Autistic Adults and Independent Living

Autistic Adults and Living Independently

May 10, 2021

[You will notice that some words have a strike through font.  These are to reflect the new website created in September 2022] 

Welcome everyone to Today’s Autistic Moment: A Podcast for Autistic Adults by An Autistic Adult.  My name is Philip King-Lowe.  I am the owner, producer, and host for this podcast, and I am an Autistic Adult.  Thank you so much for listening.

This first segment of Today’s Autistic Moment is sponsored by The Autism Society of Minnesota: Minnesota’s First Autism Resource.  The Autism Society of Minnesota has been serving Minnesota’s Autism Community for the past 50 years.  Visit them online at ausm.org. 

Thank you to everyone who purchased a tee-shirt to go towards my donation to The Autism Society of Minnesota. Today’s Autistic Moment donated $50.00 to AuSM, plus another $50.00 through the Spring Forward Fundraiser organized by GiveMN.org. Thank you so very much everyone.

Congratulations to Kristine Thielen who won a free custom-made tee-shirt as the free giveaway at the Inform, Influence, Innovate Together 2021 Autism Conference. 

Go to todaysautisticmoment.com for more information about this podcast and for the transcript.  Tap or click on the hamburger menu at the top right corner to learn about this podcast, new installments coming up, the episode index for all published shows, and my list of dos and don’ts’s. Stop by the store to purchase a custom-made tee-shirt with the logo for Today’s Autistic Moment on them. You can also shop for great books, fun fidgets, weighted blankets, and a silicone bracket to keep the material of facemasks off of your skin.

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During the last episode Autistic Adults and Community Based Services, Sara Swan from Looking Forward Life Coaching said that there is a stigma that Autistic Adults do not know how to do things to better care for themselves.  Autistics can live independently when given the tools to do so through programs that are person centered.  GT Independence is a company that is disability owned to give Autistics and individuals with other disabilities the opportunity to live independently by being in control of their supportive services. By living independently, disabled people become their own employers who hire the people they want to organize their own care.

Dan “DJ” Carmichael is a writer, former stand-up comedian, and co-owner of GT Independence financial management services. Dan is an Autistic Adult.  Dan and his wife Holly are the parents of an Autistic Son and a daughter with a rare disease. DJ has found and focused on creating an award-winning inclusive work environment, designing work spaces that are efficient, accommodating and visually appealing.  His memoir “Never Too Soon” is slated for a 2022 release. Dan will share with us information about what independent living for Autistic Adults is, and how GT Independence helps accomplish that.  Dan will also share some thoughts about what his journey of being Autistic and a business owner is like.

After this commercial break, I will begin my conversation with Dan Carmichael.  Stay Tuned.

Commercial Break I

Welcome back. It is my pleasure and honor to welcome Dan (DJ) Carmichael to talk with me about Autistic Adults and Living Independently.

Philip King-Lowe 
Dan, I want to thank you for being on an episode of Today's Autistic Moment. And of course, I want to especially thank GT Independence, for being such a great sponsor, for Today's Autistic Moment, and especially for sponsoring our transcripts that are so important for so many of our listeners.

Dan Carmicheal 
Oh, it's my pleasure. I'm very excited to be here. And GT is very excited about the work you're doing.

Philip King-Lowe 
Thank you so much. So you and I are going to have a conversation today about independent living. And it's interesting that we're doing this because it follows my episode, where I talked with Seuss, sorry, Sara Swan, regarding community based services. And we spoke about how complicated those services can be. And so I think that independent living is a great alternative to some of those things, or a great addition to some of those things. And so I wanted you to come on and talk about what independent living is, and what GT Independence does to assist people, Autistic people, adults, especially with those, the experience of independent living. So I'm going to begin with my first question. What important information do Autistic Adults in our Caregivers need to know about in terms of independent living?

Dan Carmichael
Well, that's, you know, that's a very, it's a very deep question to me. Because, you know, we first have to understand what independent living is. I think people have an idea in their head of, of what that means, but it's my belief that you get to define what independent living means. And that that is that is part of self determination. You know, I personally believe in GT Independence, as a whole believes that people with disabilities have the right to be their own employers. And to provide all the nest, you know, we want to provide all of the necessary tools to effectively manage in home care or whatever is decided is independent living. And whatever, whatever shape that that takes what works best for the individual who is making those decisions on their own.

