Autism Weekly Podcast

This week we welcome Rebecca Sorensen, co-founder of Blawesome to the podcast. 

Blawesome is a Chapel Hill, North Carolina -based flower farm and design studio. The farm is owned and co-operated by a young man living with autism. Their work is a celebration of the beauty and uniqueness of both flowers and humanity. Blawesome is a small part of a larger movement that uses farming as a therapeutic intervention to improve health, social, and vocational outcomes for vulnerable populations. We use the art and practice of growing, designing, and delivering organic cut flowers to promote self, environmental, and community sustainability.

Rebecca has over 10 years of experience in sustainable horticulture and over 20 years of experience as a community development consultant. She organizes unique community initiatives to serve adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities like autism. She is the mother of a young man on the spectrum who has found fulfilling and purposeful work as a farmer. Download the podcast today to learn more from her and her family's experience! 

Learn more about Blawesome: https://beautifulblawesome.com/

This week we welcome Dr. Keivan Stassun to the podcast to discuss Autism and Employment and the value of neurodiversity in hiring. This is an important subject as many adults on the spectrum struggle to find fulfilling jobs or careers. 

Dr. Stassun serves as Director of the Frist Center for Autism & Innovation where they work to understand, maximize, and promote neurodiverse talent. The Frist Center represents a collaboration of Vanderbilt engineers, scientists, disabilities researchers, and business scholars, together with major employers in Nashville and leading autism-related organizations nationally. The Frist Center's ultimate purpose is to advance workforce innovation through the employment of autistic adults.

Dr. Stassun also shares the parent perspective as the father of an autistic individual. Download the podcast today to learn more! 

This week we welcome Lorri Unumb to the podcast to discuss autism services, insurance coverage, access to care, and parent advocacy. She’s the ideal guest to discuss both the history of access to care in autism as well as the current status, the pitfalls, and the current concerns.

Learn more about CASP: https://casproviders.org/

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Autism weekly is now found on all of the major listening apps including apple podcasts, google podcasts, stitcher, Spotify, amazon music, and more. Subscribe to be notified when we post a new podcast.

Autism weekly is produced by ABS. ABS is proud to provide diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy to children with developmental delays like Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can learn more about ABS and the Autism Weekly podcast by visiting abskids.com.

Today we welcome Sam Farmer to the podcast to talk about his journey through autism awareness and acceptance as an individual on the spectrum. Sam is an author of a book titled “A Long Walk Down a Winding Road.” The book offers clear advice and simple steps for overcoming adversity and improving your life. It has proven to be a helpful resource for parents, other autistics, and clinicians alike. Sam also regularly creates coaching videos and writes blogs for the AANE (Asperger / Autism Network). His goal is to help others help themselves. We are thrilled to learn more.

A Behavior Analyst in the autism field must balance technical skills and data analysis with a compassionate partnership with the families. So, how do you teach compassion, active listening, and effective communication to behavior analysts and technicians? This week We welcome Christina Tenerielloto the podcast to discuss the importance of compassion in ABA and autism services.

This week we welcome Esperanza Reyes to the podcast. Experanza has extensive experience working with parents of children with Autism through her role as the associate director of parent training at the Utah Parent Center. She holds a Masters in Human Development and Social Policy, along with a Graduate Certificate in Disability Studies. She is a first generation, Spanish speaking individual who has first hand experience navigating the LatinX community response to autism as she herself has a young son on the spectrum. We are thrilled to learn more from her experience and how she now counsels parents who are navigating the world with a child with autism. 

Resources mentioned: 

Family Voices English: https://familyvoices.org/

Family Voices Espanol: https://familyvoices.org/resources/?sq=&f%5B%5D=spanish

Center for parent information and resources:https://www.parentcenterhub.org/

The national center for cultural competence: https://nccc.georgetown.edu/

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Autism weekly is now found on all of the major listening apps including apple podcasts, google podcasts, stitcher, Spotify, amazon music, and more. Subscribe to be notified when we post a new podcast. 

