is not taken into account properly, says" Kieran Rose. Kieran joins us to talk about the impact of masking, burnout, and the concept of  monotropism to the autistic community.  To learn more about  Kieran and The Autistic Advocate visit https://theautisticadvocate.com/ To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"It's just a lot easier for everyone to be given one task at a time. The person giving the task might think oh thats a real pain because the person has to come back to me and then I have to tell them the next task. That may be inconvenient for you, but its your gift to that person youo can give only one task at a time and why wouldn't you give them that gift?" says Sam Warner. Sam joins us to talk about better communication to support autistic people at work and in all areas of their lives.    To learn more about what Sam does visit https://get-your-message-across.com/ To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"We need more self directed services, our society needs to start planning and designing for disability. It shouldn't have to happen to you for it to matter to you," says Nicole LeBlanc.  Nicole joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss how she has supported the disability community in advocating for their wants, needs, and rights throughout her career. To get in contact with Nicole email her at nleblanc677@gmail.com. To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"The big factor that people don't think about is that it eliminates anxiety over the environment. If you are doing a remote interview you can get control over your environment and thats really huge" says Carly Fulgham. Carly joins us to discuss about her work at Bank of America, how remote meetings are helpful to some autistics, and her work on a national non-profit board.  To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"There are  pretty good amount of autistic people out there who would like to learn to read tarot, but are convinced they won't be able to do it. I think a lot of that comes from non-autistic people not understanding what we are capable of because even if we can do it, we don't do it the same way they do," says Kelly Martinez. Kelly joins this episode of Autism Stories to talk about her experience as a tarot reader and the strengths that some autistic people have that would make them good tarot readers as well.  To learn more about Kelly as well as get a tarot reading from her go to https://spiralkey.blogspot.com/  To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"It turns out its a lot easier than I thought. Remembering those things as a kid that made me happy, walking outside in nature, looking at ants under a microscope, starring at the stars at night.  Walking through the world with a sense of wonder, very focused on the moment isn't that cool that is autistic joy," says Johnny Knapp. Johnny joins us for this episode to discuss autistic joy and then at the end of the episode discusses the systemic problem of being autistic and interacting with police.  To learn more about Johnny you can find him on linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnny-profane-knapp-8695a464/ To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.

"Sometimes because of the challenges we stay away and I understand that, but a real change can only happen if we persist and insist that we have something to offer to church. The church is not complete without the voices of the disability community. We have to know our value and say we belong," says Dr. Lamar Hardwick. Dr. Hardwick joins us on this episode to discuss his new book "Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion". To purchase Dr. Hardwicks book visit: https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Church-Vision-Diversity-Inclusion/dp/0830841601 To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listening platform. If you could give us a positive rating and review on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you want  to reduce your overwhelm and help getting all the things you need ,then book a free call now with Autism Personal Coach https://calendly.com/autimspersonalcoach/60min If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.