Beyond 6 Seconds: Neurodiversity stories from neurodivergent people

Born and raised in Costa Rica, Claudia Scott was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in her early teens. Now she lives in the U.S., where she is the Capital Access Manager for Kiva Northwest Arkansas (NWA) at Startup Junkie and an advocate for Tourette's education and support. Claudia uses her experiences to support people with Tourette's, especially in Spanish-speaking communities.

During this episode, Claudia talks about:

• How she discovered she had Tourette’s when she was growing up in Costa Rica
• Her experience of how Tourette’s is viewed by the general public in Costa Rica and the United States
• How her Tourette’s has changed over the course of her life, and how she managed through those changes
• The support she provides to the Hispanic Tourette’s community, including a Tourette’s support group for Spanish speakers

Learn more about Claudia at her travel blog The Tourette Traveler and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

Watch the video of this interview on YouTube.

Read the episode transcript.

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*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.*

Why has public discourse about autism been dominated by non-autistic voices? And, what’s been happening recently to change this?

My guest Eric Garcia breaks this down in today’s episode! Eric is a journalist based in Washington DC and the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent. He is also the author of the book, “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation” which was published in 2021.

During this episode, you will hear Eric talk about:

• Why non-autistic voices have traditionally dominated the public conversation about autism
• How government policies have shaped and evolved the public’s perceptions about autism
• Including a wide variety of autistic people’s experiences in his book – including non-speaking autistic people – as well as his own experiences as an autistic Latino man
• How writing this book helped him confront some of his own biases – and what he learned about becoming a better ally and learning from criticism
• Where the public can find accurate information about autism and the autistic community
• How social media has helped autistic people share their experiences, amplify their voices and effect change (for example, by calling out harmful autistic stereotypes about autism in a recent movie by a certain singer)

Buy Eric’s book, “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation”

Read Eric’s National Journal article (the precursor to “We’re Not Broken”)

Check out Eric’s recommendations for other helpful autism resources: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism Sincerely, Your Autistic Child #ActuallyAutistic on Twitter – hashtag used by autistic content creators (a good place to listen to autistic people, and especially helpful if you’re newly-diagnosed autistic) #AskingAutistics on Twitter – use this hashtag to post questions you want to ask autistic people

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.*

David Egan is a leader and advocate who promotes the causes of people with disabilities. He is the first person with Down Syndrome to serve as a Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Public Policy fellow on Capitol Hill and with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). As a Special Olympics athlete and International Global Messenger, David has traveled extensively and speaks to diverse audiences, including the U.S. Senate, United Nations, and various universities, nonprofit and for-profit companies.

David has also received many awards throughout his career. He was honored by NDSS for his legacy, presented with the American Association for Intellectual Disabilities Media Award, and received the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s highest honor: the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award. As the author of the book “More Alike Than Different: My Life with Down Syndrome,” he inspires his audiences to see our shared humanity and focus on abilities and possibilities rather than limitations.

During this episode, you will hear David talk about:

• Growing up with Down Syndrome, and his biggest dreams as a child
• How he learned to accept his disability
• What he enjoyed about working at Booz Allen Hamilton, CBRE, and SourceAmerica
• His experience as a Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Public Policy fellow
• How he became a disability advocate
• The impact of Special Olympics on his life

To learn more about David and his work, visit his website at DavidEganAdvocacy.com and buy his book, “More Alike Than Different: My Life with Down Syndrome.”

Watch the video of this interview on YouTube.

Read the episode transcript.

Follow the Beyond 6 Seconds podcast in your favorite podcast player.

Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes.

Support or sponsor this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds!

*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.*

Miles Levin is a filmmaker and public speaker living with epilepsy. His short film “Under the Lights” starring Pearce Joza and Alyssa Jirrels has become a beacon for epilepsy representation in movies. The film has inspired people to create daily fan art, learn more about epilepsy and open up about their disabilities. He is now making the full length film of Under the Lights, in an effort to create the single biggest epilepsy awareness campaign in history.

During this episode, you will hear Miles talk about:

• How his life experience with epilepsy inspired Under the Lights
• The powerful impact that Under the Lights is having on audiences
• His fundraising campaign to make the full-length film of Under the Lights (and how you can support the campaign!)

Watch the short film of Under the Lights.

Support the fundraiser for the full-length Under the Lights movie (ends on January 30!)

Follow Under the Lights on social media: @underthelightsfilm on Instagram @underthelightsfilm on Facebook @underthelightsfilm1 on TikTok

Watch the video of this interview on YouTube.

Read the episode transcript.

Follow the Beyond 6 Seconds podcast in your favorite podcast player.

Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes.

Support or sponsor this podcast at BuyMeACoffee.com/Beyond6Seconds!

*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.*

If your employees spent their workdays engrossed in colorful LEGO® bricks, what would you think?

If you're David Kokai, you'd probably think that business is good!

David founded a company devoted to the LEGO® secondary market when he left the corporate world to start WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB), a LEGO® parts dealer. WLWYB operates their breakthrough platform, MOCHUB, which allows LEGO® builders to share their work and make money with their creations.

WLWYB is a neurodiverse workplace that employs autistic people in key parts of their business, and recognizes that the diversity within their teams makes their company stronger.

During this episode, David and Lili talk about:

• How David’s interest in data science inspired him to start a LEGO®-focused business
• Why they decided to create a neurodiverse and autism-friendly work environment at their company
• How they recruit and employ autistic people in key parts of their business and build a work environment that is safe, effective and a great place to grow for all of their employees
• How they adjusted their business operations during the pandemic lockdown with almost no interruptions in orders
• Advice for people who want to start their dream company

To find out more about WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD, visit their official website wlwyb.com and connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also contact David and Lili through the contact us page on the WLWYB website.

Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!

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Click here for the episode transcript.

More about David Kokai, Founder of WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB):

David Kokai is the founder of WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB). He studied economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest (former University of Economics Budapest) and graduated from the University of Vienna.

He had been working in the IT sector at leading multinational companies for more than a decade in several managing roles based in Budapest and Vienna. After getting acquainted with the secondary market for LEGO® in 2010, he opened a LEGO® parts dealership called WE LOVE WHAT YOU BUILD (WLWYB). WLWYB's business innovation is that it has placed its operations in this segment in a unique way in the world based on strong data science, supporting key enterprise functions with a comprehensive, custom-developed business intelligence system; such as purchasing, inventory management, and pricing.

As a result of many years of systematic building, in addition to its position in the secondary market of LEGO®, WLWYB opened the world’s first marketplace in 2018 specializing in bespoke LEGO® creations, called MOCHUB. MOCHUB provides an opportunity for emerging and professional LEGO® builders to receive a royalty from the sale of the models they design. MOCHUB sold many thousands of bespoke LEGO® kits around the world in its first year of operation. After several years of work, the company became an autism friendly workplace in 2019.