WEBVTT - Neurodiversity Matters 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.520 Good morning, peep Sin, Welcome to Okay f Daily with 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:19.040 me your girl Danielle Moody recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:24.000 you know, oftentimes when we talk about representation and diverse 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:30.400 representation and that representation matters, we're often talking about images 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:35.840 that display on surface different physical attributes that people have, 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:41.560 whether it be their race or their cultural garb or 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:49.920 what have you. But we oftentimes don't take into account neurodiversity, 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:54.120 the diversity in the way that people think, how they 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.200 perceive things, whether or not they are disabled in terms 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:05.280 of their mental health or in their thinking right. And 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.480 I've been thinking about this a lot as a person 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:13.840 that finds and has a desire to be a constant learner, right, like, 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:18.200 I believe that the world can be this beautiful, gorgeous 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:22.480 place filled with people that are interested in learning about 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.840 other people, the ways in which we interact with the 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:30.560 world and are curious. Right. We grew up in a 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:32.640 time many of us at least, grew up in a 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:37.000 time when we were making the transition from tolerating people's 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:41.080 differences to accepting them. Then we got into a place 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:44.240 for a short short while where we were actually celebrating 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:47.160 those differences, but now we are in a time of 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:51.600 great regression where we are forcing people back into boxes, 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:56.640 into closets, into darkness right as a way to uphold 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:02.080 white supremacy and patriarchy. I'm really excited for you all 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:09.280 to listen to today's episode and conversation with Jennifer White Johnson, 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:16.400 who is an Afro Latina, disabled Afro Latina neurodivergent artist, educator, 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:22.519 and designer. And she was brought to my attention by 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.240 a series of tweets that she had done following the 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:31.240 news that Elijah McClaine, if you remember, the young black 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:37.040 autistic man who was murdered in police custody when they 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:41.200 injected into his veins ketamine which forced this twenty some 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:45.680 odd year old into cardiac arrest, all because what a 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:50.000 white person saw him from the fucking window and didn't 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:54.480 like his presence and called the cops and he was 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:58.200 arrested for no reason other than being black and then killed. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:06.000 Jennifer had shared beautiful imagery and her heartbreak because she 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:12.360 is the mother of an autistic black son, and you know, 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:16.079 her tweet was brought to my attention and then I 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:20.160 discovered what wonderful crossover we actually have and the people 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:24.760 that we know and have worked with, and was really 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.160 able then to delve into her art and her vision 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.040 and her mission and her work. And so I'm really 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:35.400 excited to bring this conversation to you on how we 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:42.800 learn to better understand ourselves and also understand the people 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:47.680 around us to better build community, right, particularly at a 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:53.760 time when the opposition is so vile in their destruction, 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.000 in their language, and in their presence to try and 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:01.560 exile all of those that they deem, you know, unworthy, right, 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.560 So I would be really interested share with me your 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:10.160 thoughts on this episode via tweet, Instagram, DM in the 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:14.360 comments section below, because I would really love to hear 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:20.920 how this episode on neurodivergence and neurodiversity lands with all 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:31.880 of you. The Damage Report with John Idarola is one 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.599 of the most popular shows on the TYT Network that 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.320 serves as your daily breakdown of the genuine threats and 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:41.159 challenges facing our country and world. These days, we're confronted 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:45.120 with an overwhelming sea of shocking, confounding, and devastating news stories. 