Tim Goldstein, Autistic Philosopher of Neurodiversity: Life in the Neuro Cloud™

No, this is not another podcast that simply ends without getting any new episodes. But I have been dealing with some life complications and as is not unique most of it dealt with ever present drama of being employed. I could go on about the details but will simply say that the company culture I so loved at my job is simply a memory as they have made it clear that employees are just tools to get to the profits that are the only thing that matters. But enough about me for now.In this special and unique episode I recorded a what was supposed to be a conversation but turned out more like a lecture with my great friend Rhonda Moore PhD The conversation started out with Rhonda mentioning she would soon be giving a presentation on communication and she asked if I could point out any of my podcasts or videos that had some of my insight. Because there are a number of thoughts about communication I hadn't taken the time or had the chance to present or record I took this as an opportunity to finally capture them. So I turned on a recording mic I had sitting on my desk and recorded the audio of our Zoom meeting. Listening to it afterwards as I was preparing to send it to my Ai Tim Clone as additional training of the generative Ai clone I decided I liked it so much it would be a great episode to restart my podcast.So sit back with your favorite beverage and listen in to my ad lib dissertation on communication and a number of the far less obvious but simple reasons it often fails. A great quote I have posted in my office and like to think about when dealing with communication is from George Bernard Shaw "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion it has taken place."

Ed Thompson from Uptimize.com and I go back to the early days when the few involved were focused on Autism at Work. This episode is a unique twist in that Ed is the host and I am the guest! This came about because Ed had me as a guest on the Uptimize fireside chat webinar series. The content came out so well I asked Ed if I could use the audio as a podcast episode. So here it is.To reach Uptimize, Ed, and his team head over to Uptimize.com

This episode continues Tim's chat with Danny. After years of hearing about Danny and T.A.C.T., we catch up with Danny Combs. Danny was a successful Nashville Musician and a Music Educator and then an idea struck him that completely changed his life.Generations of Danny's family built great careers working with their hands in the trades. He recognized that not all autistic individuals are going to be amazing computer programers despite what many organizations have promoted. His idea was to teach hands on trade skills in the belief that a large segment of autistics could build solid, well paying careers doing the jobs much of American education has forgotten. The result is Colorado based T.A.C.T. (Teaching the Autistic Community Trades). In the 7 years since he began working out of a van he has grown the program to its new home in a beautiful facility teaching a range for trades. His placement rate for graduates is in the high 80% range with high quality career jobs. If creating a successful career program for autistics isn't enough he is also one of the co-founders of the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce. Believed to be the first chamber of commerce created around neurodiversity, it has attracted the interest of companies large and small.Join us for a 2 episode chat with Danny Combs.T.A.C.T.https://www.buildwithtact.org/      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildwithtact     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tactkidsorg/     LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tact-kids-inc     YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRZYpkaoUfVDW5GpD8sg-nAColorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commercehttps://www.cndcc.org/Contact Dannydanny@buildwithtact.org

In this episode, after years of hearing about Danny and T.A.C.T., we catch up with Danny Combs. Danny was a successful Nashville Musician and a Music Educator and then an idea struck him that completely changed his life.Generations of Danny's family built great careers working with their hands in the trades. He recognized that not all autistic individuals are going to be amazing computer programers despite what many organizations have promoted. His idea was to teach hands on trade skills in the belief that a large segment of autistics could build solid, well paying careers doing the jobs much of American education has forgotten. The result is Colorado based T.A.C.T. (Teaching the Autistic Community Trades). In the 7 years since he began working out of a van he has grown the program to its new home in a beautiful facility teaching a range for trades. His placement rate for graduates is in the high 80% range with high quality career jobs. If creating a successful career program for autistics isn't enough he is also one of the co-founders of the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce. Believed to be the first chamber of commerce created around neurodiversity, it has attracted the interest of companies large and small.Join us for a 2 episode chat with Danny Combs.T.A.C.T.https://www.buildwithtact.org/      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildwithtact     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tactkidsorg/     LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tact-kids-inc     YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRZYpkaoUfVDW5GpD8sg-nAColorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commercehttps://www.cndcc.org/Contact Dannydanny@buildwithtact.org

I had a very enjoyable and informative conversation with Genie Love. While Genie's background is in special education where she worked extensively with high school students, it also has some very interesting twists and turns that helped create the unique perspective she brings to her coaching of adults.One point that came up which I believe in deeply, and so does Genie, is that it doesn't matter what condition label is attached to someone, it is the behaviors we need to be concerned with. If the problem is blurting out in group discussions does it really matter if they are autistic, ADHD, or neurotypical? Regardless of the label the behavior is what the focus needs to be on, not which of all the factors in a human is causing it to happen.Enjoy a great conversation with one of the few coach focused on helping neurodistinct adults and particularly working neurodistinct adults. https://www.genielove.coachhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/genie-love-beyond-coachinggenie@genielove.coach

