Autistics Unmasked and the BIPOC autistic experience – with Ky Kennedy
Beyond 6 Seconds: Neurodiversity stories from neurodivergent people
05/02/22
•33m
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This podcast was recorded live at the Intersectional Infinity Summit on 3/30/2022.
Ky Kennedy is a mother, lactation consultant, author and autism advocate. After seeing a need for an autistic founded and ran organization, Ky and their sister founded Autistics Unmasked (AU). Now Ky and the rest of the team at AU are well on their way to providing educational resources to schools, employers and family members of autistic people across the nation.
During this session, we discuss:
- Ky's experiences as an undiagnosed autistic child and their self-diagnosis in adulthood
- Why Ky and their sister founded AU to support BIPOC and queer autistic people
- Some of the challenges that autistic BIPOC face in society, and how AU is addressing these challenges through educational curriculums for first responders and schools
- The exciting work AU is doing now and planning for the future!
Learn more about Autistics Unmasked at www.AutisticsUnmasked.org.
Learn more about the Intersectional Infinity Summit on Twitter @NINE_On_Can.
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
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Click here for the episode transcript.
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
Previous Episode
Nonspeaking autistic self advocacy – with Noah Seback
April 25, 2022
•18m
Noah Seback cannot speak -- however, he has a lot to say.
Noah is a nonspeaking autistic young man with apraxia, which has made it impossible for him to communicate reliably for most of his life. Then, at the age of 16, he learned how to use a letterboard to spell out the words he wanted to say -- and his entire world opened up. As Noah described it to me, "it was nirvana!"
Since Noah is nonspeaking, he is joined on this episode by his communication regulation partners, David and Nadine Seback (who are also his parents). During this episode, you'll hear David and Nadine read Noah's responses – which means you'll be hearing Noah's words through David and Nadine's speaking voices.
During this episode, Noah shares:
- How his life completely changed after learning how to communicate using a letterboard at age 16
- The importance of presuming competence of nonspeaking people
- How he responds to people who don't believe that letterboard spelling is a valid method of communication
- How he began to overcome and heal from his trauma
- Why he started qUirk, his mentoring business, to help nonspeakers – especially those who are labeled "the worst of the worst"
- What he wants parents of nonspeaking kids to know, and his advice for nonspeakers who are struggling right now
Find out more about Noah, his writing and his mentoring business at www.quirkthrives.com.
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes!
Click here for the episode transcript.
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
Next Episode
Nadine Drummond is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker from London with roots in Jamaica. A former producer and reporter at CNN and Al Jazeera, she now develops media and content strategy for 14 African countries in her role at the United Nations.
Nadine is also dyspraxic. She struggled growing up pre-diagnosis. When her disability was finally diagnosed in college, she denied and hid her dyspraxia at first, then came to accept it and eventually talk about it publicly in a LinkedIn post that went viral in 2021.
Nadine wasn't supposed to be a journalist. She was supposed to be a lawyer – that was the career path her family picked for her. After realizing she hated law school, though, she broke away from her family's expectations. She left her home country to build her career in journalism – a profession where she uses her dyspraxic strengths to improve and save the lives of people around the world.
On this episode, Nadine shares all of these stories and more. Her experience is a testament to how working in your strengths can empower you to make a difference.
(Content warning: Starting around minute 50 of this episode, Nadine talks about gender based violence and sexual assault in Central African Republic. This is the topic of her life-changing film that helped extend the life of The Water Project, which directly protected and improved the lives of the women living in that country.)
Learn more about Nadine at the links below:
- "This Little Girl is me" – Nadine's viral LinkedIn post
- Nadine's Medium blog
- Nadine's journalism projects
Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!
Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes!
Click here for the episode transcript.
*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*
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