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.440 The Damage Report is your life raft, helping you navigate 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:50.880 the day's news and understand the damage caused by the 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:55.400 corrupt establishment, politicians, corporations, and everything in between. Join the 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:59.080 Damage Reports notorious fan club the Dragon Squad, where you 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.560 become part of the fantastic community of progressives. Create a 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:06.279 fun dragon nickname that fits your personality, collaborate and participate 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:09.479 in fun activities like voting for the Garbage Person of 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:12.360 the Week, and much more. Listen to The Damage Report 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.880 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.400 If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:26.039 so you never miss an episode. Folks, I am very 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:28.960 excited to welcome to wok app Daily for the first 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:32.200 time and hopefully not the last time. Jennifer White Johnson, 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:36.640 who is a disabled Afro Latina and neurodiverse artist, designer, 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:41.120 and educator. Her work explores the erasure of black disabled 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:48.200 children in digital and literary media. Jennifer, you know, I 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.640 am really excited to be in conversation with you because 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:56.360 I think that oftentimes even the best of us who 0:05:56.440 --> 0:06:03.320 are advocates around representation and around inclusivity, I don't think 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:09.039 have as expansive of an idea of what true representation 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:13.600 actually looks like and is. We often think about and 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:18.600 at least when I speak about it, talk about representation 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:21.880 as it pertains to what we see on the surface, 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:26.960 our images, as opposed to also including the ways in 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:31.160 which we think and experience and perceive the world around us. 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:34.960 And so your work really does delve into that, and 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:38.200 so I wanted to give you an opportunity to explain 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:42.000 to the wok F audience just the idea and the 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:48.080 terminology around neurodiversity and what that means and an example 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:52.160 of how that shows up. Yeah, thank you, and I 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:54.760 want to say thank you so much for holding space 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:59.400 for this conversation and for you know, and as you 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:03.000 were saying, I do identify, as you know, someone living 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:07.520 with ADHD and so full disability access disclaimer. You know, 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:09.640 I tend to fidget a lot, I tend to move, 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.720 I tend to you know, talk with my hands. I'm 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:16.720 very expressive, and so as much as it as much 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:22.120 as being you know, disabled and neurodivergent is very much 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:25.559 a part of my thinking and a part of my being. 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.880 It is very much a part of like my surface 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.560 and the way that I act, the way that I move, 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:36.520 you know, which is often you know, invisible or maybe 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:41.200 seen as something else. Especially as an Afro Latina woman. 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:46.920 You know, physical disabilities are very surface based and and 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:52.600 it's very apparent. And then there is the invisible disability 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:58.600 element of non apparent disabilities, which is what neurodivergent folks 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:02.960 often are, you know, are are grappling with you know, um, 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:08.120 things like ADHD. You know, things like anxiety that often 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:12.240 you know look a certain way, but on the inside 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:16.040 or maybe in other ways. You know, we can kind 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:20.040 of channel and we can kind of um not apparently 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:27.360 showcase our anxiety. UM. Yeah, and so neuro you know, 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:34.520 the actual term neurodivergent is has actually been used within 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:38.960 the disability community for quite some time to to basically 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:43.760 uplift you know, body minds that are um that are 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:48.800 you know living you know as you know, fully disclosed 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:52.080 autistic people. You know, folks that are dealing with you know, 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:57.560 possibly anxiety UM disorders or living you know as bipolar 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:02.560 or living with other kind of you know, social anxiety elements. 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:07.119 You know, it's just very non apparent and we operate 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:11.240 in a really beautiful way. You know, as someone who 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.559 has ADHD, I tend to hyper focus or I tend 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:18.200 to um you know, wait until the very last minute 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.640 to like work on projects because it gives me that 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.160 spark of energy. But then I also don't give myself 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:27.840 the opportunity to rest as much as I as I should, 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.560 because you know, the weight, the pressure of all of 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:35.960 that is very much on me. You know, that false 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:39.400 expectation that all I have to do is exist in 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:44.080 order to be seen, versus being a body that is 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:53.160 meant to produce constantly along the lines of very ablest expectations. 