This was a super enjoyable episode to record for multiple reasons. Angela Powell has a super upbeat and infectious personality which is a great start. Based on her families experience with her son Charlie and the way the medical culture and schools systems recommended she learned that at least for Charlie the approaches were ineffective at best. One of the statements she made that really struck me was that she and her husband came to realize it wasn't Charlie that needed therapy, but her and her husband. This realization revolutionized their view of autism and the approaches that would best enable Charlie to grow to be the adult able to become all is capable of.After their extensive efforts to find resource which could help them to support Charlie and allow him to flourish, Angela saw the need to help parents find the information and services they need to support their child from the perspective of the neurodiversity culture instead of the disability culture. Being the motivated and caring person she is Mad Charlie Inc was created to fill this need.Join Angela and Tim as they talk about what lead to the creation of Mad Charlie Inc, experiences with Charlie and the amazing change when they moved away from the disability/deficit model. Join Tim for a delightful and educational conversation with the amazing Angela Powell.Contact information:Website: madcharlieinc.comInstagram: @madcharlieincFacebook: Mad Charlie IncLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-powell-madcharlieinc

Here is the bio Karen sent me. Having known her for a number of years I can assure you it is very modest compared to the contributions she has made and the people she has helped. In our chat we cover some of the other things Karen has done which are not reflected in the below bio.In 1998, Karen Simmons a mother of seven, founded Autism Today, the first online global autism resource center, winning the Internet Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001 from Multiple Streams of Income. Featured on PBS, ABC & Woman's World, she is a “Chicken Soup for the Soul, Children with Special Needs” Co-Author and manifested 14 books including Gold Medal winning “The Official Autism 101 Manual” and hosted 72 conferences across North America.Prior to her current path, Karen worked as a gemologist where she discovered the magic of gemstones. She joined the US Air Force, where she worked in a base hospital and lived across the United States.Karen now lives in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, is transitioning Autism Today into a non profit, Autism Today Foundation with her partner Vincent dela Luna. They plan to share information through a Channel, ARTS network and Learning & Education Division. This will easily and affordably provide resources that are needed to the autism world and beyond.karen@autismtoday.comkaren@autissmtoday.cahttps://autismtoday.com/

Here is the bio Karen sent me. Having known her for a number of years I can assure you it is very modest compared to the contributions she has made and the people she has helped. In our chat we cover some of the other things Karen has done which are not reflected in the below bio.In 1998, Karen Simmons a mother of seven, founded Autism Today, the first online global autism resource center, winning the Internet Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001 from Multiple Streams of Income. Featured on PBS, ABC & Woman's World, she is a “Chicken Soup for the Soul, Children with Special Needs” Co-Author and manifested 14 books including Gold Medal winning “The Official Autism 101 Manual” and hosted 72 conferences across North America.Prior to her current path, Karen worked as a gemologist where she discovered the magic of gemstones. She joined the US Air Force, where she worked in a base hospital and lived across the United States.Karen now lives in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, is transitioning Autism Today into a non profit, Autism Today Foundation with her partner Vincent dela Luna. They plan to share information through a Channel, ARTS network and Learning & Education Division. This will easily and affordably provide resources that are needed to the autism world and beyond.karen@autismtoday.comkaren@autissmtoday.cahttps://autismtoday.com/

Peter and I had a great time talking. I am convinced I would have a great time handing out with him! Below is his formal bio.Peter Mann is the CEO & Founder of Virginia-based Oransi, a leading air purification company known for its efficient, intuitive and reliable products for consumers, schools, organizations and businesses. He also is the Chair of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers' Air Cleaner Council. In 2021, Oransi merged with Aviemore Technologies and is now a motor technology company with a clean energy mission. Oransi's new manufacturing facility in Radford, Virginia is making products in the USA with advanced motor technologies. Previously, Peter was the Founder & CEO of the Austin, Texas-based Alen Corp., an air purification company he built, and after 7 years had a successful exit. He went to college on a Navy ROTC scholarship and then served 4 years, including a tour in the Red Sea during the First Gulf War. He was a communications officer and then gunnery officer on the USS McCandless. Peter is late diagnosed autistic and now advocates for autism awareness in the workplace. Connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-mann/

