AUTISTIC Viewpoints is a new podcast hosted by Turrell Burgess and Daria Brown. This episode, they discuss the journey from exclusion to belonging with Dr. Emile Gouws. Emile is the president of the Board of Directors of the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL.com) and was non speaking until the age of 15. He now is in his early 30s, has a PhD, and is happily married to an Autistic woman.
Learn more at https://affectautism.com/autistic-viewpoints/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introductions
01:31 On becoming the board president of ICDL
04:17 On parents believing in their children
08:25 Future unknowns about as a parent of a child with high support needs
12:52 Connecting with an Autistic individual, alternative communication methods, and presuming competence
16:12 How parents can tell the difference between alternative ways of communicating being a response to the environment versus initiation of communication
23:18 Emile's experiences in educational settings and the emotional pain of being underestimated
29:47 Autistic trauma and suicidality
33:03 Turrell's reactions to being misunderstood
34:40 We are different, but share the same negative experiences and emotional labour as Autistic individuals
36:55 The Autistic female experience
43:06 The most rewarding part of Autism advocacy
48:00 Wrap Up
Links to Resources:
The International Council on Development and Learning
https://www.icdl.com/about/board
Affect Autism podcast episodes with Emile:
* Thank you to Hungarian recording artist Post Analog Disorder for the intro/outro music permission: https://postanalogdisorder.bandcamp.com/album/still-i-rise