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.760 And so, in a nutshell, I mean neurodivergent people are 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.840 all around you. I mean we we exist, you know, 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:06.880 as artists, as creators, as activists, as parents, as writers 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.800 that are constantly you know, wanting to to just you know, 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:14.320 be ourselves and represent all of the ways our body 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:19.560 minds are divergent in terms of thinking. You know, it's 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:23.320 funny because obviously maybe not obviously, but I'll speak for 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:27.600 myself that when I hear the term divergent, right like, 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:32.000 it goes to the Movieum, which was not that great Um, 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:36.600 But but I have a point here, it goes my 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:39.560 mind goes to the movie because when you think about 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:43.240 I guess, in in in political contexts, when I think 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:48.560 about what is divergent. It is operating outside of the norm, 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:53.560 right which was or operating operating against the status quo. 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:57.040 And that was essentially, you know, the part of this film. 0:10:57.040 --> 0:10:59.440 It's like it was, you know, here's the way to think. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.720 This is how you should think, and if you move 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.760 outside of this, then literally we're going to eliminate you. 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:07.960 We're kind of living in a society right now. That 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.360 is that we have two forces at play, one that 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:16.320 is trying desperately to hold onto a status quo that 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:20.960 eliminates any difference whatsoever. And so I want to get 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:25.240 your thoughts on, you know, where I feel like we're 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:30.840 living in these in these multitude of layers of being 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:36.720 an existing and thinking where in one frame your work 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:43.240 and the multilayeredness of us as as as body mind, people, 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:48.320 humans exists. And then at the same time we have 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:52.720 the powers that be the establishment trying to trying to 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:57.600 compress us all into this one image and identity of 0:11:57.640 --> 0:11:59.640 what it means to be an American, what it means 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:01.439 to be human. And so I want to get your 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:07.720 thoughts on how we how how people express the kind 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.880 of complexity of where we are and how we hold 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.800 true to this the more that we know, the better 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.119 we can think, and the more our society can expand 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:24.800 in really incredible ways. And then this fight on the constriction. 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:27.960 How do we exist? How do you exist in in 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:34.600 that in that fraught space. I mean, I really just 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:39.680 have to be authentic to myself, UM and authentic to 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:45.120 you know, my own lived experience and realizing that UM, 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:50.200 I shouldn't necessarily try to perform or try to adhere 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:55.760 or comply to these very ableistic um societal norms. You know, 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.400 as an Afro Latina woman, you know, we're packaged and 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:03.360 constantly being boxed in to perform or to act a 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:09.240 certain way, specifically to conform to societal norms. Like you 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.120 stay over in that space, but on what you know, 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:16.080 don't come over into my space unless you're ready to 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:20.480 like adhere to like the white gaze of what accessibility 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:23.280 may mean or equity may mean. It's like they really 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:28.840 want to uphold like our like our blackness, our brownness, 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:32.400 but they're not necessarily ready to like uphold all of 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:37.960 the ways that we can exist authentically within spaces, academic spaces, 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:42.560 community spaces, in the home, on the media, and so 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:48.640 we're constantly at war with the media for not necessarily 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:54.520 portraying us in a very positive, uplifting light. Oftentimes, you 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:59.960 don't even herald or honor or celebrate anyone who's disabled 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.720 until they've been shot, or until they've been murdered, until 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:07.439 they've been eliminated from the picture, until they've taken their 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.600 own life, which is what I really talk a lot about, 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.720 like in my own personal work. You know. You know, 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:20.320 Isabel trician Or from Utah last November, only ten years old. Unfortunately, 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:24.400 