On this episode, we hear from Jeff Synder. Jeff was diagnosed with autism as a child. He was nonverbal and talks about learning to talk. He walks us through his journey to becoming a public speaker and advocate. Betsy Furler 0:05 Welcome to for all abilities, the podcast. This is your host, Betsy Furler. The aim of this podcast is to highlight the amazing things people with ADHD, dyslexia, learning differences and autism are doing to improve our world. Have a listen to for all abilities, the podcast, and please subscribe on whatever podcast app you're listening to us on. Welcome back to for all abilities, the podcast. This is Betsy Furler, your host and I'm excited to be here to introduce you to another special guest. And this podcast is all about talking to people who are living successfully with neuro diversity, like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, learning differences, as well as other disabilities, because I am so passionate about all of us embracing our differences and the differences of others, because I think our different brains are what really makes our world an interesting, productive and efficient place. So today, our special guest is Jeff Snyder. Welcome to the podcast. Jeff. Jeff Snyder 1:16 Thank you for inviting me, Betsy. Yes. Why don't you introduce yourself a little bit to our audience. Okay, well, my name is Jeff Snyder. I am 31 years old from seekonk, Massachusetts, here in Providence, Rhode Island. And I have been I was first diagnosed with autism at 21 months old. I've I am a 2007, graduate of seekonk High School. And upon my graduation, I was the first student with autism to have completed pre K through grade 12 in the seekonk public school system. Um, my day job is I work as a janitor, janitorial specialists for a major supermarket company up here. And I and since 2015, I have been living in my own apartment, and I am also a home. I'm also a panelist on the show on the weekly video series, Ask an Autistic every Tuesday, which is on every Tuesday night at eight o'clock on YouTube. And I am also a avid world traveler and I am also a fan fiction writer. Betsy Furler 2:28 Awesome. Well, I'm so excited that you're here. And as we talked earlier, you probably don't remember your diagnosis at 21 months. And but what do you know about your early childhood? What were you I like when you were a really young child? Jeff Snyder 2:46 Well, when I was really young I I didn't, I was very much nonverbal. And when I was first diagnosed with autism, I, I remember I couldn't talk I would sometimes resort to hitting things and throwing things just to communicate. And it wasn't. And it wasn't until about 1998 when the serious news came to my house to interview me for a special that they were doing on a thing called autism. And until that moment, I didn't know I was on the autism spectrum. And it was not until they came to my house, they that I found out about my diagnosis. So you might say it, it took about I didn't know till I was about nine years old that I was on spectrum. Betsy Furler 3:45 Wow. When did you and when did you start talking? Do you know? Jeff Snyder 3:50 I remember I think I was nonverbal. I think I was about four years old. Betsy Furler 3:56 That's amazing. I'm a speech pathologist by training. So I'm always very interested in hearing stories of people who were late talkers, who were now who are now communicating well, so that's amazing. So what was it like when you went off to school when you went to kindergarten and then to elementary school? Jeff Snyder 4:18 Well, I began my education. In 1992. When I was three years old, I was enrolled. I was enrolled in like a special special school special preschool and then that was an odd northborough. I was at a I was at St. Lawrence school in North Providence, which was where I began my educational journey and then and then I began my my my proper preschool training in 1993 at teddy bear preschool here in seekonk. And then I first enrolled in the I first went into the seekonk public school system in 1994. And when I went In when I was in kindergarten, I met a really, really nice um, I had a really nice teacher and, and the funny story is that when I graduated from priests from from preschool, teddy bear preschool, I had met my kindergarten teacher and and for some reason I, I somehow don't remember saying this but from what I heard was my kindergarten said, Geoffrey Snyder, are you looking forward to going into Miss coils, kindergarten Catholic kindergarten class, and I said, Geoffrey Paul Snyder is and going into Miss coils kindergarten class, and, and for some reason I I don't, I mean, I don't remember saying that. But, but I guess that's what the story is. And then when I was throughout elementary school, I had been, um, during the summers, I would get, like, assisted tutoring from my kindergarten teacher, I remember throughout my entire elementary school career during the summer, I would, I would go undergo special tutoring with