Joyriding In Autismland: Autism Podcast with Kid Gigawatt Kelley Fitch: Kid Gigawatt's Autism Therapy Microfundin' Mama

Hold onto your comb-overs, people! Today we're chatting with entrepreneur, business coach, and fellow podcaster Jessica Kupferman. Jessica has a teenaged son with high functioning autism, and she is VERY funny.

 



 

Jessica talks about having ADHD, Nate's late autism diagnosis, and what it's changed for them.

 

Here are Jessica's deets:

 

Website: Lady Business

 

Podcast: Lady Business Radio

 

Facebook: Lady Business Central

 

Twitter: Jessica Kupferman

 

Kelley

PS Click here to listen, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes: Joyriding in Autismland

Today I'm excited to speak to author Patty Pacelli, whose young adult son has autism. She advocates for people on the spectrum to achieve their career dreams and contribute their exceptional talents to the workforce, and has just written a book entitled Six Word Lessons for Autism Friendly Workplaces.

We chat about preparing younger kiddos for the workforce, what makes some people with autism fantastic hires, some of the best and worst jobs for people with autism, and about helpful work accommodations.



In case you're thinking about picking up the book here's a chapter summary
1.  The Need for Autism Friendly Workplaces
2.  Career Preparation for Parents and Children
3.  How to Find the Best Jobs
4.  ADA Laws and Rules for Work
5.  Best Interview Practices for the Employer
6.  Interview Tips for People with Autism
7.  Reasonable Accommodations for Employers to Offer
8.  Accommodations that can Help Autistic Employees
9.  Benefits of Hiring People with Autism
10. Be Aware of Unique Autistic Traits
11. Social Expectations for Workers with Autism

And here are Patty's deets:

Website: http://www.growingupautistic.com
Book: http://www.growingupautistic.com/six-word-lessons-for-autism-friendly-workplaces.html
Fast Company article: http://www.fastcompany.com/3028536/leadership-now/how-to-build-an-autism-friendly-workplace
Entrepreneur article: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233281

Kelley

Kyle's work in autism spans direct services, research, and administration. He worked one-on-one with adults on the spectrum in Santa Barbara, CA, focusing on improvements in quality of life, employment, health, and social networks. For two years, while pursuing his Master's of Social Work, he worked for a multi-million dollar state and federally funded psychosocial intervention research project at the University of Pittsburgh for adults with autism that aims to be a new standard in adult autism services. And he's author to the recent book, Connect: Findings for a New Era of Autism.

Here are all the deets on Kyle:

 


Website: http://www.autismstat.org
Book: https://gumroad.com/l/connect/beta
New Venture: http://spot.launchrock.com
Twitter: @autismstat

 

Kelley

PS Click here to listen, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes: Joyriding in Autismland

Today's episode is a bit different, because I won't be doing any interviewing - I'm flying solo. It's been a rough week for us all, because my father-in-law died on Monday afternoon, and he was just a great guy. A coach, a teacher, a veteran, a lifelong athlete, and a kind and gentle man.

I'm feeling nostalgic, so I wanted to give a look back and give you guys a quick guide to our previous episodes to help you find a good one you might have missed. 



The episodes from the parent perspective are:
           

Numbers 4 & 5 with Keri Bowers, fillmaker and art therapist on raising a son on the spectrum
               

Number 7 with Dan Korins on his son, who has an amazing voice
              

Number 8 with Rupert Isaacson, NYT best-selling author and filmmaker of "The Horse Boy"   

Number 12 with my husband Jeff Waites, on raising the Romanator
          

Number 14 with Wayne Gilpin, author, and autism book and magazine publisher
   

Number 18 with Kara Wilson, on raising a daughter with Asperger's
               

Number 21 with Margret Ericsdottir, filmmaker and mom of a nonverbal teenaged boy
   

Number 28 with Cynthia Lord, NYT best-selling children's author, and mom to a young adult son with autism   

Number 29 with Julie Cole, entrepreneur and mother of 6 kids, the oldest of whom has autism



Writing from the first-hand perspective of autism    

Episode 2 with Temple Grandin, autism rock star   

Episodes 9 & 10 with Jennifer McIlwee Myers, Aspie and author   

Episode 23 with Tom Angleberger, Aspie, NYT best-selling author of a series of kids books with Aspie main characters



The sibling perspective is highlighted with my own kids in episode 6



Authors- we have a bunch in the parent category (Rupert Isaacson, Wayne Gilpin, Cynthia Lord), but also:
               

Episode 3 with James Ball, chair of the national Autism Society and autism behavioral consultant
              

Episode 20 with scholar, NYT best-selling author and speaker Andrew Solomon
   

And then there are therapists and therapies on
               

Episode 13 with Alisa Anderson on adaptive ski
               

Episode 16 with Sarah Bronson on therapeutic horseback riding   

Episode 17 with Jill Schacht on occupational therapy
               

Episode 19 with Elizabeth Mortati on art therapy
               

Episode 25 with Rachel See on music therapy



School & Home focused:
               

We talk in-home support in number 11 with Lauren O'Neil
              

We talk school inclusion in episode 24 with Tim Villegas



Episode 22 with Eric Tivers is about how ADHD tends to co-occur with autism



And then there are two episodes not specifically related to autism, but to being different:

Episode 1 with NYT best-selling author, wine expert and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk
   

Episode 27 with NYT best-selling author, magazine publisher, super nice guy, and business consultant Chris Brogan



And the last episodes I haven't mentioned are about Kid Gigawatt (that's us!)
   

Number 15 is about why we sell t-shirts to microfund therapies for kiddos with autism
   

Number 26 is about the road trip documentary movie we're making this summer



And today is episode 30, so there you have it! And after 4 planes and a funeral, what I'd really love more than anything, is to hear from you. Please email me your funny stories from Autismland, I'd love to put together an episode together just with some of the bright spots. So when we're feeling a bit blue, we can have a good laugh. Email me at kelley@kidgigawatt.com- I'm counting on you! :)


Kelley

PS Here's a link to the blog post I mentioned on the podcast, Remembering Opa.

Stoked to be chatting with Eric Tivers, licensed Clinical Social Worker, coach, consultant, and counselor for ADHD and High Functioning Autism.

We chat about what led him to an ADHD diagnosis in college, and what happens when autism is comorbid with ADHD. (

Eric has a new podcast coming out soon, ADHD Rewired, and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Kelley

PS Click here to listen, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes: Joyriding in Autismland

Thrilled to be interviewing Andrew Solomon today, author of the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award winning book, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which explores ideas of abilities, disabilities, illness and identities in extraordinary children born to ordinary parents. His tome represents a decade of researching and interviewing parents raising kids with dwarfism, Downs Syndrome, autism, or schizophrenia, children born deaf, as well as prodigies, children conceived in rape, transgendered children, and kids who grow up to become criminals.

 





His appearances on Far From the Tree include The Moth Radio Hour, a Ted Talk, The Colbert Report, and a Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross.

We chat about neurodiversity, the fantasy of normal, and being kind to everyone you meet.



Check out Mr. Solomon's intelligent article on the Autism Rights Movement here, and keep up with him on Facebook and Twitter.

Kelley

PS Click here to listen, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes: Joyriding in Autismland