you know, was a victim of racism, you know, within 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.800 her school system, and we barely heard about it in 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:31.200 the media, you know, en you know, the fact that 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:35.240 her family really had to fight year after year to 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.320 make sure that she had the resources that she needed 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:41.240 within the school system, to kind of make sure that herself, 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:45.800 as an autistic little girl, was being honored and you know, 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.400 celebrated or just being accepted for just coming to school 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:53.160 as an autistic kid and not necessarily being victimized by 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.440 constant bullying to the point where she just felt less 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.960 than less than human. You know, she didn't feel value 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:04.520 for being you know, an amazing person, and the fact 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.680 that she felt that she had to completely you know, 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:12.680 erase herself from the equation UM was really heartbreaking because 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.120 you know, I am a mother of an autistic kid, 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.400 and so a lot of what I do and what 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.480 I talk about is making sure that you know, our 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.280 kids are being uplifted because we know that they are 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.800 subject to erasure even while they're alive. You know, we 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:32.280 there's there's there's this very kind of like one model 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.160 of what an autistic hid is or what a neurodivergent 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:38.600 person is, and it's a very white, you know, kind 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:43.960 of supremacist space where we only think that white autistic 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.360 people can uplift these spaces, and we think that they're 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:53.080 the authority, or maybe doctors and clinicians versus community organizers 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:58.160 versus families versus actual autistic people and actual neurodivergent people, 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.560 like they are the authority, like they are the true 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:05.800 experts to uplift what they're experiencing in their everyday lives. 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:12.479 You know, I it's so important to show the diversity 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:17.960 within our within you know, the BIPOC community, because I 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:21.800 think that to your point, when we talk about mental 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:27.680 health in general, when we talk about UM different abilities 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:31.000 and or disabilities, it is always framed in the context 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:35.240 of being white, right. And it was my sister, my 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.920 both my sister and I m. One of our degrees 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.040 is in early childhood education, and we had both gone 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:45.080 into special education many many, many years ago. My sister 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.800 is still an educator. I use my degree differently now, 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:55.240 but you know it, the whole point of our of 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.560 our master's program was to figure out how to best 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:02.000 work with families who are not represented like in their 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.840 community at large, which meant, you know, children of immigrants, 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:11.879 which meant um, you know, children from different socioeconomic backgrounds, um, 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:17.000 but that were that had that were differently abledum. And 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.680 what I found is that even in those conversations and 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.520 resources that we were looking for at that time, and 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:26.120 this is this is you know, decades plus ago, it 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.040 was very white centered, right. It was like in the 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:32.959 white mommy group, you know, talking about um, you know, 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.720 autism in a way that was very exclusive right to 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.679 in a certain elite class of people. And so you know, 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:49.560 for those parents and caregivers of UM, of children that 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:54.160 are differently able, who are also children of color, how 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:59.600 do you speak to them about how they how they 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:04.600 can act with their children, on how society sees them 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:06.919 and how they see themselves. I mean, the story that 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:10.720 you just told is heartbreaking, right, because that all anybody 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:14.280 ever wants that I understand, is to be heard and 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:17.840 to be seen, just to be valued by virtue, not 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.679 by what we produce, but just by virtue of our existence. 