Latest / The iHeart SoCal Show / Easterseals' Challenging People To Create A New Dialog Around Autism & Belonging
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Please a fox here. This is the iHeart so Cal Show.
- 0:02Speaker 2: April is Autism Acceptance Month and Easter Seals is challenging
- 0:07Speaker 2: you to create a new dialogue around autism and belonging.
- 0:11Speaker 2: Did you know that California has one of the highest
- 0:13Speaker 2: rates of autism in the country. I want to touch
- 0:15Speaker 2: on all that. Easter Seals Southern California is one of
- 0:18Speaker 2: the largest providers of autism therapy services in the country,
- 0:21Speaker 2: and once again they're initiating a brash dialogue around disability
- 0:24Speaker 2: acceptance with their new campaign, Everyone with Autism Belongs. All
- 0:30Speaker 2: the info right there at Easter salsautism dot com and
- 0:33Speaker 2: I want to tell us all about it. Is there
- 0:35Speaker 2: a Chief clinical officer and psychologist of Autism Therapy Services,
- 0:39Speaker 2: Doctor Paula Pampa craven Hi.
- 0:41Speaker 1: Doctor Paula, Hello, Hello, I love the messaging behind this campaign.
- 0:46Speaker 1: I got the PSA right here in front of me.
- 0:47Speaker 2: You know that feeling when you can just go to
- 0:49Speaker 2: work or go to school, or just be out and
- 0:51Speaker 2: about or at home, or you know, just be yourself
- 0:53Speaker 2: and feel like you belong. Well, for people with autism,
- 0:56Speaker 2: belonging isn't just important, it's essential and it starts when
- 1:00Speaker 2: we can all recognize that there's just no one way
- 1:02Speaker 2: to think, move or communicate. And Eester Sills wants to
- 1:06Speaker 2: help Easter Sales Disabilities Services. They're sharing a ton of
- 1:09Speaker 2: ways we can all make sure that everyone with autism
- 1:12Speaker 2: feels like they belong to ester Sales, autism dot Com,
- 1:15Speaker 2: the webs that I mentioned, and there's so much that
- 1:17Speaker 2: y'all do to help those with disabilities. But explain why
- 1:21Speaker 2: it's so important to help those with autism feel like
- 1:24Speaker 2: they belong.
- 1:25Speaker 3: Sure, so you're right, We focus on disability services throughout
- 1:29Speaker 3: the year. Autism Awareness Month and Acceptance Month is in April,
- 1:34Speaker 3: and easter Sills Autism Services is the largest provider in
- 1:38Speaker 3: California and probably one of the largest in the nation.
- 1:40Speaker 3: We serve about twenty seven thousand individuals each and every year,
- 1:45Speaker 3: and so it was really a great opportunity for us
- 1:47Speaker 3: to share and to associate the work that we do
- 1:50Speaker 3: at Easter Sills with autism directly. So we're really excited
- 1:54Speaker 3: about this PSA and the message and the messages really
- 1:59Speaker 3: around belong and the campaign celebrates how belonging, inclusion and
- 2:05Speaker 3: acceptance is so important and it really reminds us that
- 2:10Speaker 3: autism isn't a one size fits all and that everyone
- 2:14Speaker 3: with autism is unique, and.
- 2:16Speaker 2: Can we talk about that part, because that part is,
- 2:18Speaker 2: you know, each person with autism it's so very different,
- 2:21Speaker 2: a very different experience and many times and that's what
- 2:23Speaker 2: I've experienced. And can we talk about what it means
- 2:26Speaker 2: to be on the spectrum and then different levels, like
- 2:29Speaker 2: sometimes it is easier to talk to a person who's
- 2:31Speaker 2: in a different part of the spectrum with autism, and
- 2:33Speaker 2: then other times it's much harder.
- 2:35Speaker 1: So touch on that first and then we'll dive in more.
