Aug. 27, 2025
Neurodiversity at Work with Tara May: Building Success Through Inclusion
Send us a text Unlocking the extraordinary potential of neurodiversity in the workplace takes center stage in this eye-opening conversation with Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech. As both a seasoned digital transformation expert and mother to an autistic son, Tara brings a uniquely powerful perspective to her leadership of North America's largest employer of autistic adults. From its humble beginnings at a kitchen table to a thriving tech company with over 100 employees and $6-7 million in annual ...
Unlocking the extraordinary potential of neurodiversity in the workplace takes center stage in this eye-opening conversation with Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech. As both a seasoned digital transformation expert and mother to an autistic son, Tara brings a uniquely powerful perspective to her leadership of North America's largest employer of autistic adults.
From its humble beginnings at a kitchen table to a thriving tech company with over 100 employees and $6-7 million in annual revenue, Aspiritech's journey demonstrates how embracing neurodiversity creates both business excellence and meaningful social impact. What began as two parents' quest to help their autistic son find suitable employment has evolved into a revolutionary model where 93% of team members and 80% of executives are on the autism spectrum.
Tara dismantles common misconceptions about hiring neurodiverse talent, revealing that accommodations are typically straightforward and cost-effective. More compelling are the advantages: autistic individuals solve problems 40% faster on average than neurotypical people, bringing exceptional productivity, loyalty, innovation, and problem-solving capabilities to the workplace. Through services spanning quality assurance, web development, data analytics, cybersecurity, and creative design, Aspiritech delivers exceptional value to major clients while creating life-changing career opportunities.
The impact extends far beyond employment. When a 15-year-old touring Aspiritech declared it his "dream company" and could finally see what was possible for his future, it exemplified the transformative power of representation. Through extensive collaboration with educational institutions, businesses, and international partners across multiple continents, Aspiritech is addressing the estimated 80% unemployment or underemployment rate among autistic adults.
Tara leaves us with a profound insight about inclusion: it begins with extending kindness and grace to ourselves, embracing our own complexities and imperfections. Only then can we truly extend that same acceptance to others. Connect with Aspiritech at www.aspiritech.org or find Tara on LinkedIn to join this powerful movement transforming workplaces and lives through the celebration of neurodiversity.
Connect with Tara May
tara.may@aspiritech.org
www.aspiritech.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taranmay/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiritech/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taramaytesimu/
https://www.facebook.com/aspiritech
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taratesimu/
https://www.instagram.com/aspiritech/
Stay tuned for the next episode of Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson. Subscribe - Follow and Like Ready Set Collaborate with Wanda Pearson
00:08 - Introduction to Ready Set Collaborate
00:41 - Meet Tara May and Aspiritech
04:14 - Personal Journey and Mission Evolution
08:33 - Supporting Autistic Adults in the Workplace
12:41 - Breaking Down Misconceptions About Neurodiversity
16:46 - Challenges and Future Vision
21:24 - Inclusion, Collaboration and Closing Thoughts
29:44 - Episode Wrap-up and Subscribe Reminder
WEBVTT
00:00:08.532 --> 00:00:09.673
Welcome to Ready Set.
00:00:09.673 --> 00:00:11.295
Collaborate with Wanda Pearson.
00:00:11.295 --> 00:00:16.591
This is where ideas spark, connections grow and collaborations fuse success.
00:00:16.591 --> 00:00:21.012
Tune in for inspiring stories, expert insights and game-changing conversations.
00:00:21.012 --> 00:00:23.007
Let's build, connect and thrive together.
00:00:23.007 --> 00:00:25.708
Remember collaboration is the key to success.
00:00:41.749 --> 00:00:50.576
Welcome back to another episode of Ready Set Collaborate organization dedicated to creating meaningful employment for individuals on the autism spectrum.
00:00:50.576 --> 00:00:59.994
Tara brings a wealth of knowledge about inclusion, innovation and how businesses can harness the unique talents of neurodiverse individuals.
00:00:59.994 --> 00:01:09.435
I'm excited for us to dive into her story, espirit Tech's mission and the powerful ways to collaboration which is shaping lives and communities.
00:01:09.435 --> 00:01:13.591
Thank you so much, tara, for coming on this podcast.
00:01:13.591 --> 00:01:15.546
Say hello to this audience, tara.
00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.891
Hi everyone, and especially thank you and hello to you, Wanda, Absolutely.
00:01:20.971 --> 00:01:21.373
Absolutely.
00:01:21.373 --> 00:01:34.251
I'm so glad you found me because I tell you, this is a very a subject that is very dear to my heart as far as what you do, because of my grandson, and that really helps me to understand more about their characteristics.
00:01:34.251 --> 00:01:40.206
But what I love about what you do is that you have a workplace for them, and that is a blessing here.
