Our guest today is Armando, who tells us about his experiences being diagnosed with autism at 3 years old. While his parents were told he would never speak, this didn’t stop Armando from learning to do just that. He tells us about his journey from being ashamed of his diagnosis to becoming a host of his own podcast, a private consultant, and a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. He is dedicated to showing that the experiences and potential of Autistic people are not pre-determined by what others think is possible. We discuss being both Autistic and a BCBA in a world in which ABA is often criticized by Autistic people; what it looks like to partner with families as their “co-pilot”; and how to set realistic, developmentally-appropriate goals for children who are indeed children, regardless of their diagnosis.

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