- 2:38Speaker 3: Yeah, of course the incidence of autism has risen or
- 2:43Speaker 3: you know, we've we've done a better job of diagnosing
- 2:46Speaker 3: and providing services for individuals with autism. But you know,
- 2:49Speaker 3: at some point people may not know what autism is.
- 2:53Speaker 3: Most people have been touched by someone with autism spectrum
- 2:56Speaker 3: disorder at this point in time. But if I were
- 2:59Speaker 3: to just describe it to you, I would say it's
- 3:01Speaker 3: a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person may process information,
- 3:07Speaker 3: how they may communicate, how they may interact socially, and
- 3:11Speaker 3: really how they engage with the world. And not everyone
- 3:14Speaker 3: experiences all of these same characteristics. We call it a
- 3:19Speaker 3: spectrum because each person may present differently. They each have
- 3:26Speaker 3: a wide range of strengths and needs and ways of
- 3:29Speaker 3: learning and ways of communicating, and so that's why we
- 3:33Speaker 3: talk about an autism spectrum. It's also a lifelong disability
- 3:39Speaker 3: or a lifelong condition that a person may have different
- 3:44Speaker 3: needs throughout their life at different points in their life.
- 3:47Speaker 3: So we focus on the services that we provide on
- 3:50Speaker 3: an individual basis and really working to increase skills, help
- 3:56Speaker 3: people to build relationships and to participate meaningfully in their
- 4:00Speaker 3: day to day lives.
- 4:02Speaker 2: Yeah, I can imagine that, you know, you want to
- 4:04Speaker 2: focus on this because I can imagine you might be
- 4:06Speaker 2: hearing from maybe families or maybe even those with autism
- 4:10Speaker 2: who know that there's a struggle there. Or sometimes we
- 4:14Speaker 2: could be on the different page of people without autism.
- 4:17Speaker 2: You know, it's they wanted to better connect, right. Do
- 4:19Speaker 2: you hear from parents asking how can we better connect
- 4:22Speaker 2: our kids with the rest.
- 4:23Speaker 1: Of the world.
- 4:23Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. And you know a lot of the people
- 4:27Speaker 3: we support that participants, we support themselves when we look
- 4:30Speaker 3: at the goals that they have for themselves and as
- 4:33Speaker 3: well as their families. A lot of it is centered
- 4:36Speaker 3: around socialization and building friendships and interacting with the world
- 4:43Speaker 3: and being more accepted and you know, really going into
- 4:47Speaker 3: communities and being seen for the important gifts that they bring.
- 4:51Speaker 3: So that really was one of the main reasons that
- 4:55Speaker 3: we focus this campaign or this PSA on belonging.
- 4:58Speaker 2: Yeah, Easter Seals Autism dot Com is the website. It
- 5:02Speaker 2: takes you right there and just a wealth of information
- 5:04Speaker 2: and a lot of stats about autism. One in thirty
- 5:06Speaker 2: one children in the US. One in thirty one in
- 5:09Speaker 2: the US are diagnosed on the autism spectrum, with a
- 5:12Speaker 2: higher prevalence in California with diagnosing one in nineteen with autism.
- 5:17Speaker 1: Should we know why that is?
- 5:19Speaker 3: Well, we've seen these rates, as you've mentioned, really significantly
- 5:24Speaker 3: raise within our country, and we know that in California specifically,
- 5:29Speaker 3: we're kind of at an all time high with the
- 5:33Speaker 3: one in nineteen diagnosis. I do think that shows like
- 5:37Speaker 3: this really help with awareness. Campaigns like we have, the
- 5:41Speaker 3: PSA that we have out helps with the awareness and
- 5:44Speaker 3: so all of that combined, including working with our medical
- 5:48Speaker 3: professionals and community members, really help us demonstrate the importance
- 5:53Speaker 3: of access to early screening and services. So I do
- 5:57Speaker 3: think all of that in combination really has resulted in
- 6:02Speaker 3: more people being diagnosed earlier, more people being aware and
- 6:07Speaker 3: going and getting services or asking for a diagnosis, or
- 6:10Speaker 3: you know, looking at being assessed for autism. I think
- 6:14Speaker 3: it's a culmination of all of those things together.