Philip King-Lowe 
You are an Autistic Adult, as I understand, correct?

Dan Carmichael
That is correct. Yes. Yeah, I'm an Autistic Adult. And my wife and I are raising an Autistic son, as well as a rare disease daughter. And I have an older brother with developmental disabilities who is the reason we got into this business. So to say it is not just a job and that it's that it's part of our life is, is an understatement. But yes, I am an Autistic Adult, an Autistic Adult, co owner of this company.

Philip King-Lowe
Wonderful. Tell me Tell us a little bit about some information about as an Autistic Adult. Um what what being part of this business adventure, and about helping Autistics live independently.  Tell us a little bit about what that journey has been like for you, and maybe what that's meant for you.

Dan Carmichael
Right? So I've been incredibly fortunate, and having, you know, a supportive family and a very supportive wife, too, to just didn't, you know, it enhances my life and working with other people, you get these stories, that folks who did not have the who don't have the family support, or God forbid, you know, have family abuse, that centered around their diagnosis. It, it has changed my perspective, and showing me how fortunate I am. But then I get to see that disconnect, and I and I feel it, you know, it, it is, it's so often just simply unconscionable or not right, and having the agency to change that, having the self determination, having the right to, to get the services you need, and to make them your own and to make it part of your own life. Being able to do that professionally, is incredibly rewarding.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yeah. Yeah. As the sole proprietor of a new Autistic podcast business, I concur with how that can feel. So tell us, what, tell us more about what independent living can mean for Autistics, um, tell us a little bit more about about what GT Independence does and what that means really, for Autistic Adults?

Dan Carmichael
Right. So, you know, we, you, we work with the, with agencies to offer self determination options, you know, many states offer waivers that pay for long term services performed at the home with a care provider you choose, so long as you meet, you know, certain requirements. And independent living is, is sort of the ultimate goal. Again, on an individual individual basis, you know, it has to fit what the, what the person wants. But, you know, independent living, to me is, is the ultimate level of choice, the level of, of, of self involvement in your own, you know, in your own care or your own life choices. And my favorite thing about that is that it does not, it doesn't mean that there's some sort of guard rail where you will always make the right choice with your care. It allows you to be wrong, you know, that's, sometimes there's when it comes to long term care, there's these bumpers up that hamper decisions that don't allow you to make a mistake, which is the most inherently human thing you've you're allowed to do is to be wrong. To hire the wrong person to to learn from those mistakes, and the independent, the independent living in its truest form, you know, provides that to, you know, to our clients. Not sure answer your question, but

Philip King-Lowe 
You're doing fine. You're doing fine. So, um, yeah. So what sorts of aids do does GT Independence supply?

Dan Carmichael
So we, you know, we handle sort of the back end of those transactions. You know, we pre-COVID anyway, had field reps coming to people's houses to, you know, show them the forms and walk them through them to become their own employer to have a tax ID to have, you know, all of the regulatory stuff taken care of. And then, you know, after after the services have started, then we are the ones collecting the time, we're the ones cutting the checks, and we're everyday trying to make that an easier proposition than the day before.

Philip King-Lowe 
And your staff helps people find the agencies and personnel that may be of assistance to them.

Dan Carmichael
Yes, yeah, there is. There's guidance and advocacy in in finding those people and how to find those people. And how to vet those people and make sure that you are getting, you know, the, the caregiver that that you need.

Philip King-Lowe
Yeah.Yeah.

Philip King-Lowe 
Well, one of the one of the issues that we do face, all too often is finding those people who understand Autism and Autistic people to the point where we can they can really be of help to us. Are there any ways that you have found? Your company has found that can be particularly helpful in that kind of thing?

Dan Carmichael
That is a very good question. Because, you know, while we, we monitor training, often, some of those things that are easy to quantify, you know, this is something I've dealt with, personally, as well in trying to find care for, you know, our son. And a lot of the times, you know, for me, unfortunately, it's, it is trial and error, you know. People can hit the interview and say that, you know, say the right things, and it sounds like they'd be perfect, but once they start working with them, it's clear that they did they do not understand Autism, you know. Trying to, you know, just the basic things that, you know, why won't he more than these three things? And I, you know, I kind of throw my hands up and say, Well, you know, we talked about, this is not, this shouldn't be a surprise. Yeah. So, so we try to provide the tools to help to help people find the right person. But at the same time, we also want to advocate for a much more global and general understanding. You know, I listened to your older episode with Ellie Wilson, I believe. Yes. You know, and very interesting about the idea of acceptance versus awareness. You know, and we all have to be a part of that. And I think that the goal of acceptance is going to create a generation of workers and caregivers that are are much more prepared to interact with the Autistic Community.