OPPS, Sorry if you got a corrupted download. I was trying some beta software and somewhere along the way missed a very poor file. A new clean version is now available.Peter and I had a great time talking. I am convinced I would have a great time handing out with him! Below is his formal bio.Peter Mann is the CEO & Founder of Virginia-based Oransi, a leading air purification company known for its efficient, intuitive and reliable products for consumers, schools, organizations and businesses. He also is the Chair of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers' Air Cleaner Council. In 2021, Oransi merged with Aviemore Technologies and is now a motor technology company with a clean energy mission. Oransi's new manufacturing facility in Radford, Virginia is making products in the USA with advanced motor technologies. Previously, Peter was the Founder & CEO of the Austin, Texas-based Alen Corp., an air purification company he built, and after 7 years had a successful exit. He went to college on a Navy ROTC scholarship and then served 4 years, including a tour in the Red Sea during the First Gulf War. He was a communications officer and then gunnery officer on the USS McCandless. Peter is late diagnosed autistic and now advocates for autism awareness in the workplace. Connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-mann/

Theo Smith is the co-author of the Business Book Awards Winner for best book in DE&I ‘Neurodiversity At Work: Drive innovation, performance and productivity with a neurodiverse workforce'. He's worked in the recruitment and employment sector as a leader for over 15 years.He brings plenty of lived experience to ND at work, as someone who associates with being ND, Dyslexic, ADHD, Autistic and… He is also the Dad of a neurologically diverse family.I had a great time chatting with Theo. Besides being a bright guy to chat with on a range of topics, Theo brings the understanding of needing to meet those wanting to learn about neurodiversity and become neuroinclusive where they are at. No radical agendas or making neurotypicals feel bad to boost the neurodistinct. As you will hear Theo bring clear straight forward thought and dialogue to our tremendously enjoyable discussion.ND by Design50 Neurodiversity Evangelists to follow Globally in 202380 Neurodiversity Evangelists to follow UK in 2023ND at Workhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/theosmithuk/

Theo Smith is the co-author of the Business Book Awards Winner for best book in DE&I ‘Neurodiversity At Work: Drive innovation, performance and productivity with a neurodiverse workforce'. He's worked in the recruitment and employment sector as a leader for over 15 years.He brings plenty of lived experience to ND at work, as someone who associates with being ND, Dyslexic, ADHD, Autistic and… He is also the Dad of a neurologically diverse family.I had a great time chatting with Theo. Besides being a bright guy to chat with on a range of topics, Theo brings the understanding of needing to meet those wanting to learn about neurodiversity and become neuroinclusive where they are at. No radical agendas or making neurotypicals feel bad to boost the neurodistinct. As you will hear Theo bring clear straight forward thought and dialogue to our tremendously enjoyable discussion.ND by Design50 Neurodiversity Evangelists to follow Globally in 202380 Neurodiversity Evangelists to follow UK in 2023ND at Workhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/theosmithuk/

I think Rebecca Beam is one of the most knowledgeable people around when it comes to neurodistinct and particularly autistic employment. Starting before it became a "thing" with global tech companies Rebecca was a co-founder of Mindspark which trained and employed autistic individuals to do QA work for major companies.When Mindspark was sold to Auticon https://smmirror.com/2018/06/santa-monica-company-acquired-by-leading-employer-of-people-with-autism/ Rebecca became the president and CEO of Auticon USA. She has again founded a new company Zavikon https://www.zavikon.net/ to help individuals find the right career and companies to find the right talent.Join us as we discuss neurodistinct employment and some of the ways Rebecca is helping individuals find career jobs though the training and support Zavikon provides.You can learn more about Zavikon and contact them at:https://www.zavikon.net/or reach Rebecca at:rebecca@zavikon.net 

With employment for autistic and other neurodistinct individuals now a very hot topic many different approaches are being tried. There is the Autism, now labeled Neurodiversity, at work efforts of some of the largest companies in the world to small mom & pops. From the other direction there are programs springing up trying to figure out how to train and prepare these individuals to join the workforce or move up to a job that meets their skills. Stacey comes from an organization that has already figured it out.nonPareil is a non profit group founded by 2 dads with autistic children in 2010. Stacey is also the dad of an autistic child. He works to further nonPareil's goal of "Building Better Futures for Adults with Autism" and growing the organization. They now have 4 locations and the complete program online for those who are not near their facilities. New buildings are being built and states and cities are asking to have a branch to help the autistic in their area.Listen in as Stacy and Tim talk about nonPareil, autism in the workplace, and many other topics. This is episode 1 of a 2 episode session. Listen, enjoy, and be impressed with the amazing work Stacey and nonPareil are doing.Stacey Ford's Email : sford@npitx.orgnon-Pareil website : https://npusa.org/

