Autism in 2023 | Spectrumly Speaking ep. 139
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IN THIS EPISODE:
In this New Years episode, hosts Haley Moss and Dr. Lori Butts discuss what they think the best moments for the autism community were for 2022, and what they hope 2023 has in store. Happy New Year from Spectrumly Speaking and Different Brains!
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Spectrumly Speaking is the podcast dedicated to women on the autism spectrum, produced by Different Brains®. Every other week, join our hosts Haley Moss (an autism self-advocate, attorney, artist, and author) and Dr. Lori Butts (a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, and licensed attorney) as they discuss topics and news stories, share personal stories, and interview some of the most fascinating voices from the autism community.
Spectrumly Speaking is the podcast dedicated to women on the autism spectrum, produced by Different Brains®. Every other week, join our hosts Haley Moss (an autism self-advocate, attorney, artist, and author) and Dr. Lori Butts (a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, and licensed attorney) as they discuss topics and news stories, share personal stories, and interview some of the most fascinating voices from the autism community.
For more about Haley, check out her website: haleymoss.net And look for her on Twitter: twitter.com/haleymossart For more about Dr. Butts, check out her website: cfiexperts.com
Have a question or story for us? E-mail us at SpectrumlySpeaking@gmail.com
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:
HALEY MOSS (HM):
Hello, and welcome to Spectrumly Speaking. I’m Haley Moss, an author, and attorney, and advocate and artist and I’m also autistic. Somehow we’re at what seems to be the first episode of the new year. And while it’s the new year, it’s also the same Spectrumly crew, which means I have the same, and also still wonderful co host — the one and only…
DR LORI BUTTS (LB):
Hi, I’m Dr. Lori Butts. I’m a psychologist and an attorney. I love your intros. Haley, you’re so great. Thank you.
HM:
I’m so glad. Sorry that it’s a new year and it’s still the same old because you know, everybody’s making their new year new me resolutions at this point. It’s like, well, new year, same us, we’re still on our usual Spectrumly grind.
LB:
That’s great, though.
HM:
So I think this is going to be your four of the terrific to hear.
LB:
Really?
HM:
We’ve been in the game since 2019. And we are somehow at 2023.
LB:
Wow. Wow. Time flies. Haley, I can’t even believe that does.
HM:
That’s fine. Like it’s the same all over us. We’ve been in this a lot. Like, what is going?
LB:
Wow. And I continue to look forward to it. I mean, we don’t maybe because we just don’t We don’t record that many. But it’s not like we’re doing this every single day. But wow, that went fast.
HM:
It goes fast. And I think it’s just because our schedules have both been kind of just all over the board that it doesn’t feel like we do that much. But we somehow still do.
LB:
Yes, we do. I was just looking at our all of the shows that we had in 2022. And wow, it’s a lot, we covered a lot for — and I feel like, I feel like we didn’t do that many recordings. But…
HM:
It is the first episode of the new year. And because of that we do have our traditions here. And we’re celebrating our best moments within and for the community in 2022. And what we’re hoping this new year has in store, usually we like to reflect on the things that we’ve done here at Spectrumly. And we also like to think about the autism community at large, which is sometimes a big thing to think about, but 2022 has just been a year.
LB:
Yeah. And I mean, I just I feel like Haley, you are so involved in so many neurodiversity initiatives in the autism community. That, you know, you live it and breathe it all the time. And you know, you’re just committed to that, that space in your work. You’ve, you’ve done so much and 2022 for the autism field.
HM:
I feel like I have, and then I’m like, Wait, what did I do this year? And then I’m like, right, this is I think this was the first year that you actually got to get continuing legal education credit from me.
LB:
Yes, yes, it was.
HM:
One day we were recording. And I had to go give a CLE for the bar. And I remember telling you about you’re like, oh, okay, I’ll go. And then you texted me after and I was like, Oh, my God, this is the first time you got to go to learn with me.
LB:
know, I know. It was so cool to watch you in action. And you’re just so amazing.
HM:
I just had fun. But I feel like that’s what I got to do a lot of in 2022 was just have fun. And so many new people wanted to learn about neurodiversity for the first time. So I think I’ve mentioned this before here, but a lot of the folks that I work with are in big firms, big companies, fortune 500, and lo and hundreds, et cetera. And for them, they’re not where we are in our neurodiversity learning journeys. So sometimes I get to be that very first point of contact and learning for them. And it makes me so excited. And so many people wanted to learn this past year, which makes me hopeful that more people will want to learn in 2023 to hopefully take what they’ve learned into action.