Philip King-Lowe 
I agree. Yeah, because because independent living is it is a way to, to work towards acceptance, because we know that finding people that understand Autism, and then accept us is part of the real part of the real picture.

Dan Carmichael
Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, there's something in you know, I don't know if I want to say in neurotypical development that that makes you want to fix to fix fix fix,. Instead of, instead of accept, but that's the thing that, you know, that if, if we can move the needle a little bit on that even it'll go such a long way.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yes, and independent living is definitely a movement towards that because of the misperception that Autistics can't take care of themselves.

Dan Carmichael
Right? Yeah. And that's why, I mean, that's one of a number of reasons why, yes, the movement towards independent living is so important. It's not just for the day to day living experience of that person, but but for a greater sense of autonomy and basic humanity. 

Philip King-Lowe
Agreed

Philip King-Lowe 
Let's cross into my second question here. Yeah. We've kind of been alluding to it. Um, What are the barriers for Autistic Adults of all ages, when it comes to independent living? We've just talked about the need to move to autism acceptance, which is a big part of the barriers. We also know that ableism and as we say, the misunderstandings about Autism and Autistic individuals, that somehow we cannot take care of ourselves, we do not know ourselves. Um, I've mentioned in other episodes about how there is a presumption of us of incompetence somewhere, that's, you know, and all those labels high and low functioning, which are not good labels. And that, you know, a lot of the barriers are created by agencies, funding, and just overall training, that, that people who want to care for Autistics just don't have. On in my episode about community based services, Sara and I spoke of the fact that we do have many who don't really understand Autism very well. And unfortunately, it means that people are missing out on the greatness of who Autistics are, but what are some of the barriers, even if you renamed some of these that you folks at GT Independence have found?

Dan Carmichael
Right, well, let Yeah, let me touch on some of the stuff that you mentioned, just to add, you know, in regards to the perception, and there's, there's a part of me that thinks that understanding Autism is, is important, but another part that, I think, no, they don't, you know, people don't need to understand as much as they need to maybe change what they view as normal. You know, to change what, you know, these, some of these barriers, you know, just to go back to the example of food, well, you know, you can't live on your own you only three things, that's not that's not a real barrier, you know, that's, you know, there's so many of those, that when you take a stronger look at them, they're not actual barriers to independent living. For the everyday person on the street, this is, you know, that's, that's annoying, but when you start seeing people believe in those barriers, as you climb the ranks of, of governmental agencies, it gets in the people in control of these services, you know, that that's where it starts to become a problem. That's where it begins to affect daily lives in a much more concrete way. So, you know, as far as our role as a company, you know, it's always going to be to educate and to, to, you know, you would alluded to doing things not so subtly. Now, not with anger, but also not necessarily with soft touch either. Right. So, there are there those barriers of misconceptions, you know, what other barriers do we have?  There are medical model barriers, that that we're still, you know, still fighting. Again, as a company and in my personal life. You know, my son can get a diagnosis from, you know, an accredited university. But that's not good enough for a school system, and they want to do their own. So, you know, finding these things, and taking the time to, to educate the people who ever you have a chance to, to do better than they're doing right now. Is just so important. The the barriers are, it can feel overwhelming, but, you know, it's something we tell our staff is that, that it's that small first step, and then it's that small second step and that small third step. And that's, that's the only way we're going to get over these barriers, I feel. 

Philip King-Lowe 
Well, you know, um, yeah, well, I feel like one of those barriers for us, is, let me think. Among those barriers to living independently on is an understanding of ourselves, as well as getting the tools we need to learn how to live independently. Because of the many challenges we all live with on a on a daily basis. There's social challenges. There's the challenges of executive functioning, and sensory processing, and all of those various things. And we know that the system is not always well versed for Autistics. But among those barriers, is a just just to try to help many of us Autistics understand what it is we need and how to ask for what we need. And to feel like somebody on the other side is, is hearing us properly.  Um, can you speak to any of these things that I've mentioned? 