With employment for autistic and other neurodistinct individuals now a very hot topic many different approaches are being tried. There is the Autism, now labeled Neurodiversity, at work efforts of some of the largest companies in the world to small mom & pops. From the other direction there are programs springing up trying to figure out how to train and prepare these individuals to join the workforce or move up to a job that meets their skills. Stacey comes from an organization that has already figured it out.nonPareil is a non profit group founded by 2 dads with autistic children in 2010. Stacey is also the dad of an autistic child. He works to further nonPareil's goal of "Building Better Futures for Adults with Autism" and growing the organization. They now have 4 locations and the complete program online for those who are not near their facilities. New buildings are being built and states and cities are asking to have a branch to help the autistic in their area.Listen in as Stacy and Tim talk about nonPareil, autism in the workplace, and many other topics. This is episode 1 of a 2 episode session. Listen, enjoy, and be impressed with the amazing work Stacey and nonPareil are doing.Stacey Ford's Email : sford@npitx.orgnon-Pareil website : https://npusa.org/

Dr Lutza Ireland is an Autistic/ADHD multi-award-winning social designer, psychologist and international speaker located in Australia. Her design guidelines and trainings have been integrated into national and international organizations looking to build capability for neuroinclusion and mental health. She uses design thinking and co-design methods to develop systems, services and resources for cognitive and sensory accessibility, based on universal design. Dr Lutza currently specialises in the design, implementation and consultancy on neurodiversity employment pilots; and design of neurodiversity and mental health related learning and development (L&D) services and materials. Clients and collaborations include Accenture, Avanade, Google and Rio Tinto.Dr Ireland can be reached through her LinkedIn page:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-lutza-ireland-5b028116b/

This is the second episode of my enjoyable and informative discussion with Maisie. If you missed the first episode check it out at:https://www.buzzsprout.com/451957/episodes/11618327Maisie Soetantyo brings a unique viewpoint to the autism community. She started working with autistic individuals in college and too it up as her career. So she has an academic foundation for understanding autism and then many years of working with the autistic professionally. But when she learned her son was autistic it brought an entirely new perspective to her understanding of autism.Maisie is the founder of Autism Career Pathways and now helps autistic individuals to join the workforce. Listen in and learn how her understanding changed and grew when autism came to her own home.You can find more about Autism Career Pathways at:https://autismcareerpathways.org or email Maisie at:maisie@autismcareerpathways.com

Maisie Soetantyo brings a unique viewpoint to the autism community. She started working with autistic individuals in college and too it up as her career. So she has an academic foundation for understanding autism and then many years of working with the autistic professionally. But when she learned her son was autistic it brought an entirely new perspective to her understanding of autism.Maisie is the founder of Autism Career Pathways and now helps autistic individuals to join the workforce. Listen in and learn how her understanding changed and grew when autism came to her own home.Our discussion was so informative and enjoyable there is a second episode with the rest of our discussion.You can find more about Autism Career Pathways at:https://autismcareerpathways.org or email Maisie at:maisie@autismcareerpathways.com

During the years I have been involved with neurodiversity I have had the opportunity to meet, collaborate with, and become friends with many of the leaders and innovators in what started as the autism at work movement which has evolved to become the neurodiversity at work movement. There were far less of us then. One of those who has been a leader from early in the movement is Ed Thompson, founder of Uptimize. Uptimize has been the leading provider of training for companies globally for much longer than most people even heard the word neurodiversity. They bring the power of neuroinclusion to the workplace,optimize culture, processes and environments to enable every type of thinker to thrive.I have the honor and privilege to be one of there global subject matter experts. Besides being an advisor this also allows me to occasionally do presentations and trainings as an Uptimize representative. This episode is a recording of a virtual presentation I gave in Oct. 2022 to a major health care provider which serves approximately 200,000 patients in the US. It is what Uptimize calls a Lunch & Learn and many of us would call a Neurodiversity 101 presentation.Listen in as they start learning about neurodiversity and neuroinclusion as their first step to add the neurodistinct to their already extensive diversity focus and programs.

Due to life taking me on a journey I wasn't looking for I have some great episodes which were recorded in 2019 and never released. I am finally able to get back to releasing more episodes and am starting with the great unused material I recorded about 3 years ago.Mel is enjoyable to listen too and we went down many paths frequently jumping from one topic to another. Mel is the person who got me to understand that a person cannot be neurodiverse as it is an adverb dealing with the makeup of a group. Like many still do I was using the term as a noun for non-neurotypical. This is prior to my coining the term neurodistinct for us non-neurotypical individuals. I have changed some of my thoughts and terminology in the 3 years since this was recorded. But it still has a great discussion and many of Mel's interesting insights.PlanetND Website, the URL has changed to https://www.planetneurodivergent.com instead of the one Mel gave in the podcast. You can find out more about Mel on her professional website MelHowton.com