- 6:17Speaker 1: So what type of services?
- 6:18Speaker 2: Because I have it here in my notes, Easter Sales
- 6:20Speaker 2: in California provides services to more than twenty nine thousand
- 6:23Speaker 2: people with autism and other disabilities and their families in
- 6:26Speaker 2: La Orange, San Diego, Imperial Kern, San Bernino, Riverside, and
- 6:30Speaker 2: Ventura counties.
- 6:31Speaker 1: That's a lot of people.
- 6:33Speaker 2: What exactly are you able to do for folks who
- 6:36Speaker 2: need your services that have autism?
- 6:38Speaker 3: Yeah, I think if you go to our website easter
- 6:41Speaker 3: Sills Autism dot com, that would link you to a
- 6:43Speaker 3: lot of the services. But for example, within autism services
- 6:48Speaker 3: at Easter cill Southern California, we provide in home and
- 6:51Speaker 3: center based applied behavior analysis where we teach skills and
- 6:56Speaker 3: really assist with communication. We have speech therapy, occupy pational therapy,
- 7:01Speaker 3: social skills groups. We have our living options programs which
- 7:05Speaker 3: support people in their home environment. We have employment services
- 7:09Speaker 3: which help people to get a job as well as
- 7:11Speaker 3: support them while they're at their job. And then we
- 7:13Speaker 3: have adult day services which promotes volunteerism and skill building
- 7:20Speaker 3: in the community. And then we have our services that
- 7:23Speaker 3: are center based early head Start head Start preschool programs
- 7:27Speaker 3: for the zero defy population. So really the gamut of
- 7:30Speaker 3: ages and types of services for individuals with autism their
- 7:34Speaker 3: developmental disabilities, and just so.
- 7:36Speaker 2: Good for folks to know that Easter Sales is there
- 7:38Speaker 2: to help specifically with autism amongst the umbrella of many
- 7:42Speaker 2: ways that you help people with many conditions and disabilities,
- 7:45Speaker 2: but to know that you help so much with autism.
- 7:47Speaker 2: You know, I'm sure a lot of people listening who
- 7:49Speaker 2: have it. I know for sure we have listeners who
- 7:51Speaker 2: have it, who have met many times at our charity
- 7:54Speaker 2: walks or radio station events and that call and listen
- 7:57Speaker 2: that dm us on Instagram. So we definitely have some
- 8:00Speaker 2: that we know are part of our big radio family
- 8:02Speaker 2: that we know are on the spectrum. And yeah, it
- 8:05Speaker 2: does take a special kind of way to communicate with
- 8:07Speaker 2: each other, but you know, we can do it. We've
- 8:09Speaker 2: we've found a way already with many of our special
- 8:12Speaker 2: radio listeners and of course their families.
- 8:16Speaker 1: It's a lot to have a kid, and if you
- 8:18Speaker 1: have a kid on the spectrum, I.
- 8:21Speaker 2: Applaud those who are so so dedicated to doing everything
- 8:24Speaker 2: in your power to just give them a happy life.
- 8:27Speaker 1: Like all kids, that's what we want for all kids.
- 8:30Speaker 2: Do our best to make sure they have their their
- 8:32Speaker 2: living their best life possible.
- 8:34Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think it's really the part of the
- 8:36Speaker 3: message that we're trying to get out. There's a unique
- 8:38Speaker 3: and individualism of people with autism. Autistic individuals bring a
- 8:44Speaker 3: lot to the table, and we want to recognize and
- 8:46Speaker 3: celebrate those gifts. And people want to feel like they belong.
- 8:50Speaker 3: All of us want to feel like we belong, right,
- 8:52Speaker 3: It's part of one of our basic needs as a
- 8:54Speaker 3: human being. And so how do we celebrate that, How
- 8:57Speaker 3: do we lift people up? How do we do maybe
- 9:00Speaker 3: things a little bit differently to have people with lived
- 9:04Speaker 3: experiences listen to you know, their voices, and really celebrate
- 9:08Speaker 3: and support their needs. What can we do as community
- 9:12Speaker 3: members to support those who have autism, to bring them
- 9:16Speaker 3: further into our communities.