Autism weekly is produced by ABS. ABS is proud to provide diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy to children with developmental delays like Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can learn more about ABS and the Autism Weekly podcast by visiting abskids.com. 

This week we welcome Vijay Ravindran to the podcast. Vijay is the CEO of Floreo, a virtual reality company specializing in developing software to help children with Autism Learn.  He is also a parent of a child with Autism and has day-to-day first-hand experience helping his own child learn new skills. Download the podcast today to learn more about this exciting new technology! 

Learn More About Floreo: https://floreotech.com/

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Autism weekly is now found on all of the major listening apps including apple podcasts, google podcasts, stitcher, Spotify, amazon music, and more. Subscribe to be notified when we post a new podcast. 

Autism weekly is produced by ABS. ABS is proud to provide diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy to children with developmental delays like Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can learn more about ABS and the Autism Weekly podcast by visiting abskids.com. 

Autism exists independent of race, country of origin, or economic status. Despite this, people of color are less likely to receive an early diagnosis and often face a longer road toward accessing services. That leaves us with the question “how do we close the gap and provide equal access to care.” 

We are excited to discuss this big topic with Miss Jamie Upshaw. Jamie operates a nonprofit in Pennsylvania called Autism Urban Connection Inc . Autism Urban Connections is the first and only African American, Minority, family-focused Autism 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Pennsylvania. Its mission is to educate, support and empower families of individuals diagnosed with Autism. 

Autism Urban Connections Inc. https://www.aucofpgh.org/

Learn more about the Listen Up, Close the Gap! campaign: https://www.aucofpgh.org/listen-up-close-the-gap-campaign

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Autism weekly is now found on all of the major listening apps including apple podcasts, google podcasts, stitcher, Spotify, amazon music, and more. Subscribe to be notified when we post a new podcast. 

Autism weekly is produced by ABS. ABS is proud to provide diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy to children with developmental delays like Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can learn more about ABS and the Autism Weekly podcast by visiting abskids.com. 

This week we welcome Rachael and Laura Doukas to the podcast to discuss autism representation in the media. Rachel and Laura are a writer-producer-sister team based in New York. They are in the pre-production stage for a movie titled “The Ryan Express.” Which is a family drama that features an autistic sixth-grader in the lead role. The film illustrates the true magic that autistic children bring to the world. 

Check out more info about The Ryan Express: https://www.theryanexpressmovie.com/

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Autism weekly is now found on all of the major listening apps including apple podcasts, google podcasts, stitcher, Spotify, amazon music, and more. Subscribe to be notified when we post a new podcast. 

Autism weekly is produced by ABS. ABS is proud to provide diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy to children with developmental delays like Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can learn more about ABS and the Autism Weekly podcast by visiting abskids.com. 

This week we welcome Dr. Terisa Gabrielsen to the podcast to discuss the path to an autism diagnosis and the important role of the parent and pediatrician. 

Dr. Gabrielsen is an associate professor at Brigham Young University with academic research interests in Autism, disabilities, and interdisciplinary treatment and support. She recently published a journal article titled “Identifying Autism In a Brief Observation” among others relating to a caregiver’s path to a diagnosis. Learn more about the diagnostic assessment process and the role of the pediatrician by listening to the podcast today! 

Mentioned Resources: 

CDC Screening Guidelines For Professionals

CDC Developmental Milestones

Ages and Stages Questionnaire 

Autism Speaks M-CHAT - Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers 

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Autism weekly is now found on all of the major listening apps including apple podcasts, google podcasts, stitcher, Spotify, amazon music, and more. Subscribe to be notified when we post a new podcast. 

Autism weekly is produced by ABS. ABS is proud to provide diagnostic assessments and ABA therapy to children with developmental delays like Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can learn more about ABS and the Autism Weekly podcast by visiting abskids.com.