Colin (Independent Game Developer) - can create large amounts of game assets and helps friends with game stories
- Middle School was where he sorted out his issues with Aspergers socially and developed his "tricks". Made friends with like-minded people (that made up his support group as well), got therapy and attended some special classes.
- Tricks to manage... finding ways to slip away for solitary breaks. Steer conversations toward logical paths to avoid emotional discourse. Worked with an improv group.
- He needs a safe environment that can flex to his needs. He needs to avoid surprises and unknowns in supervision/direction.
- Does not mind pushing shopping carts for work... it allows him to avoid social interaction.
- NeuroDiverse people are presented in the media as savants, creeps, or partially helpless. They are also pigeon-holed into jobs that others think they would be good at... like coding. Media should write them into scripts as normal people with their own personal traits like every other character.
- Neuro diverse people need to take charge of the education of themselves and others.
- He is most comfortable with working be the scenes outl of the spotlight.
Sarah (College Student) - Good at art and having fun.
- Depression and Anxiety affected school... missed classes led to guilt led to problems with profs which spiraled into withdrawal from life and school.
- Had to make herself get up and go back out into the world (on advice of therapist
- Teachers need to get to know students better.
- Media presents depression as a small issue... not the overwhelming issue that it is. It can't be cured quickly with pills and therapy. It's a process.
- Media could make people feel less alone with their issues by addressing the issue more realistically and genuinely.
- Depressed people need to reach out, not quit and keeping moving forward.
Wade (College Student) - I don't think Im ready for this (interview) yet... I need a moment
- Everyone tells me I am good at art because of my Aspergers...
- I'm very focused and detailed
- Diagnosis has been a blessing and a curse
- Biggest issues are social issues - talking and expressing emotions
- We feel emotions... the stigma that we lack emotions and empathy... not true... we only lack the ability to read others minds. We have the ability to share others emotions... sometimes we have too much of it in fact and it's overwhelming.
- I was always sitting alone at lunch and in the back of the room drawing in my notebookÂ
- it wasn't until college that I was able to make real friends
- Over time I have been gotten much better at my social skills. I was not doing this well in middle school
- Apsergers is not something you grow out of..
- It sounds like I'm looking for sympathy but I'm not.
- Teachers and employers need to research and understand ASD
- Can I just start over again. Um Um Um.
- Why did I sign up for this.Â
- uh uh.. I know I will be able to just figure out these answers later
- Honestly. I'm not really prepared for any of this (meaning the interview)
- People just need to be patient with us.
- Both sides need to make an effort to change.Â
- We tend to dwell on things and have too much empathy.
- We fall back on routine to get by.
- The media has a lot of instances where ASD is misrepresented and lead to stereotypes
- All I want is for the media to do is present Neuro-Diversity respectfully... and that is not something to be afraid of. To try to have empathy and understanding. It's not curable or contagious.
Vince (College Student) - Didn't admit to ASD until high school. That admission did not affect his relationships with his friends.
- Went to ASD institutions
- Good at following directions and working fast at his cooking job and schoolwork
- You have to learn everyone's code... how they communicate... so they can show their intelligence and capabilities to you.
- Media sees Neuro-Diversity as a negative... a problem.Â
- The understanding is too small and the media could help that
- We need numbers of voices in the media to counteract the stereotypes
- Parents told him he was not autistic... they were in denial with Vince.Â
- Just because someone is autistic does not mean they are not "able"... Parents should not deny, but accept and facilitate.
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Nicole (Director of Student Engagement) - Students Learn in a variety of different ways
- Diversifying the ways we communicate with students helps them but it also helps us be better at our job.... universal design.
- Ask students... is there a way you prefer to get information?Â
- The media is focusing on categorizing by diagnosis. Why can't we just use the tools we have for everyone in a universal way instead of trying match them by diagnosis.