- 9:18Speaker 2: And to not be afraid of it, to find a
- 9:20Speaker 2: way to embrace it right, to embrace them.
- 9:22Speaker 3: A hundred percent.
- 9:23Speaker 2: Yeah again this campaign Everyone with Autism Belongs. Everyone with
- 9:28Speaker 2: Autism Belongs. When you go to Easter Sales Autism dot Com,
- 9:32Speaker 2: it's an easy guide. You're going to find an easy
- 9:34Speaker 2: everyday ways that we can help make spaces more inclusive.
- 9:39Speaker 2: So I want to talk about these two because I
- 9:40Speaker 2: was on the website looking so whether it's at home,
- 9:42Speaker 2: at work, at school, or in the community, what are
- 9:45Speaker 2: some of these ways that we can help those with
- 9:48Speaker 2: autism feel more included, more like they belong.
- 9:51Speaker 3: There's a lot of information on the website, so you know,
- 9:54Speaker 3: if you're at home, it's ways to you know, build
- 9:58Speaker 3: a routine at home, whether it's it's a calendar that
- 10:01Speaker 3: we use for ensuring that people kind of know what's
- 10:04Speaker 3: going to happen day to day. At school, it's how
- 10:07Speaker 3: we make friendships within the school, how we make space
- 10:10Speaker 3: for people with autism open up a little bit. And
- 10:13Speaker 3: when you look at the PSA, you'll see these live
- 10:15Speaker 3: examples as well. On the PSA, and then there's tips
- 10:18Speaker 3: that you can take away in the work environment. When
- 10:21Speaker 3: you think about all the accommodations that we can make
- 10:23Speaker 3: that are very small things that we could do, you know,
- 10:26Speaker 3: whether it's this quiet space to allow someone to decompress,
- 10:30Speaker 3: to give someone with maybe sensory considerations to light or
- 10:34Speaker 3: temperature or noise, you know, that opportunity to you know,
- 10:37Speaker 3: wear headphones, or to just take a minute and then
- 10:41Speaker 3: at in the community, it's really just making a space
- 10:44Speaker 3: for individuals who may need something a little bit different
- 10:48Speaker 3: in a community setting and thinking about those things ahead
- 10:51Speaker 3: of time and being proactive. I think it helps all
- 10:54Speaker 3: of us, right, all of us can use that a
- 10:56Speaker 3: little bit of accommodation or a while you think about
- 10:59Speaker 3: what you use for your I need a little more
- 11:01Speaker 3: light on my phone, I need a bigger font, whatever
- 11:03Speaker 3: it might be. So some of these small acts can
- 11:06Speaker 3: help all of us out.
- 11:08Speaker 2: It's one thing about being a considerate person, but then
- 11:10Speaker 2: also learning how you can be especially considerate to those
- 11:13Speaker 2: with autism because the needs are are different.
- 11:15Speaker 3: Right, And it's asking people, right, It's learning getting to
- 11:19Speaker 3: know someone so that we can, you know, maybe accommodate
- 11:23Speaker 3: a little bit differently. And I think the first step
- 11:26Speaker 3: really starts with developing that relationship and asking someone what
- 11:30Speaker 3: they may need. And again it's usually very a small gesture.
- 11:34Speaker 2: Easter Sales Autism DOT com tips and info on how
- 11:37Speaker 2: to be an ally for those with autism, and ways
- 11:40Speaker 2: to listen with more empathy and practical tips, conversations starters.
- 11:44Speaker 2: I like the conversation starters are great. And again it's
- 11:47Speaker 2: a pretty much every everywhere in life, at school, the workplace,
- 11:50Speaker 2: with amongst your family and friends, you know, anywhere out
- 11:53Speaker 2: in the community.
- 11:53Speaker 1: It's just about being more aware.