Dan Carmichael
Yeah, that's, you know, that's a lot of that is, is, you know, a sort of empowerment, you know, that to sort of, to burn down the, the old mindsets of what Autism is, and to make it a safe place for Autistic Adults to, to express what what their Autism is. To make it a safe and supportive environment to do that. I wear headphones all the time. You know, I, and for years, I felt so self conscious about that. You know, just to help with the sensory overload. And, you know, going to the store, things like that, you know, I always felt like people were looking at me were thinking about why is that guy have headphones on or in, depending on what I was wearing. But the freedom I felt when I when I gave up those feelings, you know, when my wife said, you know, why, you know, stop caring about that, keep your headphones in. You know, I love you. Don't, don't, don't worry about it, you idiot. So in a loving way, of course. Being able to break that down and being comfortable to to express your weaknesses or your, or your vulnerabilities more than weaknesses, you know?  Being able to safely say what those things are, and to get support from, whether it be the, you know, agency that you're working with, you know, to get independent living, whether it be, you know, in your personal relationships or with an employer, you know, that's a huge one. To get employers, especially away from this idea that that it's somehow trying to take away from, from their ability, you know, their ability to do the job, when it's actually an enhancement, you know, making these small changes that would help somebody with autism do their job better, you know, to get people more empathetic about those needs in educate. I want to do that more. I'm, honestly, I'm not good enough at it yet. But that is something I am striving for, for sure.

Commerical Break II

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Philip King-Lowe 
What are some ways that um working, working in this business has helped you to overcome many of your barriers or to work within some of those barriers?

Dan Carmichael
So yeah, that's, you know, I mentioned earlier about seeing, seeing people who didn't have the advantages, you know, of support that I had. But beyond that, spending time in an office environment, you know, that taught me a lot about my Autism, you know, to looking looking at these things as, as ways to learn about yourself, is really interesting to me. So, you know, it's, it's very hard because Autism is such a personal thing, you know, mine, it's different than yours is different than everybody else's. Exactly. So, so my experience of working in an office setting, being expected to participate in conferences and meetings and group work and things that I'm really not comfortable with.

Philip King-Lowe 
LOL, I get cha

Dan Carmichael
Yeah, was was a learning. I learned about myself, I learned about autism, you know, what it really meant? Conferences, my God, I can't, I cannot do conferences, you know, I COVID is put a stop to in person conferences. But you had to pry me out of my hotel room to get me down to those, those tables.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I love what I do, I don't really have to go anywhere if I don't want to, and most of the time I don't. But I can, I can understand your point of view of having a great support. My husband has been absolutely marvelous. With me, actually, I was diagnosed shortly after we started to form our relationship. And I was very fortunate that Dr. Foster, who diagnose me was willing to work with both of us in the very beginning to help us both understand what was going on, and how we can work on our communications to better communicate with each other within the the context of our disability. And that is so important. And I often feel I'm lucky to be able to say that. And yet sometimes when I say it with other Autistics in my audiences who, who do not have those things I, I do indeed feel for them, because I don't know what I would do without a supportive spouse that I have to meet the challenges that I meet. You know, my own therapist is fond of saying that, you know, you need to be around people who will let you be as Autistic as you want to be. And I think both of us both you and me are blessed with spouses who definitely allow us to do that without too much conflict. Yeah. You know, and that Yeah, and that's one of the barriers to living independently I think we can we can very well named that is to find find those people, those providers and people who will respect allow and and accept us to be as Autistic as we are as we wish to be. 

Dan Michael
Yeah. Is what however, we're, we're wired on a day to day basis. You know, I my poor wife is set through you know, whether it be with the kids or mature cartoons that we watch, me naming voice actors and recognizing them and movies and naming, that's definitely one of my, my more unusual love affairs is voice actors and picking them out of cartoons. And, and she, she's impressed by it. She deals with it on a day to day basis. And I'm very thankful for that.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, with me, actually Autism and Autistic Adults and that sort of thing. It's actually one of my hyperfocus. And so, one of the reasons I chose to start this podcast. And so you know, I'm grateful that I can talk about it pretty freely. 

Dan Carmichael
Yeah, yeah. I think we're both from an era where childhood diagnosis was reserved for, for cases that did not look like, you know, you are or me. At least that's been that was, you know, my experience. It was? Well, you're the quirky kid, you know, you're the, you know, no, there's no name for we're not putting anything out. You're just kind of kind of odd.

