Hacking Autism

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The Hacking Autism podcast is all about how to make Autism your unfair advantage, told through the voices of fellow people on the Autism spectrum. In today's episode, I speak with Christopher Lutz about how he's made Autism a strength instead of a deficit. Say hello to us on Instagram @hackingautismpodcast Check out the YouTube channel with bonus content https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6P_oLPWdNbH62g4H_w4XVw?view_as=new --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

Check out all the other amazing episodes from earlier this season. I'll see you guys later this summer. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

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Number one, the ability to focus. Focus can be one of the more obvious traits found with someone on the spectrum, but when it comes to being self employed there are infinite directions you can take. Focusing on executing the very thing in front of you is key to long term success. Focusing on the right things, and going 10 miles deep to find the best answer has really served me well in my software testing business Spectrum QA. As an entrepreneur you need to learn about tedious things like unemployment insurance and reading through legal contracts. Often this can be overwhelming to anyone starting a business, but by leveraging my superpower of focus I am able to knock one thing out after another, before you know it you’ve hit your critical milestones for the week, or caught an unfavorable contract clause someone tried to slide past you. Number two, thinking outside the box. Spectrum brains are powerful and by default differently wired. Do yourself a favor and google an Autistic brain vs non-autistic brain. I think you’ll be very encouraged with what you’ll see. For those of you driving right now, I’ll help you out. The spectrum mind has seemingly 10x the neural connections of the other brain. In business you can use this to your advantage to think of new ways to sell your product or service. Innovation is the name of the game, and so I’ve been very cognizant from the onset of my business to ask the question, how do most people solve this problem, and how could I rewrite the book when it comes to providing best in class testing support for growing companies? The answer, go way up stream to the root of the issue to ensure a better outcome for all stakeholders. Another example of thinking outside of the box in my company, is leveraging a team of people on the spectrum as a competitive advantage for finding bugs in software. Most QA companies compete on price, but I don’t want to be caught in a race to the bottom. Thinking outside of the box I asked myself, what if I hire the best testers in the world in a group of people most overlook, or would never be considered for the job in the first place? 9 years ago I read an article in the Economist magazine about European QA companies exclusively staffed by people on the spectrum. The amazing news? They were crushing the competition because of their ability to focus and be exceedingly forthright about their test results. Today there are more companies like that popping up, which is phenomenal, but I wanted to take that a step further. So I decided to become the first spectrum led and spectrum staffed qa company. However, I think it would be a disservice to create a neurological echo chamber, and so its my plan to have a blended team of people on and off the spectrum so that both groups can grow in empathy as they work together daily. Number three expertise. Fellow spectrum dwellers, there are probably several core topics you know better than 99% of the population. Perhaps its the Titanic, a personal favorite topic, or Sino-American trade policy, another personal fav. You could create a podcast, youtube channel, or class on that very topic. I’ve heard it said the riches are in the niches, and what that means is people that care about very specific things like software engineers enjoying powerlifting. They tend to love apparel with phrases that only people of that subcategory would understand. You could build an entire business around one of your passions because you’re a bonafide expert on the topic and going to work is not a chore because you love it so much. As an aside, who would have thought 10 years ago video game players would make an income comparable to a pro athlete? If you know of any pro-gamers on the spectrum please let me know because I’d love to do a podcast on that topic. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

Tyler and I talk about marriage to a woman with Aspergers, and how to navigate active and passive touch when your husband’s love language is touch. It’s a funny and intimate look at how we do married life doing our best to hack life with Autism.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

I met Maisie through Instagram and we became fast friends as we realized that we had similar goals when it came to finding gainful employment for people on the Autism spectrum. In this conversation, we talk about her professional coaching work with parents of kids on the spectrum, her son who has spectrum tendencies, and lastly we talk about her amazing Autism Career Pathways job pilot to bridge the gap between small business and those on the spectrum looking for employment. Don't miss this episode of Hacking Autism Podcast. Check out https://www.instagram.com/asdcareerpathways/ and https://linktr.ee/maisiesoetantyo --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

In this episode of the Hacking Autism podcast, I sit with Daniel Jones of the Aspie World Youtube channel to talk about life #onthespectrum, autism in the context of social media, and some fast rapid-fire questions to wrap up our time.  Dan's YouTube channel Dan's Instagram @theaspieworld Dan's Twitter @theaspieworld --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

What if you could turn your diagnosis on its head to see your Autism as an advantage no matter where you are on the spectrum. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

Ashley and I sit down for the second part of our conversation to discuss what it means to adult with Asperger's and getting diagnosed later in life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

In this conversation, we dive into the topic surrounding active and passive touch. Do you have someone in your life that doesn't respect your preferences when it comes to hugs or touch in general? How do you address that in a loving way respecting your sensory needs while allowing to you live a life of connection? Connect with us on Instagram @hackingautismpodcast Twitter: @ihackautism YouTube: @kelseyterry --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

I sit down and chat with my second and biggest monster, marketing professional and model Kelli Schutrop. We talk about the evolution of our friendship and growing apart because I was overwhelmed by her ability to thrive in areas where I had significant weakness. Over the course of our conversation, we make a starling discovery about ourselves in the process, and it changes our perspective on everything. So give it a listen, you watch us on YouTube. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

I recently introduced you to my hero Rebekah where we discussed the differences in care across cultures and you should definitely give it a listen if you haven’t already. Today I want you to meet a monster of mine. Now I’d like to acknowledge you shouldn’t call other kids on the playground a monster, so don’t try that one at home. However, I emphatically love using metaphors in daily life. So let me tell you what a “monster” is to me, and perhaps a few people might come to mind in your own life. A monster is someone that seems to crush life with seemingly little to no effort. They might be the popular kid in school, or the person that always aces their O-Chem labs. Whatever your monster seems to do flawlessly, they often make you anxious because they’re just— so— good at it all. At least that was how I felt. In today’s episode of Hacking Autism, I interview one of many monsters in my life. We dialogue about the evolution of our friendship which started in angst and trepidation to where we are now close friends that no longer have a barrier of fear between us. This episode’s theme was a life lesson evolving over the course of 9 years, and I think everyone could benefit from giving this a listen. This episode is longer than usual, but how often do you get almost a decade wisdom distilled into an hour? YouTube Instragram Sponsor: Spectrum QA --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

Director of Hope Station joins us for a discussion of providing care for special needs children across cultures and the ultimate thing every child needs. This is also in video format, on YouTube. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

In this episode I discuss some of the hard won life lessons learned in college and after graduation. These are the things I would have told myself when it came to tackling high school with High Functioning Autism/Aspergers. Check out the vlog on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message

In this episode of Hacking Autism we cover what the show is about. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hacking-autism-podcast/message