LB:
And you, at least you know, the one CLE that I took of yours, you make it so approachable. I think that that non neurodiverse people are intimidated or you know, don’t want to say the wrong thing. Don’t want to you know, and you are you’re so approachable on the topic and you just make it fun and accessible for people to understand, and I’m not articulating it very well. But do you understand what I’m trying to say?
HM:
Absolutely. I know what you’re trying to say because it’s something that I try to do and take seriously is that a lot of people come to these topics with no clue how to go about it. They Want to learn and a lot of the times people are invested in their professional life, mostly, because their work is offering an experience for them to learn about something that affects them personally. And a lot of the time, people will go to CLEs, or other things on neurodiversity that I do, because they want to learn to support their own family members, not because they care about their colleagues, they go selfishly, right. It’s something that a lot of the organizers and people I work with are always surprised when I say, Look, I need to bridge that gap, because this happens. So you are going to hear things that might be a little bit more personable than you might like. And that’s because you have to know the motivation for why people sign up, right. And it is reflected every single time. Which is why I make that point that a lot of people come to this on like other dei topics, because it’s not because it’s sometimes hits closer to home, right might not have a home that is diverse in culture, where you might not have a home that has multiple different identities under the same roof, you might, if you have unusually, there are certain topics that really lend themselves to it. So if you are someone who has adopted a child, for instance, and maybe that child is not the same race as you, then you might have a more of an investment. Or if you have a family member who is a member of the LGBTQ plus community. Or if you have a kid or family member who’s neurodivergent or disabled, then that’s more of a buy in. But not all topics have that happen. But this topic always does. So that’s something that always makes me excited that people want to learn. And I think we’re slowly I hope that you just in 2023, what I always hope is people want to learn deeper, and that they feel inspired to action, that it’s one thing to become aware. And it’s one thing to be able to accept an act. Right, right. So I’m hoping for more acceptance and action. But I feel like I say that every year. And I’m always afraid it comes across as a platitude when that’s a genuine thing I would like.
LB:
It doesn’t come across as a platitude. It’s just how do you measure? How do you know you don’t know.
HM:
You don’t but you know, if all of a sudden the employment rates are better, the amount of people disclosing or self reporting is higher, things like that. Like there’s some kind of metrics, but they’re not great metrics, because everyone is at such a different place. Right? Right. It really does depend on the person. And that’s something that I always take seriously. But I also look forward to what we do here. So I’m always excited for what we’re going to accomplish as a team and what we’re going to do in 2023, and even just looking back on what we’ve done in 2022. Together, we’ve had a lot of amazing guests and things that have happened.
LB:
Yeah, there’s no — or all of our guests are just more amazing than than not more amazing. The next but everyone is just so amazing. I’m always like, wow, we can’t have another great guest. And the next guest is just as good as the last one. And they’re just…
HM:
We love all our guests. Yeah. And they’re all want to say that there’s a specific moment or episode that really stood out to me, because I genuinely love every single person who shows up on the show. I have learned something different from each person, whether it’s about advocacy, or whether it’s about masking or eating disorders, or women’s issues are appear support identity, or things for students. And if you’re a parent, or even I know we had one conversation about something I didn’t think about with people who were in fandoms, like, thinking about being safe at in person convention, things that are other groups, like there’s so much that I don’t always think about. But I say this every single time and every year to is that I learned about things that I don’t always know about. And that makes me excited, and it makes me a better person.
LB:
Me too, for sure.
HM:
Selfishly, I enjoy our guests because I get to learn things, but mostly I enjoy our guests because other people get to learn things from them.
LB:
Yeah, and the work everybody’s doing is so noble. And, and, and, and the Our guests are diverse in their, and what they are passionate about, but they’re aligned with their passion. And it’s just it’s so inspiring. Everybody is really inspiring and that they’re doing something that they love and advocate for and are passionate about. And they’re ambassadors for their topic area or for their you know, for what they’re doing just like you.
HM:
You’re the best and other things about 2023 that I’m excited for. So there are a couple of books on the horizon in the autism sphere. I know this because I get asked about writing front or back of cover endorsements for books. I know sometimes I get sent galleys and advanced copies from publishers so I know there’s a lot of great books that are on the way. I’m not sure which ones I am at liberty to speak about but there are some great books written by self advocates on the way and I’m so darn excited. And a lot of them are debut authors too. So I’m really excited for the world to discover more about their voices.
LB:
Yes. And hopefully we can get them on board when they when their books come out and interview them about it.
HM:
I’ve already been thinking about Wait, who did I write something or been asked to write something for for backup cover? Or to review and I might have something worth sharing your past.