Philip King-Lowe
Yeah.

Dan Carmichael
And I know that's changing. 

Philip King-Lowe 
I mean,  I totally agree with that. At the time, when I was living through my childhood and early adult years, I always just assumed that I was too difficult to put up with or I was lazy, I daydream, but without any particular explanation for it. And, you know, and, and, you know, um, it wasn't until I was diagnosed in 2011. And since then, that I began to understand Oh, yeah, those that's why I did those things. Now I get it. 

Dan Michael
Yeah, that, you know, if there's one thing that I could assist every Autistic Adults with, or even your kid, kids, it's just, I was I was very intelligent, and struggled mightily in school and beat myself up over it for years. But because I didn't understand myself, I didn't have been there, I didn't have the diagnosis. And it felt like I was lazy and felt like I was not living up to my potential. And after I got that acceptance that I was enough, you know, it's, it changed my life. And it made my relationships better. It made my work life better. And knowing that, and if I could somehow part that onto onto everybody, that would be, that would be a dream.

Philip King-Lowe 
Let me launch into my last question.

Dan Carmichael
Yes, please. 

Philip King-Lowe 
What are some steps that Autistic Adults and our caregivers, supporters need to take to advocate for our needs when it comes to independent living, and many of the barriers that we have already named here? Because as you've heard me say, and then the many episodes, this is one of my favorite parts of what I do. Because I believe that part of of helping with the goal of Autism Acceptance is to help Autistics advocate for ourselves. So talk about some ways we can advocate for ourselves in this particular in this particular area that affects us.

Dan Carmichael
Well, one thing that I learned that I learned from my wife, who is very she's brilliant and studious, is is to know and understand your rights. To know what you are allowed and what is not allowed to be done to you. To know where you wear your voice. You know, this is in regards to directing your care obviously. To know where you are allowed to draw a line in the sand and say, "No, no, this does not work for me."  And and I've got the paper to prove it. I think that's that's very important. And I say that not as if you know, the agencies that are providing services there. They so often do such a wonderful job. You know, we've worked with some just amazing people who have, who have made it their mission to, to let people lead the self determined lives that they that they want. But, you know, so so there's obviously that knowledge part, excuse me, creativity that, to me, is very important to foster, to come up with solutions to live independently. To work around some of those, some of those barriers, creatively. And there are a lot of caregivers and case managers who are excited about new ideas and new ways of doing things. And making that work within the framework of, of currently established systems. I think that's, that's very important. I think that, you know, I, I'd love to say, you know, to have have a strong support group, you know, behind you, but that's not always possible. I know, from the stories that I've heard, and if that's not the case, you know, if that's not available to you directly, then then you have to make one, you know, whether that be through groups online, you know, whether that be with a local chapter, of an autistic support group. And, and get those shared experiences and get those people in your corner to help you navigate those. And, you know, GT, that's what we want to do, you know, you want to be a hub for those people and for that information, and for advocacy, and it's in its purest form. So, so there's a lot to do, but, but I am confident that, that this boats, it's heading in the right direction.

Philip King-Lowe 
Do you have a personal story of your own in which you've advocated for yourself that you feel you were very successful with? And would you be comfortable and sharing that with our listeners?

Dan Carmichael
You know, not, not on a working with my son, you know, for some reason, those, those moments, from, from my own point of view, are very hard for me to, to gauge and to remember and to. Alright. And to understand. I mean, it's not, I would be happy to if, if there are any of the sprung right to mind.

Philip King-Lowe
Take your time. 

Dan Carmichael
But, you know, having a son and watching him struggle is is so much more visceral than struggling myself. I think that's just when, you know, maybe a natural parental response. But I went to the school to pick him up once. And, you know, he was he was having a, you just a meltdown. Trying to put away his winter clothes, or, you know, his jacket, things like that. I walk into the school and there's just kids screaming and sprinting all around him. There's announcements, blaring through the loudspeakers, I mean, I could barely walk in there. So for him to be in there you know, six hours a day, whatever it was. You know, I instantly said no, this we got to have a better way. You know, what are we gonna do there's there's got to be a better way to do this. And, you know, took a lot of trying and a lot of a lot of back and forth. You know, we eventually got him you know, some quiet places he could go in the day to reset into to recenter. We got him headphones, you know, just some, you know, some ear protection. For assemblies and for other loud events, and, you know, we totally supported him doing that whenever he needed and so to, to watch him go through that, and then to watch him start to have more success as we added these solutions was incredibly rewarding. And it's weird. It's almost like a, like a drug, you know, like, I want to find every solution now. I want to, I want to do what I can to make him as as successful as possible now. I've had to put that on hold. But you know, he's been being homeschooled during COVID, which this will shock you has not been a problem for him. 

