Over 100 Neurodiversity Community Interviews and Counting

As a part of our technology research and development, we are constantly interviewing our customers, end users, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to make sure we…

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As a part of our technology research and development, we are constantly interviewing our customers, end users, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to make sure we are serving them in a large and measurable way. We approached our mission as we always do; with the goal of learning what we need to do to change lives and improve situations. But this time was very different. Our team of engineers, scientists, scholars, and entrepreneurs set out to learn how we can change neurodivergent individuals’ lives by helping them obtain competitive, integrated employment, but they forever have changed ours through the sharing of personal stories. We deeply appreciate the neurodiversity community for taking the time to share their passionate stories with us. They really shaped our perspective and focus, and they instilled an unwavering commitment in Directed Analytics to see our mission through to the end. We interviewed educators, superintendents, SPED directors, professors, employers, politicians, advocates, parents, neurodivergent individuals, and more. This is what they had to say. I hope it touches you the way it touched our hearts.

"One of the most effective Transition Specialists I worked with made me collapse into a puddle of tears when he told me that my problem was now our problem. He took on the challenges our family was facing as if they were his own, and I will never forget that. That is the level of dedication it takes."
-Parent of student w/ ASD
"When you truly care about the students, you are never off work really. You think about them around the clock, and you hope that you can give them[students] what they need."
-Educator
"When building community jobsites, make sure that they stay within the "Goldilocks Zone". Some people on the jobsite are overly focused on the potential for something to go wrong, and the opposite do not truly believe our students can be successful independently. It is our job to help the business community balance those two mindsets and truly understand that our students are more than capable!"
-Transition Specialist
"There are so many students that need accommodations now. Universities are not prepared on any level for the coming influx of neurodiverse students. We need to get our act together!"
-University Professor
"There was a time when paper and pencil were enough to collect sufficient data for our students, however now the challenge has evolved."
-Job Coach
"It's not that parents don't want to help their children; many are overwhelmed and just don't know where to start."
-District Administrator
"Transition to adult life is about more than just having the skills for a job. You have to make sure that all of the goals the students work towards are sustainable."
-District Special Education Director
"By 2030, 1 in 36 18-year-olds will carry an ASD diagnosis into adulthood. Most of those individuals will require supports that we do not yet have the capacity to meet yet. We need to get busy."
-Parent/Advocate of individual w/ ASD
"Any system that is not set up to allow autonomy or facilitate the growth of self-determination is not what we need now. Nothing about us without us."
-Parent Advocate

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