- 11:55Speaker 2: Of how we can better connect with those with autism,
- 11:58Speaker 2: help them feel better connected by educating ourselves as to
- 12:01Speaker 2: how we can be better at it.
- 12:02Speaker 1: Instead of shining away and shutting it down and running
- 12:05Speaker 1: in the other direction.
- 12:06Speaker 3: Right, And you know this wasn't easter still of developing
- 12:09Speaker 3: something for someone, We really worked collaboratively with individuals with autism.
- 12:15Speaker 3: We have an Autistic Advisory Board that we communicated and
- 12:19Speaker 3: collaborated with, we have autistic associates, we have service recipients
- 12:24Speaker 3: as well as parents. So we really wanted to ask
- 12:27Speaker 3: that question around what was important, and that overarching theme
- 12:31Speaker 3: that came through was belonging. So this campaign, it features
- 12:35Speaker 3: individuals who are autistic but really represent and are authentically
- 12:41Speaker 3: cast represent what people have asked of us, and this
- 12:45Speaker 3: is how do we take those that next step to
- 12:47Speaker 3: support people to belong in all of the environments that
- 12:51Speaker 3: we talked about.
- 12:52Speaker 2: Yeah, and what's so great about Easter sales and when
- 12:54Speaker 2: you do these campaigns, I love that you use real
- 12:56Speaker 2: people as you're spokespeople, whether they're on the radio, or
- 13:01Speaker 2: on billboards or on TV. You used real people who
- 13:03Speaker 2: are living with these conditions, whether you know, whatever disability
- 13:07Speaker 2: it may be, but it's real people sharing their experience.
- 13:09Speaker 2: You've got a number of people on this campaign, Ava,
- 13:12Speaker 2: Paul Lionis, You've got Eddie and aside from them all
- 13:17Speaker 2: having autism, maybe touch on why you chose them to
- 13:22Speaker 2: be a part of this campaign. Everyone with autism belongs well.
- 13:26Speaker 3: Definitely was a process to go through and to decide,
- 13:29Speaker 3: you know, who would be acting in the campaign. So
- 13:32Speaker 3: we chose people based on you know, their they for
- 13:36Speaker 3: different environments. We wanted to have a great representation, which
- 13:40Speaker 3: which you'll see at the website. We do and each
- 13:42Speaker 3: has a different story and each has a different set
- 13:45Speaker 3: of needs and I think that that's what we highlighted.
- 13:48Speaker 3: What was really great was after you know, the scenes
- 13:52Speaker 3: stopped rolling and to get to know each of the
- 13:55Speaker 3: individuals and their family families and what they had worked
- 14:00Speaker 3: and what they were bringing to the table, and each
- 14:02Speaker 3: have their own stories and you can see those at
- 14:05Speaker 3: the website as well. Ava was the first girl who
- 14:09Speaker 3: was in the lunch room scene, and she really shared,
- 14:14Speaker 3: you know, a lot of information about what it was
- 14:17Speaker 3: like to be autistic and kind of how she felt
- 14:20Speaker 3: about it before she shot the PSA and after, and
- 14:25Speaker 3: it was just really great to hear and just to
- 14:27Speaker 3: hear about, you know, what she loves to do in
- 14:29Speaker 3: her free time and her mom and how supportive she
- 14:33Speaker 3: is and their relationship. It was just really great. And
- 14:37Speaker 3: each of the actors kind of had that same story
- 14:41Speaker 3: to share a different story, but that same narrative just
- 14:44Speaker 3: that really comes through to show how unique each person
- 14:47Speaker 3: with autism is and the gifts that they bring.