This is the audio track of a presentation I did for BACEmploy.com and their students in their LaunchIT program. This program trains autistic adults and veterans with PTSD the technologies to become Google certified.This is an amazing program and Susan who runs it does a wonderful job teaching not only the tech, but the skills to be a successful employee. If you want to see the video version with the presentation deck head to my site at:  https://timgoldsteinmedia.mykajabi.com/blog/interviewingFor more interviewing help and tips check out my book "Geeks Guide to Interviews: 15 Critical Items for the tech type" Available on Amazon

I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Church Mutual  ( www.churchmutual.com ) for Disability Awareness Month. They currently sponsor 2 Paralympic athletes, 1 a skier who uses a wheelchair and the other a track sprinter who is autistic. Last year Church Mutual focused on disabled with mobility challenges. This year they wanted to highlight the rapidly growing segment of diversity called neurodiversity to give deeper understanding of individuals classified by the ADA laws as having a cognitive disability like autism. While there are many other named and unnamed conditions among the neurodistinct than autism, it was the focus because of their sponsoring an autistic Paralympian and because I am autistic and able to speak to it from lived experience.In the endless ways something can go wrong Zoom messed up when I turned my camera back on for the live show. It of course worked perfectly for the prior 15 minutes as were were doing a tech check. Thinking it was my camera I tried making some quick adjustments on it and changing some of the lighting. Better, but still looked like a ghost. Looking at the recording made by the camera it was actually working perfectly. Bummer that is not what Zoom was displaying. In the spirit of "the show must go on" I shared by deck which displayed perfectly and my ghost image was now just a distracting little box on the side.This episode is the audio track of the presentation. I start with facts about disabilities and how odd it is that a white wheelchair and person on a blue background is the symbol of "handicap" in the USA as 25% of Americans have a disability and only 1% of Americans use wheelchairs. We then touched on invisible disabilities and that cognitive disabilities are the largest group in America's disabled population. Finally we dove into neurodiversity where we focused in on autism.Thank you to DisabilityIn ( disabilityin.org ) for introducing me to this amazing company. It was a pleasure to speak to them and help support the amazing job they are doing in diversity.

I think you will enjoy this one as it delivers a huge amount of information is a very short time. Learning nuggets are short recording which deliver an impactful statement or point on a specific topic. This set was recorded for Uptimize in 2018 as video clips. I pulled the audio track to create this episode. As I mention in the introduction I was still struggling with the correct terminology to use. In this recording I mostly use the term neurodiverse incorrectly as a noun meaning non-neurotypical. Some of my Australian friends finally convinced me that neurodistinct is an adverb and refers to the make-up of a group. Since then I coined the term Neurodistinct to mean non-neurotypical and now use neurodiverse properly as an adverb.When you hear neurodiverse in this recording just think neurodistinct and you will then be up to date with my terminology.For those of you who want to understand neurodiversity terminology better take a look at my blog post Neurodiversity Refined: https://www.timgoldstein.com/blog/neurodiversityrefined You can also download my Neurodiversity Explained infographic from the post.

This episode is Tim Goldstein's pre-panel presentation for the Neurodiversity in Tech session at DisabilityIn's virtual conference in January 2021. The panel was just me and Brent Amundson VP HR at Dell Computers. While I can only share this part I think you will still find it interesting and get a lot from it.Disabilityin.orgDisability:IN is the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. Our network of over 250 corporations expands opportunities for people with disabilities across enterprises. Our central office and 25 Affiliates serve as the collective voice to effect change for people with disabilities in business.Apologies for the sound quality of the presentation. It is the audio track off the Zoom recording. Amazing how much it flattens by voice compared to the intro and outro sections. All the more reason people need to learn to control the sound of their voice so their authentic message gets through. Thank to Roger Love and his vocal training method for changing my voice and relationships.

I have known Emma for a few years now. She is truly a special person. I love talking with Emma as I always leave with new insight and approaches. Emma is one of those unique people who understands the autistic mind and the world we live. She brings her understanding of the autistic adult's challenges combine with her vast experience in the education world to know the effects both positive and negative the various approaches used with children can create when they become adults.I hope you enjoy listening to Emma as much as I do. 2020 has been hard on all of us. Emma is one of the special people in my life that has helped me get through. Thank you Emma for just being the caring, kind, amazing person you are.Contact Emma:essentialeducationgroup.comwww.emmapinnock.co.ukLinkedInemma@essentialeducationgroup.comAbout Emma:As an educator Emma has had a rich and varied career. She has been a teacher for 14 years, working in a range of environments such as PRU’s, Hospital schools, Special schools and Mainstream education. Emma has also been in a range of senior management roles for 8 years and in her most recent role, as the Head of a specialist provision, focused on the needs and education of children with autism.Emma’s passion to support SEND has derived from her personal Journey. This has led to her belief in people’s abilities to overcome barriers and difficulties. Emma is solution focused, strategic and has the ability to develop vision for schools, organisations and families. Emma has both personal and professional experience of living with special educational needs which uniquely impacts her ability and insights. She strives to encourage people to see past their comfort zones, to be solution focused despite the difficulties and to stretch themselves past the norm. As a teacher, trainer, coach, team member and much more; Emma seeks to inspire people and organisations to make room for neuro-diverse people to uniquely take their place.Thank you Per for the editing help I needed to get back to publishing episodes.