00:01:40.206 --> 00:01:41.665
So I probably need to get in touch with you.
00:01:41.665 --> 00:01:46.530
My grandson he wants to work and just to get him going and getting out there, so he loves it.
00:01:46.569 --> 00:01:48.394
Graduation will be here before you know it.
00:01:48.394 --> 00:01:50.665
Sophomore year your mirror flies.
00:01:51.546 --> 00:01:52.930
He keeps telling me I'm a sophomore.
00:01:52.930 --> 00:01:54.132
Nana, I'm a sophomore.
00:01:54.132 --> 00:01:56.302
I said you are.
00:01:56.302 --> 00:01:59.326
So I found a baby picture of him and my other grandson, who's 20.
00:01:59.326 --> 00:02:00.528
And I sent it to him.
00:02:00.528 --> 00:02:02.652
He said, nana, why would you send this to us?
00:02:02.652 --> 00:02:03.733
I said because you were my babies.
00:02:03.733 --> 00:02:07.743
Now you're my big boys, always, always.
00:02:07.743 --> 00:02:08.786
Now you're my big boy.
00:02:08.786 --> 00:02:15.921
He was not too happy with that picture, but he was a baby and I remember when you used to be listen.
00:02:15.962 --> 00:02:19.430
The teenage boys never want to be reminded that they were babies once.
00:02:19.490 --> 00:02:25.811
No, but no, it's great though it's great to have them there, but no, they're such lovable kids and they do have their little outbursts.
00:02:25.811 --> 00:02:30.716
They come back and say I'm sorry, so that's their frontal lobe is still developing, right yeah.
00:02:30.716 --> 00:02:32.745
Yeah, yeah, no, thank you so much.
00:02:32.745 --> 00:02:41.269
I appreciate you finding me and asking me to be on the podcast Because, like I said, this is very much because it's a lot of autism that's going on in this world today.
00:02:41.468 --> 00:02:42.650
We hit it off right away.
00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:43.991
We have lots to chat about.
00:02:44.252 --> 00:02:44.953
Yes, definitely.
00:02:44.953 --> 00:02:47.134
So let me tell you about Tara.
00:02:47.134 --> 00:02:48.415
Let me read your bio, tara.
00:02:48.415 --> 00:02:52.307
Tara is a leader in the movement of neurodiversity in the workplace.
00:02:52.307 --> 00:03:02.248
She is a CEO of Respire Tech, a revolutionary tech company that employs more than 100 artistic adults representing more than 90% of its team.
00:03:02.248 --> 00:03:27.302
Tara is co-director of NeuroWorks and a member of the Strategic Committee for H-A-A-P-E, which is Helping Adults with Autism Perform Excel, advocating for neurodiversity and employment both nationally and internationally, and is a renowned speaker champion, embracing neurodiversity, mental health and, most of all, kindness in the workplace.
00:03:27.302 --> 00:03:28.466
I love that.
00:03:28.466 --> 00:03:40.044
I love that, what you're doing here, and it's just such a pleasure to have you, you know, because we do need advocates and we do need women, men like you, to be able to have them in the workplace.
00:03:40.044 --> 00:03:42.491
So thank you so much for doing that.
00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:43.580
Absolutely.
00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:46.149
I'm excited to tell your listeners about it today.
00:03:46.188 --> 00:03:46.469
Yes.
00:03:46.469 --> 00:03:50.984
So, tara, can you share a little bit about your personal journey and what led you to join Espirit Tech?
00:03:51.626 --> 00:03:53.300
Yeah, absolutely so.
00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:59.114
I am, like all of us, a person of many identities.
00:03:59.114 --> 00:04:05.073
One of my identities is digital transformation expert, right.
00:04:05.073 --> 00:04:17.339
So I spent my career taking legacy print media companies like the Chicago Tribune, aol, windsight Media and turning them into thriving digital properties.
00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:20.370
So my career is steeped in that space.
00:04:20.370 --> 00:04:23.168
One of my identities is mom.
00:04:23.168 --> 00:04:33.822
I am mom to six beautiful children and the youngest of my sons is autistic.
00:04:33.822 --> 00:04:51.425
So now part of my identity is neurodiversity advocate, because as moms, as parents, as nanas, it's our job to be advocates for the people we love the most, and he is one of the people I love most in the world.
00:04:51.425 --> 00:05:24.791
So when this job opening to lead a Spiritech, which is such an incredible organization, came open, I thought what an opportunity to share and combine my professional identity with my personal identity and help grow this incredible mission and business into what it deserves to be in the future.
00:05:24.791 --> 00:05:32.031
And I fully intend to be here another decade or two growing this amazing organization.
00:05:33.382 --> 00:05:36.708
I am so proud of you and I tell you yeah, I was looking at your bio.