Philip King-Lowe 
It doesn't surprise me at all.

Daniel Carmichael
He's been, he's been quite content, to be doing his work from home. And we couldn't be prouder of them. He is really he's learned about himself. He's, he's being I mean, he's just, he's a hero. So I didn't have an Autistic parent. And I'm, I'm feel very lucky that he does and that he and I can share that and work through that stuff together.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yeah. Well, I know that you're probably like me that open ended questions are not simple to answer. So let me perhaps help you a little bit more. Um, yeah, that's fine. Um, as you've been working with the creation and the management of GT Independence, and you've been, you know, really working to help Autistics and others with varying disabilities to live independently. Have you? Is there any particular story that you have in which you have advocated for yourself, whether it's in the creation of the business, being part of the business, something you've done in the business that you have done, that you feel like you advocated for yourself, and you took a major step forward to telling your story about what being Autistic is like for you? Because as you've heard me also say on many times, that when we tell our stories, even if it's just to say, I'm sorry, but that noise does not work for me, that or whatever, that's part of telling your story. If you can find any of those, at least one of those. Um, do you think you can tell us one of those?

Dan Carmichael
Yeah. Take a drink, and then I'll have it. The answers in this bottle somewhere. So I can't think of a one specific, one specific incident. But what I what I do have is that for years, I've been heavily involved in our in GT's facilities and designing facilities in and purchasing buildings and getting those set up and and the interior design and layout, things like that. And there have been several instances where, you know, other executives or contractors have been Surefire set on a certain design element that I was able to view from, from my own Autistic experience in my own concern with some of the sensory sensory issues that come with with my version and was able to push back successfully and say, No, you know, this. This would create an environment you know, in this area that is not conducive for an employee that that has similar sensory issues, as I do.  Adding white noise machines, you know, adding very comfort all accessible additions with that in mind, is something I'm very proud of. And, you know, there were times when I had to, you know, fight pretty hard against some of the, you know, some of the contractors who were very set on how this they were going to do this. And there were times where it ended up that, you know, it raised the budget of a project, but, but, but to make that accessible workspace, it's not just for me, but but for everybody. And anybody who might be or who I don't know, is, is fighting their own. I want to say their own battle, but who is has similar sensory issues. Like I said, I'm very proud of that. And we'll continue to do that. For all of our employees.

Philip King-Lowe 
That sounds, that was a great answer. I appreciate that.

Dan Carmichael
Thank you

Philip King-Lowe
You're welcome. 

Commercial Break III 

Future Shows

On May 24^th, I will publish the episode Autistic Adults and Justice in Employment.  Autistic Adults are disproportionally unemployed and underemployed.  The Americans with Disabilities Act may be the law to protect against discrimination in the work place, but discrimination is still happening. Why is that the case?  My guest Samuel J. Levine is the Director of the Jewish Law Institute and Professor of Law at Touro College in New York.  Samuel J. Levine is a strong advocate for special education, disability rights and in particular Autistics.  Samuel will talk with me about how many intolerant employers are getting around the laws to discriminate against Autistic Adults, and why it would be in many employers’ best interest to hire Autistic Adults because of the skills and talents we bring.

Coming in June as we celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month, I will publish one show about Autistic Adults: Our Diverse Sexual Orientations.  Three different Autistic Adults will join me to talk about their diverse sexual orientations. They will discuss their social challenges with socialization, dating and the discrimination they face for being Autistic as well as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual and Queer.  The second show will be Autistic Adults and Our Diverse Gender Identities.  A Transgender person who is Autistic, a person of color as well as Jewish will talk about what their journey has been like.