I have known Emma for a few years now. She is truly a special person. I love talking with Emma as I always leave with new insight and approaches. Emma is one of those unique people who understands the autistic mind and the world we live. She brings her understanding of the autistic adult's challenges combine with her vast experience in the education world to know the effects both positive and negative the various approaches used with children can create when they become adults.I hope you enjoy listening to Emma as much as I do. 2020 has been hard on all of us. Emma is one of the special people in my life that has helped me get through. Thank you Emma for just being the caring, kind, amazing person you are.Contact Emma:essentialeducationgroup.comwww.emmapinnock.co.ukLinkedInemma@essentialeducationgroup.comAbout Emma:As an educator Emma has had a rich and varied career. She has been a teacher for 14 years, working in a range of environments such as PRU’s, Hospital schools, Special schools and Mainstream education. Emma has also been in a range of senior management roles for 8 years and in her most recent role, as the Head of a specialist provision, focused on the needs and education of children with autism.Emma’s passion to support SEND has derived from her personal Journey. This has led to her belief in people’s abilities to overcome barriers and difficulties. Emma is solution focused, strategic and has the ability to develop vision for schools, organisations and families. Emma has both personal and professional experience of living with special educational needs which uniquely impacts her ability and insights. She strives to encourage people to see past their comfort zones, to be solution focused despite the difficulties and to stretch themselves past the norm. As a teacher, trainer, coach, team member and much more; Emma seeks to inspire people and organisations to make room for neuro-diverse people to uniquely take their place.Thank you Per for the editing help I needed to get back to publishing episodes.

It has been far too many month since I have posted an episode. There has been a huge amount going on in my life above and beyond all the changes the COVID pandemic has caused. Like many autistics I can easily get overstimulated and drained in the course of a normal day. Between COVID and joining Google through an acquisition and the changes it brings I get overstimulated and drained by the end of the work day. Unfortunately it leaves me fried for the day and no personal work happens that evening. Weekends have been mostly dedicated to hiding from the computer and trying to avoid anything that is draining. So nothing happens on weekends either other than Tim going over the top on his special interest as is his norm.Hoping this will be the first step in getting back to at least an episode every two weeks. We will see how fast I can get to this goal.Thanks for listening and please share with a friend who could benefit.

We continue our chat with John Richmond as he tells us about more adventures and insight with his autistic son.John Richmond is a proud husband and father of three kids, a boy and two girls. His son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum just after his fifth birthday. John holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and is currently a PhD candidate. In addition to his books, John has also published several academic research articles and has a deep passion for his career in higher education. He and his family reside in North Texas on a ten-acre farmJohn and I had a great chat. I really enjoyed hearing how John has been able to recognize the unique and uniquely effective strategies his son has developed.Contact John from his website or on LinkedIn:https://johndrichmond.comLinkedInThe clippers that made hair cuts a trauma free event!Calming Clippers on Amazon

In case you were wondering "Where is Tim", I'm back. Long story which of course involves autism. More later, now onto our guest, John Richmond!John Richmond is a proud husband and father of three kids, a boy and two girls. His son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum just after his fifth birthday. John holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and is currently a PhD candidate. In addition to his books, John has also published several academic research articles and has a deep passion for his career in higher education. He and his family reside in North Texas on a ten-acre farmJohn and I had a great chat. I really enjoyed hearing how John has been able to recognize the unique and uniquely effective strategies his son has developed.Contact John from his website or on LinkedIn:https://johndrichmond.comLinkedInThe clippers that made hair cuts a trauma free event!Calming Clippers on Amazon

This is the third and final segment of a good long chat Dr Dave and I had.Dr Dave has a unique perspective on Autism in the Workplace. Dr Dave, like myself, was not diagnosed until later in adult life. This gave him the aspie experience of lots of jobs and careers and how thinking differently is frequently not accepted. Dr Dave is also the parent of autistic children, giving him hands on experience with the childhood side of autism. Finally, Dr Dave is the Executive Director of Vanderbilt's Frist Center on Autism and Innovations, where he gets to talk with people on all side of the employment challenge.The Frist Center is a multi-discipline approach with a mission of: Engineering technologies and transforming the workplace – inspired by neurodiversity, at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering brings engineers, business scholars, and disabilities researchers together with experts in neuroscience and education to understand, maximize, and promote neurodiverse talent.Details to reach the Frist Center or Dr Dave directly.Vanderbilt's Frist Center for Autism and InnovationDr Dave: david.d.caudel@vanderbilt.edu