- 14:50Speaker 2: To our world. Yeah, and I'm looking at Ava's story
- 14:52Speaker 2: right now. Ava Cando twelve years old. She was diagnosed
- 14:55Speaker 2: on the autism spectrum when she was just ten and
- 14:58Speaker 2: has received autism services from Easter Seals in the California
- 15:01Speaker 2: in the past. She's in the sixth grade, where her
- 15:03Speaker 2: favorite subject is science and she participates in acting dancing
- 15:07Speaker 2: choir and she hopes you'd be a working actress one day,
- 15:10Speaker 2: there you go and the Easter Seals Everyone with Autism
- 15:13Speaker 2: Belongs PSA campaign is her first professional acting gig, and
- 15:18Speaker 2: she's an avid reader. She likes to spend her free
- 15:20Speaker 2: time with her friends and family. But yeah, very unique
- 15:23Speaker 2: to see what they're sharing about their lives. But each
- 15:26Speaker 2: person with autism essentially becoming a spokesperson for what it
- 15:30Speaker 2: is and how we can better, how we can learn
- 15:33Speaker 2: more about it, and how to help those who are
- 15:36Speaker 2: autistic feel like they belong more. You know, work a
- 15:38Speaker 2: little harder on that connection. Part big crazy world that
- 15:41Speaker 2: we all live in, right, that we all need to share.
- 15:43Speaker 2: We all are here to share it. We got to
- 15:44Speaker 2: find ways to do it better.
- 15:46Speaker 3: And we all play an important role. I think that's
- 15:47Speaker 3: the other part of this, Right, we all have some
- 15:50Speaker 3: level of responsibility as community members to support each other.
- 15:54Speaker 2: Yeah, and so what's the best way. So we just
- 15:56Speaker 2: encourage people to go to the website Easter Seals Autism
- 15:58Speaker 2: dot com. A wealth information there. And also if you
- 16:02Speaker 2: want to do even more, or if you're touched by
- 16:04Speaker 2: somebody with autism and you want to share on social media,
- 16:07Speaker 2: that's a big part of it too, Right, you want
- 16:08Speaker 2: to want to share on social media. Hashtag every one.
- 16:11Speaker 2: It's the number one every one with autism. Do the
- 16:15Speaker 2: hashtag and then see what folks are already sharing, because
- 16:17Speaker 2: you know, it's about educating, being more empathetic and connecting.
- 16:21Speaker 1: But the goal just to better connect, yes.
- 16:24Speaker 3: And I think at the website as well, you can
- 16:27Speaker 3: share your own story and you can tell us about
- 16:29Speaker 3: your kind of yeah, your your life with autism and
- 16:34Speaker 3: ways that we can support to belong further and really
- 16:39Speaker 3: just you know, tell us what you think about the
- 16:40Speaker 3: campaign as well. We're really interested to hear how others
- 16:43Speaker 3: are feeling about it. And there's a quiz that you
- 16:46Speaker 3: can take. If you don't know as much about authors,
- 16:49Speaker 3: there's a quiz that you can take. And there's a
- 16:51Speaker 3: lot of facts and information, so a lot there.
- 16:55Speaker 2: And again April is Autism Acceptance Month and Easter Seals
- 16:59Speaker 2: is challenging all all of us to create a new
- 17:01Speaker 2: dialogue around autism and belonging and helping those with autism
- 17:04Speaker 2: feel like they belong even more so than now and
- 17:07Speaker 2: working together again to create more empathy and be more
- 17:11Speaker 2: educated about it and to connect better with those with autism.
- 17:14Speaker 1: All the information right.
- 17:15Speaker 2: There Easter Seals, Easter Seals Autism dot com, Easter Seals
- 17:19Speaker 2: Autism dot com, Doctor Paula Pampa Craven, thank you so
- 17:22Speaker 2: much as always, and thank you to everyone at Easter
- 17:24Speaker 2: Seals and all that you do for those with disabilities
- 17:26Speaker 2: and with autism.
- 17:27Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you.
- 17:29Speaker 3: I really appreciate you having me on your show. This
- 17:32Speaker 3: means a lot and it's because of people like you
- 17:35Speaker 3: that we're able to, you know, get this PSA out
- 17:37Speaker 3: there and it's such important information, so we really appreciate you.
- 17:41Speaker 1: Love that again, Easter Seals Autism dot com for all
- 17:43Speaker 1: of the info