Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in elementary school, Tom speaks from personal experience and educates others on how to identify the signs of ASD, offers advice for overcoming obstacles associated with ASD, and provides proof of the benefits of seeing the ability in disability! Tom has educated a number of parents, students, teachers, school district representatives, and even law enforcement officers and first responders about ASD.

Tom is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with expert knowledge in financial services and experience in a Big 4 public accounting firm as well as entertainment, education, and not-for-profit organizations. He is a natural leader and cross-functional team player with excellent problem-solving skills and works well with all levels of management. Find out more at Thomasiland.com

All Autism Talk (allautismtalk.com) is sponsored by Autism Spectrum Therapies (autismtherapies.com) and Trellis Services (trellisservices.com) and Learn It Systems (learnitsystems.com).

My Autism Success Story with Tom Iland - Insights from a Self Advocate

"Connecting the Autism Community One Podcast at a Time"  Our podcast offers a friendly conversation with inspiring individuals in the autism community.   Our aim is to provide valuable insights and information as well as access to support in communities throughout the United States.  Join us! 

Know an inspiring group or individual we should talk to?  We would love to hear from you at allautismtalk@learnbehavioral.com

Kids & Family

Arfa Alam is a senior manager at the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit that envisions a dynamic and innovative federal government that effectively serves our diverse nation. Prior to joining the Partnership, Arfa performed labor human rights and social responsibility work in more than 40 countries in both the public and private sectors. Arfa joins us to share her experience and deep conviction for the appropriate care, and rights for all. She is the proud mother, wife, and sister of disabled and differently-abled individuals, including her two autistic sons, her husband who lives with early onset Parkinson's disease, and her twin sister, who is deaf and was the first person in life to teach her about differences and empathy. 

As she shares, “As a first-generation American, it is particularly important to me to bring awareness, acceptance, and inclusion to our communities for individuals with disabilities and neurodivergences.” Arfa’s passion for public service stems from her experience as a first-first-generation Muslim-American with special needs family members. We are grateful for the opportunity to have this discussion with Arfa and we look forward to having her with us again soon.

 

For more information:

https://www.bestbuddies.org/  

https://marybarbera.com/ 

 

All autism talk (allautismtalk.com) is sponsored by LEARN Behavioral (learnbehavioral.com).

Advocating for Your Family and Good, Contemporary ABA With Arfa Alam

Brandon Whitfield, Sr. Clinical Director for AST, part of LEARN Behavioral has presented at several conferences including BABA’s (Black Applied Behavior Analysts) inaugural conference to share ways ABA agencies can bring more equity to the field of ABA. In this conversation, Brandon discusses his role in helping to create The Black Master’s cohort and mentorship program as well as the ongoing need to prioritize DEI advancement in ABA.

 

For more information:

https://learnbehavioral.com/culture

https://learnbehavioral.com/culture/dei

The Advances and Challenges of DEI Initiatives in ABA

Dr. Megan Anna Neff, a Neurodivergent Psychologist joins us to discuss discovering her own autism in the aftermath of her child’s diagnosis and how that has inspired her passion to support the neurodivergent community. Dr. Neff describes the experience of her autism revelation in this way, “For the first time in my life, my body made sense, my experience of self made sense, and it was a powerful moment of liberation.” We also delve into helpful strategies about sensory sensitivity and self-care that are helpful for adults and parents of children with autism. 

 

For more information:

neurodivergentinsights.com

@neurodivergent_insights on Instagram

 

All Autism Talk (https://www.allautismtalk.com/) is sponsored by LEARN Behavioral (https://learnbehavioral.com).

Self-care and Sensory Needs for Neurodivergent Individuals

Dr. Linda LeBlanc, a Licensed Psychologist and author of 3 books on supervision joins us to discuss her latest book about ethics which she co-authored with Dr. Amanda Karsten, who is the Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Grand Valley State University.  Their new book titled Proactive and Practical Decision Making for Behavior Analysis explores the critical need for continually examining and evolving the role of ethics in providing services. As Dr. Karsten shared, "I hope we can help normalize the range of emotions that early career folks may be experiencing but also empower them with strategies they can put into motion and navigate step by step.  And to know that being in a difficult ethical situation is not going to overwhelm them."

For more information:

https://sloanpublishing.com/ethics 

 

All Autism Talk (https://www.allautismtalk.com/) is sponsored by LEARN Behavioral (https://learnbehavioral.com).

The Importance of Ethical Decision Making For Behavior Analysts

Jessica Sylfest is the parent of a child with Autism and ADHD and the Sr. Director of  Talent Acquisition for LEARN Behavioral. Jessica’s compassion, warmth, and learned wisdom are great offerings to all parents as we transition our kids back to school. There are a lot of specific strategies shared when navigating an IEP and how to establish good communication with your child’s team. As Jessica said, “I think there is such value in sharing experiences and sharing things that are going well and things that are a  struggle. You really never stop preparing. It’s just perpetual communication, planning with the school and with the other resources in our lives.”

 

All Autism Talk (https://www.allautismtalk.com/) is sponsored by LEARN Behavioral (https://learnbehavioral.com).

My Autism Success Story with Tom Iland - Insights from a Self Advocate

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