This is the second segment of a good long chat Dr Dave and I had.Dr Dave has a unique perspective on Autism in the Workplace. Dr Dave, like myself, was not diagnosed until later in adult life. This gave him the aspie experience of lots of jobs and careers and how thinking differently is frequently not accepted. Dr Dave is also the parent of autistic children, giving him hands on experience with the childhood side of autism. Finally, Dr Dave is the Executive Director of Vanderbilt's Frist Center on Autism and Innovations, where he gets to talk with people on all side of the employment challenge.The Frist Center is a multi-discipline approach with a mission of: Engineering technologies and transforming the workplace – inspired by neurodiversity, at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering brings engineers, business scholars, and disabilities researchers together with experts in neuroscience and education to understand, maximize, and promote neurodiverse talent.Details to reach the Frist Center or Dr Dave directly.Vanderbilt's Frist Center for Autism and InnovationDr Dave: david.d.caudel@vanderbilt.edu

Dr Dave has a unique perspective on Autism in the Workplace. Dr Dave, like myself, was not diagnosed until later in adult life. This gave him the aspie experience of lots of jobs and careers and how thinking differently is frequently not accepted. Dr Dave is also the parent of autistic children, giving him hands on experience with the childhood side of autism. Finally, Dr Dave is the Executive Director of Vanderbilt's Frist Center on Autism and Innovations, where he gets to talk with people on all side of the employment challenge.The Frist Center is a multi-discipline approach with a mission of: Engineering technologies and transforming the workplace – inspired by neurodiversity, at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering brings engineers, business scholars, and disabilities researchers together with experts in neuroscience and education to understand, maximize, and promote neurodiverse talent.Details to reach the Frist Center or Dr Dave directly.Vanderbilt's Frist Center for Autism and InnovationDr Dave: david.d.caudel@vanderbilt.edu

For the third year in a row I was invited to guest lecture a class at Cornell University. My topic was challenges autistic people face in interviews. It is such a rich topic, unfortunately for many on the spectrum a job interview is a way to decide you "are not a good fit" which in the USA is HR speak for, your not like us and it makes us uncomfortable so we will illegally discount you from consideration, but give a totally safe non-descriptive answer.You can download the presentation deck that goes with this talk here:Presentation Deck, Tim presents at Cornell Oct 2019For free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

Catundra and I had such a great time talking we recorded enough material for 2 episodes. This is the second episode finishing our conversation with Catundra.Catundra brings an amazing perspective to the Neurotypical Universe. Catundra is a school psychologist who developed a deep interest in working with autistic children before having two of her own. Catundra and I had a wonderful conversation about many things autistic spanning from children to adults. Her education and experience dealing with autistic children as a school psychologist combine with her personal experience of raising two sons who are now young autistic adults brings a unique perspective that few neurotypicals have. Join our conversation and you can enjoy your time with Catundra as much as I did.You can contact Catundra via e-mail or LinkedIn. She is open to answering questions on everything from autism mom topics to childhood psychology.cmays808@gmail.comlinkedin.com/in/catundra-m-b95a0271

Catundra brings an amazing perspective to the Neurotypical Universe. Catundra is a school psychologist who developed a deep interest in working with autistic children before having two of her own. Catundra and I had a wonderful conversation about many things autistic spanning from children to adults. Her education and experience dealing with autistic children as a school psychologist combine with her personal experience of raising two sons who are now young autistic adults brings a unique perspective that few neurotypicals have. Join our conversation and you can enjoy your time with Catundra as much as I did.You can contact Catundra via e-mail or LinkedIn. She is open to answering questions on everything from autism mom topics to childhood psychology.cmays808@gmail.comlinkedin.com/in/catundra-m-b95a0271Catundra and I had such a great time talking we recorded enough material for 2 episodes. This is the first and the second episode with Catundra will be release about 10 days after this one.

Like many of us that grew up on farms, Shelly has a huge range of skills and has had a number of careers. In her now long running career as a building designer. In Australia architect has a specific meaning, but in the USA we would probably call her an architect.When her grandson was diagnosed with autism Shelly jumped in to learn all she could about it and how to apply her skill as a building designer to create better spaces for the autistic and others of the neurodiverse bend. As the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship Shelly was able to travel the world to learn what is being done in other countries to create living spaces for the autistic. This has given her an amazing understanding of the various approached and techniques used to create just the right environment for comfort and usability.You can learn more about Shelly, her design philosophy, and download her summary report of all the things she learned about different designs and approaches at her website https://enablingspaces.com.auEmail: shelly.dival@enablingspaces.com.auLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shellydivalFacebook: @autismfriendlyPhone: +61 0433 510 416