LB:
Well, that’s exciting. It’s like a teaser. This is like, we’re like doing the whole teaser thing.
HM:
Like, we always have things going on in the new year, even though I remember at first we’re like, oh, my gosh, we’ve talked to so many people. How are we going to review our year here at Spectrumly? And then like, Wait, there’s stuff coming up on the horizon? Another year of stuff? Like how are we going to make it through a whole ‘nother year together? Because I would get scared. We’re running out of topics somehow. And somehow we’re not.
LB:
I know.
HM:
So many people.
LB:
Yes. So many amazing people. And, and the Spectrumly team is just amazing. Always. You know, finding us people. You’re always amazing with your you know, the people that you know that come on the show, and just, it’s really…
HM:
I’m grateful for everybody who shows up.
LB:
Me too. I love our people. And I do too. We’ve got great peeps.
HM:
Really do and I’m excited to welcome more great peeps here.
LB:
Me too. Next year is the year that the great peeps I’m looking forward to but more and more people doing more amazing things that I hadn’t even thought about. That’s for sure.
HM:
I think so too. So I’m excited to keep learning. And I hope that’s something we do in the new year, and that we do for the rest of our lives that we are indeed lifelong learners.
LB:
Yep. You’ve got to be passionate about it. Because the one thing you learn as the older you get is that you don’t know a lot of things.
HM:
It’s true. And sometimes it’s an exercise in humility to realize what you don’t know.
LB:
It’s a very important trait to be humble that you don’t know everything and to keep learning.
HM:
And I always say I’m like, even if you think you’re the smartest person in the room, there’s someone who probably knows more than you about something else.
LB:
Oh, yes. There always is.
HM:
Even other autism related events and stuff. Like there’s someone who knows us way better than I do. And I was having a conversation with somebody about a month ago. And they were, we were talking about going to, like, autism and disability conferences in this present out fellow presenter mindset, like, don’t you ever purposely skipped sessions on things that you know, you already know everything there, you get up and leave? And you realize you already know everything there? And I said, Absolutely not. And he’s like, Is it because you’re afraid of disrespecting the presenter? And I said, Absolutely not. I go, because they might say something I already know. But they say it in a better or more approachable way that informs how I approach it and what I know and how I might be able to share something, that’s great. You might say that we might have similar content, or we might have similar messaging. But you might say it in a way that feels so much more approachable, or have a better example that I never thought about. And I thought, Oh, let me take that home and play with that, because there’s something with that. That would resonate more with me and then I can use in my work going forward to absolutely 100% So even if I do quote unquote, know what they’re going to say or know the topic, right, you can still learn something, even if it’s not what you think you might not be learning the raw materials, but you might be learning what’s in the secret sauce. Right? Right. That extra little pinch of magic, so to speak. Yeah. Yeah. So I’m always excited no matter what the topic is, or who’s here because you might be looking, we might learn something brand new, right? Or you might be finding that pinch magic. Exactly. And whether it is something brand new or a little pinch of magic, then it’s something I am excited for. Exactly. Exactly. One is not better than the other they’re just different.
LB:
Right. You have such a good attitude healing. I love it. You’re so great.
HM:
I feel like most of the times that we have these episodes about anyone else that it feels a lot like just having a conversation with a friend or just getting a warm hug at the end of the day. Oh, well, that’s good. Oh, like when we have the serious conversations, which I’m sure we will have during the year when we don’t have a guest or just kind of check in with each other to those are like some of my favorite episodes to so much cited for more of those when we find a interesting topic to just chat.
LB:
Great, Me too. Me too. I enjoy it.
HM:
So happy 2023 to all of our listeners and looking forward to having a new year, same us, us maybe with a couple little adjustments as we learn a little bit more. And also some new guests and new topics. I think that pretty much sums up this happy new year.
LB:
I love it. That was perfect.
HM:
Be sure to check out different brains.org and check out their Twitter and Instagram @DiffBrains and don’t forget to look for them on Facebook. If you’re looking for me please say hello at Haley moss.com Or you can also say hi to me on social media as well.
LB:
I can be found at CFIexperts.com Please be sure to subscribe and rate us on iTunes and don’t hesitate to send questions to Spectrumly speaking@gmail.com. Let’s keep the conversation going.
Spectrumly Speaking is the podcast dedicated to women on the autism spectrum, produced by Different Brains®. Every other week, join our hosts Haley Moss (an autism self-advocate, attorney, artist, and author) and Dr. Lori Butts (a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, and licensed attorney) as they discuss topics and news stories, share personal stories, and interview some of the most fascinating voices from the autism community.