For more information go to todaysautisticmoment.com.  Also, please follow Today’s Autistic Moment on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Philip King-Lowe
Well, Dan, I do think this has been a very informative and a great conversation. And I do feel like you know, we've given our listeners some things to think about and to add to their life. Um, my last question for you is, um, there are going to be some listeners who are going to want to know, some resources they can find or how they can contact anybody at, um, at GT Independence, and I, of course, your website is already named on my, on my ads and everything, but feel free to add add more information, if you can give it please.

Dan Carmichael
Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, come come see us on on Facebook, for sure. We always have lots of cool stuff going on over there. Our GT Independence Facebook page. We've done a lot of giveaways, and just really neat, neat things. And, you know, we share a lot of, of experiences. from, you know, both our clients and our employees. They're really, they're really, they're meaningful. It's not just it's not just some corporate, you know, a dribble, or pandering or anything like that. They're, they're really, really interesting stories. Yeah, so you know, and you'd mentioned our website, and you can, people can reach out to us on any of those phone numbers are listed there, we want to want to help any way we can obviously. I love to see. I don't, I don't manage our Facebook page, but I still get some of the messages sent through and it's just really cool to see those interactions and, and occasionally jump in and be a part of it. So yeah, yeah, I would, I would love to hear from anybody and we would love to help anybody. Even if it's not through our services, you know, if there's anything we can do, to get you pointed to the right services, that that's a win for us. You know, we are, we are a family. That company that is, you know, obviously dedicated to, to disability rights. Because it's our life. It's for my brother and my daughter and my son and me and, and everybody else. So we will continue that fight.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yeah. I also know that you are a fantastic sponsor, to the Autism Society of Minnesota. That's one of the one of the ways I found you. So anyway..

Dan Carmichael
Yeah, they're doing great work. I'm so happy to be to be in league with them.

Philip King-Lowe 
Yeah, yeah, very much so. Alright, Dan. Well, thank you so much for being on today.

Dan Carmichael
Yeah, thank you Philip. This has been wonderful. And I look forward to to listening to, to all your episodes and in the future as well.

Philip King-Lowe 
Very good. Thank you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai 

Today’s Autistic Community Bulletin Board

June Workshop in Austin, Minnesota, features Judy Endow. Autism Friendly Austin, the Autism Society of Minnesota and the Hormel Historic Home will co-host “Autistically Thriving: Living a Self-Determined Life” an in-person and virtual informative workshop held on June 10^th from 8am to 4pm led by Judy Endow, LCSW, author and international speaker on a variety of autism-related topics.  I have heard Judy Endow speak, and the information she shares is invaluable.  I highly recommend attending this session to listen to Judy.

Planning for the Unexpected: Emergency Preparedness for Autistic Adults the virtual skillshop will take place on Tuesday, May 25^th from 7-9pm. Eric Ringgenberg will be the presenter. Unexpected emergencies are challenging for everyone, however there are multiple reasons why Autistic Adults may face increased challenges and difficulty with navigating these situations. Review the basic terms that make up an emergency kit, how to prepare a basic emergency preparedness plan for you and others and discuss resources that you can access after a disaster strikes. This session will also cover interactions with first responders, including disability disclosure, interaction strategies, and community concerns.

Steps for Autism in Minnesota will take place on May 23, 2021 beginning at 9am to 12pm at the Como Lakeside Pavilion located at 1360 Lexington Pkwy, N., in St. Paul.  Join AuSM for this hybrid edition of the 21^st Annual Steps for Autism in Minnesota, AuSM’s largest fundraiser of the year.  At Steps you will find community, resources, and support.  With Safety in mind and social distancing in place, AuSM will offer participants an all-abilities walk route, activity stations featuring Three Rivers Park District, the Ramsey County Sheriff, the Ramsey County Library, AuSM Camps and quiet space, yoga, and costumed characters. There will be an autism resources fair, featuring businesses and organizations that offer programs and services for families and individuals with autism and opportunities for community connections. Those who prefer virtual access will find autism business and organization resources on our website and will be able to walk their favorite route in their own spaces, in their own time.  100% of dollars raised through Steps for Autism are tax deductible, stay local, and support programs and services that help the 1 in 44 people affected by autism in Minnesota to grow and thrive.

Go to ausm.org to register or read about any of these events.

Thank you for listening to Today’s Autistic Moment: A Podcast for Autistic Adults by An Autistic Adult.

You can email me anytime to todaysautisticmoment@gmail.com .