Chris Turner is a consultant in Australia that helps companies to become more diverse by adding neurodiverse staff. His slogan is "Neurodiversity Inclusion Made Simple". While Chris deals with all humans regardless of where in the Neuro Cloud™ they fall.This episode and 2 more came from a catch up call we had scheduled. I had just gotten a cool podcast recorder I was itching to use. Chris agreed to recording us and I edited the recording to create 3 great podcasts. This is the final segment.You can find out more about Chris and his state of the art concepts and approaches check out his site at: ProjectEnterpriseCoaching.comFor free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

Shelly and I had such a good time chatting we kept the recorder running and produced Shelly Dival continued.Like many of us that grew up on farms, Shelly has a huge range of skills and has had a number of careers. In her now long running career as a building designer. In Australia architect has a specific meaning, but in the USA we would probably call her an architect.When her grandson was diagnosed with autism Shelly jumped in to learn all she could about it and how to apply her skill as a building designer to create better spaces for the autistic and others of the neurodiverse bend. As the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship Shelly was able to travel the world to learn what is being done in other countries to create living spaces for the autistic. This has given her an amazing understanding of the various approached and techniques used to create just the right environment for comfort and usability.You can learn more about Shelly, her design philosophy, and download her summary report of all the things she learned about different designs and approaches at her website https://enablingspaces.com.auEmail: shelly.dival@enablingspaces.com.auLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shellydivalFacebook: @autismfriendlyPhone: +61 0433 510 416

Chris Turner is a consultant in Australia that helps companies to become more diverse by adding neurodiverse staff. His slogan is "Neurodiversity Inclusion Made Simple". While Chris deals with all humans regardless of where in the Neuro Cloud™ they fall.This episode and 2 more came from a catch up call we had scheduled. I had just gotten a cool podcast recorder I was itching to use. Chris agreed to recording us and I edited the recording to create 3 great podcasts. This is the first.You can find out more about Chris and his state of the art concepts and approaches check out his site at: ProjectEnterpriseCoaching.comFor free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

Chris Turner is a consultant in Australia that helps companies to become more diverse by adding neurodiverse staff. His slogan is "Neurodiversity Inclusion Made Simple". While Chris deals with all humans regardless of where in the Neuro Cloud™ they fall.This episode and 2 more came from a catch up call we had scheduled. I had just gotten a cool podcast recorder I was itching to use. Chris agreed to recording us and I edited the recording to create 3 great podcasts. This is the second.You can find out more about Chris and his state of the art concepts and approaches check out his site at: ProjectEnterpriseCoaching.comFor free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

Carol has a unique background and a unique understanding of what it is like to be neurodiverse. Drawing on her background as a life coach, group facilitator, divorce mediator, improvisational comic, and actress, Carol’s expertise is in helping people find the confidence they seek to live life to the fullest.In 2011, Carol founded Social Dynamix, a totally unique, interactive style of learning that combines improvisation, psychodrama, and social pragmatics to help individuals gain confidence and overcome social anxiety.I had a wonderful conversation with Carol and look forward to having her back on the podcast. Always love talking with people who "get it".You can reach Carol on the Social Dynamix website at:socialdynamix.netFor free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

A very special and unusual episode of Life in the Neurotypical Universe. Autism at Work expert and fellow Aspie (inside term for person with Asperger's) Kari Kelly of atypicalworkplace.com and I were hosted by Looker in Santa Cruz, CA for a panel discussion on neurodiversity and autism in the workplace.This episode is a recording of the panel discussion and audience interaction.For free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

Russ Garner is a Director of Professional Services for a rapidly growing software as a services company. Russ has worked for a range of IT companies and as a consultant for one of the biggest consulting companies. His experience includes working with everything from small IT departments to executives and technology workers at some of the worlds biggest companies.In this episode Russ share some of his experience and learning from working with neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals in the technology space. He gives us great insight into both what he has learned from it and even shares areas he wishes he had handled better. Russ surprised Tim with a reveal which explains some of his ability to relate with the neurodiverse, autistic, and functionally autistic type people who are so common in the arena of high tech. Russ also shares some great tips for managers which work whether they have neurodiverse staff or not. For free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com

Diversity Consultant Cornell Woodson was his normal generous self taking time out of his busiest day to talk diversity and neurodiversity. Cornell shares the wisdom and experience he has gained in his diversity career at NYU, UVM, Cornell University, and in the corporate world.You can reach Cornell at Cornell@BraveTrainings.com and his website BraveTrainings.comFor free resources and to learn more visit me at TimGoldstein.comAs always, if you know someone who you think Tim should interview please let us know. Also love to hear your comments, suggestions, and great ideas. Email us at podcast@TimGoldstein.com