00:05:36.708 --> 00:05:43.468
Yeah, she is definitely a woman of many hats, but your passion is that I can see is a spirit tech.
00:05:43.468 --> 00:05:44.052
This was what you're doing.
00:05:44.052 --> 00:05:45.076
So what inspired the can see is a spirit tech?
00:05:45.076 --> 00:05:45.699
This was what you're doing.
00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:52.428
So what inspired the founding mission of a spirit tech, and how has that admission, how has that mission evolved?
00:05:53.440 --> 00:06:02.930
So our founders were, like many founders of nonprofits, two parents looking for a problem to solve, right?
00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:13.951
So their adult son, oran, was looking for work commensurate with his capability, and his parents, brenda and Moshe Weitzberg, aren't finding it.
00:06:13.951 --> 00:06:31.810
So they set out to help him solve that problem and they started doing research and found a company in Denmark called Specialisterna that was teaching autistic adults, quality assurance and then employing them.
00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:36.862
And from their kitchen table they built a Spiritech.
00:06:36.862 --> 00:06:40.187
Fast forward 20 years, right?
00:06:40.187 --> 00:07:00.041
We're 20 years later and we are now 100 employees Wow, six to seven million in annual revenue and growing and the largest employer of autistic adults in North America and one of the largest in the world.
00:07:00.062 --> 00:07:00.401
That is amazing.
00:07:00.401 --> 00:07:17.437
It really is, because, especially when you you don't because it's such a need for that in the community and you have your company, I really take my hats off to you have actually dived deep into that, especially from your own experience with your own children and their children to be able to create what you have here.
00:07:17.437 --> 00:07:23.442
So how has working with?
00:07:23.463 --> 00:07:24.786
Spirit Tech impacted you personally and professionally.
00:07:24.786 --> 00:07:35.711
So, professionally, I think it's opened my eyes to the way thinking about neurodiversity can make every workplace better.
00:07:35.711 --> 00:07:40.367
So here's the first thing I would say Every workplace is neurodiverse.
00:07:40.367 --> 00:07:43.293
Because neurodiversity refers to all of us, right?
00:07:43.293 --> 00:07:59.329
We all have these unique, complicated brains with 86 billion neurons firing, and so that means we all learn differently, we socialize differently, we communicate differently, we innovate differently.
00:07:59.329 --> 00:08:13.495
And so I always think to myself, as managers and leaders, wouldn't we want to tap into understanding our team members' brains and help them thrive, help them be their best self at work?
00:08:13.495 --> 00:08:16.269
That's so good for the organization.
00:08:16.269 --> 00:08:24.916
So that's one way that the team at Aspiritac has just opened my eyes and changed my perspective.
00:08:25.336 --> 00:08:25.697
That's awesome.
00:08:25.697 --> 00:08:26.059
That's awesome.
00:08:26.059 --> 00:08:28.026
That's awesome, and I think you already answered this question.
00:08:28.026 --> 00:08:32.385
But for listeners who may not know what is Aspira Tech, what makes it unique?
00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.272
So Aspira Tech is a tech company with a mission.
00:08:37.272 --> 00:08:50.390
So we are a tech company that does tech services for clients all over America quality assurance, web development, data services, cybersecurity and several other tech services.
00:08:50.390 --> 00:09:07.792
But what's unique about us, and what's really pretty cool about us, is that 93% of our team is autistic adults all the way from entry-level positions to 80% of our executive team is autistic.
00:09:07.792 --> 00:09:08.634
So we're pretty neat.
00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.128
That is amazing because I actually I noticed that with my grandson.
00:09:12.128 --> 00:09:13.130
He's very techie.
00:09:14.884 --> 00:09:15.749
Yes, absolutely.
00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:17.043
When I was at faculty.
00:09:17.043 --> 00:09:18.207
He loves coming, he likes playing.
00:09:18.207 --> 00:09:22.663
God, I forgot what the game is on my TV, but I remember I didn't know how to.
00:09:22.663 --> 00:09:24.068
It was so many different remotes.
00:09:24.068 --> 00:09:26.708
I was like okay, Amari, what remote should I use here?
00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:28.846
He's like Anna, I got you, I got you.
00:09:28.846 --> 00:09:31.086
He's like your personal IT consultant.
00:09:31.668 --> 00:09:39.870
Yeah, he was like about three years old, I don't even know but they're very unique as far as the techie part of it.
00:09:39.870 --> 00:09:46.312
What you had created is so true because they really they get into it and music so true because they really they get into that music.
00:09:46.332 --> 00:09:48.417
I don't know, are they into the music?
00:09:48.417 --> 00:09:58.652
So we have team members that are so passionate about sound and music that one of our biggest customers is Bose, so we do all the testing on Bose headphones and speakers before they go to market.