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:24.359 And so how do you deal how do you help, 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:27.959 you know, through through your work or you know, by 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.520 virtue of your art, but also in conversation parents that 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:34.920 are struggling with their children that have that live at 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:40.080 the intersection of multiple identities that are discriminated against. Yeah, 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.320 and it's such an important question. And first of all, 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.719 I when I'm chatting with parents, or even when I'm 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:49.560 chatting with you know, my own son, I let him 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.600 know right away that disability is not a bad word. 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.800 And we don't we don't necessarily have to dance around 0:18:55.960 --> 0:19:00.800 trying to come up with terms that erase the word 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:04.800 disability completely. And you had said differently able us And 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.720 it's a way, it's it's almost like a way of 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:12.760 sure where you're you're trying to acknowledge that they operate 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:15.160 in a different way and that they still have abilities. 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:20.000 But the word disability itself needs to continue to be 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:23.560 reclaimed by the actual disability community so that we can 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:26.200 uplift it. I mean literally, the word is written into 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:31.280 law so that disabled folks won't face that discrimination. So 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.960 we can say it, we can we can actually uplift 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:38.240 it and declare it as a call to action. You 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:41.280 know that I am black and brown, disabled and powerful 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:46.440 and beautiful and almost you know, affirming that within ourselves 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.639 for those who identify as having a disability, and affirming 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:54.560 that within our kids. The minute that they step out 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:57.400 of the home every single day to go into that 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:01.480 war zone and when they come back, you know, from 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:04.800 that war zone into the home, what are they experiencing. 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:09.679 Are they experiencing acceptance? Are they experiencing, you know, a 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:13.000 space where they feel whole and not broken and not 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:18.879 necessarily you know, you know, I'm a broken human. I'm 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.400 a broken being because I'm not like everyone else. Therefore 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:26.159 I need to be fixed. Because that's constantly what my community, 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:29.639 what my family is telling me that I need to 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:34.320 be fixed, unbroken, I need to be cured. And those 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:38.760 are the constant dialogues that I'm having with parents, with educators, 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:43.960 and I really felt the need to continue to author, 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:49.080 to write, to create acts of creative resistance. So whether 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:53.240 it's you know, posters that can be used at protests, 0:20:54.680 --> 0:21:00.560 language justice based graphics and designs that can be you know, 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:05.600 shown in classrooms or or maybe even taken into IEP meetings. 0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:10.480 Things that I've created, Things that my son and myself 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:14.000 that we author together to take into the first day 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:17.840 of classes, that he can give to his school, that 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:19.520 he can give to his teacher, he can give to 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:22.600 his school counsel or his special educator. And it's really 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:24.880 nice because what I do is I create like these 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:28.919 fun little zines. And so I've been making these since 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:33.280 Knox was in the first grade. When he was diagnosed 0:21:33.320 --> 0:21:36.600 as autistic, I knew right away, Okay, so how are 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:41.200 we going to help to reframe this message of autism 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:45.080 knowing that, you know, educators already have stigmas and they 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:49.399 have their very clinical idea of how to interact with 0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:51.920 these students, But how do we also interact with them 0:21:52.119 --> 0:21:56.040 as human beings, you know? Period. Yeah, And so what 0:21:56.200 --> 0:21:58.880 this zine says, and it's like a little four by 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:01.560 five booklet, and on the front of it it says, HI, 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:04.639 my name is Kevin, and you can call me Knox. 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:09.840 And on the inside it, for it has a basic 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:15.720 little manifesto that you know, like very intentionally declares, I 0:22:15.760 --> 0:22:18.919 hope this book helps you get to know me. I'm autistic. 0:22:19.000 --> 0:22:21.919 I was diagnosed when I was three. I'm very happy 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:24.479 and full of energy, and I tend to speak very fast, 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:28.239 and essentially I'm talking about myself because my son and 0:22:28.280 --> 0:22:31.679 I were both neuro divergent. So it was very easy 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:35.600 for us to come together to write this because essentially 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:38.200 I was it was helping me learn so much about 0:22:38.200 --> 0:22:42.120 myself in ways that I was not given the authority 0:22:42.240 --> 0:22:46.800 to uplift when I was a kid because ADHD autism. 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:50.280 It looks very differently a little black and brown girls oftentime. 