her, we would, you know, get out into the community and do things and we also do summer, the equivalent of summer readings. So, so I mean, I, I did have some, it was all included in my individual education wise plan or IEP. So, you might say that, um, I did have some kind of assistant training during my, during the first half of my school career ran through till I went into middle school. Betsy Furler 6:37 Were you in general ed classes or in special ed classes in elementary school? Jeff Snyder 6:42 I was in general ed classes, but I was again on the IEP and I would um, for like, a few times a few times a day, I would do speech, I would do occupational therapy. I would do like, learning sent home or club I mean, because I'm a lot of us don't like to do homework at home, we would rather do it at school. So I I have that luxury of doing that. So, um, but I'm but for the most part, I was in general, I was in regular sized classes in elementary school. Betsy Furler 7:18 What about middle school? So most kids in middle school start doing you know, more extracurricular activities, sports, choir band, things like that? And what was middle school like for you? And did you do any of those extracurricular type activities. Jeff Snyder 7:34 When I was in middle school, I was actually put into special i was i was put into special education classes. And as a matter of fact, some of the pilot programs that were created around me are actually still in existence to this very day, believe it or not, um, and, I mean, I attended all I attended all regular classes, but but one thing I will, I will say is the one special class I was special, a class I was a part of was special in math. And for the first two years, sixth and seventh grade, I was in special ed English. And when I, when I went into eighth grade, I was put in a regular English class, because our reason was that because the teacher, my English teacher, they had an eighth grade, also taught my sister and she had become, she had become very enamored of me through my sister. So that was how I started to kind of branch out of doings regular English classes, but I still did on special ed, math classes in sixth and seventh grade. And then, for the first semester of my eighth grade year, I was in a regular math class when that didn't work out. I went back into a special ed, math class. Betsy Furler 8:57 And then you went on to high school and you went through the same feeder pattern, right. So you were kind of with the same kids from elementary, middle and high school. Jeff Snyder 9:08 Well, I mean, for the most part, yes. No, I mean, like, um, like when I got to middle school, things kind of changed. I, in terms of students, I did have some are regular. I did have some classmates that follow me to the high school program, but then I went, but I did, but I did stay in. I did stay in a specialized math class from ninth grade, and 10th grade and, and all the other classes amazingly were. Were all regular sized classes, and the only class I didn't take in high school was foreign language. Because because they offered Spanish, French Portuguese And I couldn't do all those things. So that was it that was in my IP. That was including my IP that I would not take a foreign language class. And I actually didn't take gym class my freshman year, but in sophomore and my senior year, I did take some classes. So Betsy Furler 10:22 that's interesting about the foreign language I was I was actually just thinking about that today about a child that I know who's he's six, he's in first grade. And he's in a school, a private school that he has to take two different foreign languages. And I was thinking today about oh, my goodness, that's, I think this is so confusing for him. So I'm glad you had a different experience and didn't have to, didn't have to do that. Um, did you like being in general ed class classes or in special ed classroom classes more? Jeff Snyder 10:56 Well, I mean, there were some generalized classes that had about 30 people. So I will say from firsthand experience, that it can be overstimulating to be in a class of 30 people, but when I was when I was younger, I would always mask my emotions. So that I could try to fit in and, and looking back now. I mean, I, part of me wishing asked importantly, wished I didn't ask but, but for the most part, I mean, if I wasn't in, if I wasn't in regular classes in high school, then things would be a lot different right now, because I had a friend that I gotten to know, a lot of my gen ed teachers on a personal level. And if, if I wasn't in general, if I wasn't in those general classes, then things would be a lot different. So it was more about the personal relationships, that was more than the actual class size. Betsy Furler 12:01 Okay. That's interesting. So when you said when you were really little, you would throw things and kind of have temper tantrums around communication? And what was your quote unquote, behavior? Like, in middle and high s