- I would like to see a student voice on campus
Jean (Professional Designer and Neuro-Diversity advocate) - I have interests with a capital I
- There is normal variation in human brains SDHD OCD , Dyslexia, Learning disabilities , Autistic/Aspergers (cliniclly Aspergers is no long a term in use)
- There is a continuum on the spectrum.
- Aspergers in under-diagnosed in people of colors and girls.
- I didn't have friends until I went to a magnet high school. There was a lot of support and patience there
- There is not an epidemic of Autism... it is just being recognized more.
- Theatre classes were very helpful in learning how to be social explicitly.Â
- I feel responsible to take care of other people's feeling that I am with... too a fault.
- I develop skills year after year and I never stop learning.
- I have to ask people to help me do simple things... like fill out  a form because of my Dyslexia. People think I just don't like doing it... they don't always understand that it is an actual challenge for me. People say... "you can do code... why can't you do this?" I'm putting all the effort in that I can!
- Niche Construction... I'm building my own toolkit that i can reach into when facing challenges.... like keeping track of time. The 24 hour dial in pie chart form became a good tool for me.Â
- Universal design for learning - tools that aid learning for those with learning challenges help everyone else learn too.
- Don't try to bring everyone to the same level... instead try to give everyone the best tool for learning.
- All the money is spent on childhood teatment and prevention
- I'm good at pattern matching and keep a ridiculously large database of ideas that I cross reference.
- Universal Design - what's good for a neuro-diverse student is good for everyone.
- Looking forward to the media potraying Neuro-Diverse people as more well-rounded and complex individuals
- My dignosis in my 40s... allowed me to not feel like I maight be lazy anymore.
Darcy (College Counselor) - leveling the playing field through assessment, testing and placing into appropriate coursework... who's playing field is the question. This is considered disability services.
- helps find audio books for students with reading challenges.
- helps teachers find alternative ways for teachers to assess student learning... such as a low stimulus environment for an ADHD student.
- Look at neuro-diversity as a strength not a deficit... that is a hard culture to change.Â
- Need more role models in the media as well as stories of success.
- Not everyone is able to conform to standardized systems of learning
- Always sees students in the state of need... not the "finished product" ... except to see them cross the stage at graduation
- Moving from "Can't" (because I was told I won't be able to) to "Can" - for Neuro-Diverse students. Can be done by advocating for themselves and build confidence and resilience. When she gets them they are already beat down and discouraged.
Susan (College Professor) - Each student learns a little differently (individualized instruction)
- Putting a neuro-diverse student in a leadership role helped everyone see the value in that type of person. It required extra effort ... but they could do it
- Every person learns differently (there are 7 ways). Teachers need to provide multiple ways of learning as much as they can... and that encompasses everyone (Universal Design)
- Ask Neuro Diverse people how we can be better... give them a voice
- Everybody has to be looked at as a different person
- Be open and communicate with me as a teacher
Neil (College Professor) - It's a movement that can be identified with
- Badges vs Labels... we will wear a badge but do not want to be labeled.
- People identify themselves instead of being identified in the Neuro-Diversity movement.
- Accepting not Curing or managing
- Flexibilty and accessibility are key and are good for people that have identified and not. but share some common traits. All students will benefit from this approach.
- We accept biodiversity but not neuro-diversity.
- Technology has been the greatest asset in teacher's ability to reach more students
- The Rain Man stereotype problem
- There is good and bad stereotypes in the media
- The media story is becoming more rich and detailed. He hopes it stays on that course
- The fact that reporting on the issue is inaccurate is a general media problem not just with Neuro Diversity
- the best media story might speak to the power of Neuro-Diversity movement to affect change. Like asking questions that don't often get asked... like considering alternatives to standard learning systems.
- The hidden curriculum... lessons we are expected to learn are not on the surface but are meant to be learned through hidden or informal social rules and queues. People that visit different countries develop an understanding that social norms are constructed and can be diverse from culture to culture. This can be used as a model for understanding the Neuro-Diverse social queue challenges.
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