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:53.280 You know, if we're not over exuberant and full of 0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:57.080 energy and very colorful, maybe we are very literal and 0:22:57.200 --> 0:23:00.600 very exact and very bossy and very much you know, 0:23:00.680 --> 0:23:02.399 we have like a little bit of that fire and 0:23:02.440 --> 0:23:06.159 a little bit of an attitude that's always misinterpreted or 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:10.320 very you know, we have to constantly be redirected instead 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.440 of being put in places of power and being put 0:23:13.480 --> 0:23:17.680 in places of love. And so this book really gave 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:20.320 me an opportunity to talk a little bit about the 0:23:20.400 --> 0:23:24.040 things that he loves, understanding the way his body moves, 0:23:24.520 --> 0:23:27.160 Understanding the way that we speak to him at home, 0:23:27.200 --> 0:23:31.160 Like we encourage, you know, stimming, which can often be 0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:35.119 like a very kind of actionable behavioral response to maybe 0:23:35.800 --> 0:23:39.879 helping to kind of not necessarily cope, but maybe to 0:23:40.000 --> 0:23:45.320 kind of, I don't know, maybe like react in an environment. 0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:47.560 So sometimes you may see a lot of autistic people 0:23:47.760 --> 0:23:51.040 or folks that are neurodivergent, or folks that are dealing 0:23:51.040 --> 0:23:54.560 with some sort of anxiety, like they move and it 0:23:54.560 --> 0:23:57.520 gives them the opportunity to kind of like exhibit their 0:23:57.640 --> 0:24:00.880 energy in a different way, and it's all so very calming, 0:24:01.000 --> 0:24:04.560 and it's also a way of self regulation. And so 0:24:04.640 --> 0:24:07.200 as long as he's not harming anyone when he's kind 0:24:07.200 --> 0:24:10.120 of rocking and moving, we let him do it. Like, yeah, 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:12.600 if that's like his way of calming, if that's his 0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:15.800 ways of showing some excitement, we do it. And sometimes 0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:18.520 I find myself doing that, like I kind of move, 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:21.280 I lean over a little bit, or I fidget a 0:24:21.359 --> 0:24:23.920 little bit with like my hair, or so I try 0:24:23.960 --> 0:24:26.639 to have like stem toys around me, like fidget toys. 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:30.280 And you'll see a lot of actual autistic folks within 0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:35.480 within the creative community, you know, creating kits like stem 0:24:35.560 --> 0:24:38.400 kits and things that they can use to kind of 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.840 provide some sort of calm when they're in a very stressful, 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:45.680 heavy situation, or maybe they're in allowed situation, or maybe 0:24:45.680 --> 0:24:50.600 they're in an overstimulating situation and they need things to 0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:53.199 be able to hold on to. But those things are 0:24:53.240 --> 0:24:57.119 almost are also calming mechanisms for neurotypical people too, people 0:24:57.119 --> 0:25:01.160 who don't necessarily identify as neurodivergence. Like we all need 0:25:01.200 --> 0:25:04.680 like calming techniques. All, That's all. I was speaking as 0:25:04.680 --> 0:25:06.320 you were saying that, I was just like, no, there 0:25:06.359 --> 0:25:09.879 are that that that I do that I have rituals 0:25:09.920 --> 0:25:13.000 that I've created in order to you know, come back 0:25:13.280 --> 0:25:16.920 resenter to a place of calm. Right, And so the 0:25:16.920 --> 0:25:21.040 book continues to talk about his challenges um you know, 0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:24.200 things that you know, like dark and closed spaces with 0:25:24.240 --> 0:25:28.520 loud noises and needing to use his noise cancelation headphones, 0:25:28.600 --> 0:25:31.919 and and even when people are speaking with me, I 0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:34.919 always there's like a disclaimer. I'm like, will you please 0:25:35.000 --> 0:25:38.919 provide transcripts or captions to this talk? Will you allow 0:25:39.520 --> 0:25:42.000 UM can you help redirect me so that I can 0:25:42.040 --> 0:25:46.040 stay focused. Um, can you? Sometimes I can be impulsive 0:25:46.119 --> 0:25:49.720 or very hyperactive and get easily distracted, but please don't 0:25:49.720 --> 0:25:53.399 be necessarily offended by by by that behavior. It's just 0:25:53.520 --> 0:25:55.879 very much rooted in like my body mind and the 0:25:55.920 --> 0:25:59.440 way that that I responded and react. Um. And then 0:25:59.440 --> 0:26:02.560 it includes ways that you know, he can be helped 0:26:02.560 --> 0:26:05.800 in the classroom, like he needs breaks, like sensory breaks, 0:26:05.880 --> 0:26:08.840 movement breaks. You know, make sure that you're very direct 0:26:08.880 --> 0:26:12.880 and simple sentences, give him visual cues. He responds really 0:26:12.880 --> 0:26:16.080 well to like folks that are very positive and full 0:26:16.080 --> 0:26:21.000 of energy, you know, because neurotypical people, I mean, we 0:26:21.520 --> 0:26:24.280 get there's the stigma that you know, we can't read 0:26:24.359 --> 0:26:27.320 in between the lines and that we don't understand sarcasm, 0:26:28.040 --> 0:26:31.560 but we do understand when someone is very angry and 0:26:31.600 --> 0:26:35.359 when someone is very sad, and when someone's happy, and 0:26:35.440 --> 0:26:39.960 those things fuel us, you know, which is why you know, 0:26:40.040 --> 0:26:42.760 there's the stigma that we're not friendly, and you know, 0:26:42.840 --> 0:26:46.800 we're very kind of standoffish, but making friends and being 0:26:46.800 --> 0:26:50.240 in community with other folks that are similar to us 0:26:50.640 --> 0:26:53.400 is really like our safe place, and it's really like 0:26:53.520 --> 0:26:57.560 our happy space where we can have conversations. Sometimes we 0:26:58.240 --> 0:27:01.119 talk too much, and and we love being around people 0:27:01.200 --> 0:27:03.640 so much that it that sometimes we need to give 0:27:03.680 --> 0:27:07.119 ourselves a little bit of a room to breathe and 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:09.480 like kind of be by ourselves for a little minute 0:27:10.200 --> 0:27:13.080 so that we can kind of collect collect our energy 0:27:13.440 --> 0:27:15.800 and not give so much of it away, but you know, 0:27:15.880 --> 0:27:25.120 learning how to actually channel their energy. Yeah. Indisputable with 0:27:25.240 --> 0:27:28.080 Doctor rashad Ricci is one of the latest shows on 0:27:28.119 --> 0:27:31.680 the TYT Network and also the fastest growing news show 0:27:31.720 --> 0:27:35.600 in America. On his show, Doctor Ricci plays no games 0:27:35.600 --> 0:27:38.960