In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with   Carolyn Balagot, an advocate for neurodiverse people. In her family, she, her husband, and her 3 kids are all neurodiverse in one way or another - primarily with ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has worked at her children’s school as a 504 case carrier, advocating for students’ needs. Her kids all went to school at Orange County School of the Arts, where I used to teach and which I highly respect and admire. Especially in an arts school, all kinds of diversity are celebrated, including neurodiversity. Carolyn will talk to us about her family’s challenges and triumphs, and help us know how to better advocate for our neurodivergent loved ones or community members.

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RESOURCES:

Carolyn’s information:

• Facebook group Cypress Neurodiversity Friends: https://www.facebook.com/groups/711278036622893/
• Carolyn’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.balagot
• Carolyn’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/redmama73/

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• Orange County School of the ARTS (OCSA): https://www.ocsarts.net/
• Penguin meme showing autism spectrum diversity: https://www.facebook.com/theicannetwork/photos/a.278436099008274/1965490896969444
• Understood website - information about 504s and IEPs: Understood.org
• Neurodivergent Rebel, Lyric Holmans’ website: https://neurodivergentrebel.com/
• Neurodivergent Rebel’s Safehome Podcast episode: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/fo36eVKbPvb
• Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASN): https://autisticadvocacy.org/

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TIME STAMPS:

1:52 Carolyn’s family’s background and diagnoses

8:20 High-functioning and low-functioning are outdated. What vocabulary is correct nowadays?

9:50 Autistic people?  Or people with autism?

12:35 504 v IEP accommodations

13:55 Is anxiety a neurodivergence? Is a student with anxiety eligible for accommodations?

15:48 Cum. files and labeling in school

18:33 What is ableism? What are some examples of ableist policies in school and work?

21:20 Did Carolyn’s child’s diagnosis make things better or worse?

22:30 Carolyn and her husband are waiting to get their own diagnosis of autism confirmed

25:40 How job interviews are challenging for autistic people and how to make them better

27:30 The powerful concept of universal design

28:43 Carolyn’s advice for parents who think their child might be neurodiverse

30:10 Why to steer clear of ABA - listen to adult autistic people

35:15 Why Autism Speaks is problematic

37:40 Carolyn’s advocacy for the LGBTQ community too

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