00:09:58.652 --> 00:10:02.059
And then we have some beautiful talented artists.
00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:08.933
So we've launched a creative services division for some of our artistic team members.
00:10:08.933 --> 00:10:17.863
So it's really just let's tap in to the talents and value that each individual person can bring to work with them.
00:10:18.264 --> 00:10:19.448
Yes, I love it.
00:10:19.448 --> 00:10:19.971
I love it.
00:10:19.971 --> 00:10:25.447
So how does the Spirit Tech support and empower individuals on the artistic autism spectrum?
00:10:26.048 --> 00:10:26.729
So many ways.
00:10:26.729 --> 00:10:31.203
The first is just letting them shine, right.
00:10:31.203 --> 00:10:38.682
Each one of us has our own strength and skillset and passion that we can bring to work with us.
00:10:38.682 --> 00:10:41.308
And work is so important, right?
00:10:41.308 --> 00:10:49.220
It's the way we put food on the table, roofs over our heads, but it's also the way we share our value with the world.
00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:55.869
So I think that's one of the most important things we do at Aspira Tech is provide that path for sharing our value.
00:10:56.461 --> 00:10:58.368
But we also have a support team.
00:10:58.368 --> 00:11:09.160
So at Aspira Tech, we have a support team that's completely dedicated to employee accommodations, supports, happiness in the workplace, and that's for all of us.
00:11:09.160 --> 00:11:12.248
That's called the support team, right?
00:11:12.248 --> 00:11:13.370
So that's pretty cool.
00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:16.083
We also have a community right.
00:11:16.083 --> 00:11:31.753
So we have employee resource groups for different subsets within our autistic community, including parents and caregiver, including people with chronic illness, including our LBGTQIA plus community and our autistic advocacy group.
00:11:31.753 --> 00:11:46.486
So we're always thinking about how can we create community for our team members to push away mental health issues, loneliness, those sorts of things that can be a real struggle for autistic team members.
00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:48.427
Yes, I love it.
00:11:48.427 --> 00:11:48.908
I love it.
00:11:48.908 --> 00:11:51.962
I never heard of it until you came out and said I didn't know about this.
00:11:51.962 --> 00:11:53.408
I have to tell my daughter about Spiritex.
00:11:53.408 --> 00:11:54.110
No, this is great.
00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:57.350
So do you do it in all states or is it just?
00:11:57.700 --> 00:11:58.701
Absolutely so.
00:11:58.701 --> 00:12:22.331
Our workplace is headquartered here in Chicago, but we hire from all over the country and we have employees in I always get this wrong, wanda, but I think it's 11 different states now and we also offer free training for autistic adults in tech careers, both QA as well as cybersecurity and IT fundamentals.
00:12:22.331 --> 00:12:32.067
So we really, in addition to our hundred employees, we want to open the door for career potential for autistic adults all over the country.
00:12:32.589 --> 00:12:33.451
That's awesome.
00:12:33.451 --> 00:12:34.212
That's awesome.
00:12:34.212 --> 00:12:34.734
I love it.
00:12:34.734 --> 00:12:35.863
So what states?
00:12:35.863 --> 00:12:38.370
Do you real quick, can you name the states that you're in?
00:12:38.659 --> 00:12:45.280
There's not a state we won't hire from, but we have really deep relationships in North Carolina, okay.
00:12:45.301 --> 00:12:46.163
That's what I was going to ask.
00:12:46.163 --> 00:12:47.087
That's where my grandson is.
00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:53.650
New York, new Jersey, in Florida, in Colorado, in Utah and several others.
00:12:54.272 --> 00:12:57.927
Okay, okay, great, because it's amazing, because he listens to my podcast.
00:12:57.927 --> 00:13:00.946
You're the number one fan.
00:13:00.946 --> 00:13:06.666
He goes on YouTube and I wrote a book, I have my book and he reads my book, so he's very proud of his Nana.
00:13:06.666 --> 00:13:09.326
I love that.
00:13:09.326 --> 00:13:10.289
That's great.
00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:16.033
So can you share a success story that really illustrates the impact of a spirit text work?
00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:20.368
So one of our team members.
00:13:20.368 --> 00:13:33.466
I won't share his name, I'll respect his privacy, but he's one of my favorite success stories because he shows a level of exactly what our mission is about.
00:13:33.466 --> 00:13:37.902
So he has a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity but he struggled to interview.
00:13:37.902 --> 00:13:41.951
He's incredibly smart, incredibly capable.
00:13:41.951 --> 00:13:47.327
If you struggle to interview, that's a huge hurdle to getting hired.
00:13:47.327 --> 00:13:59.725
So now he's been at Aspiritek more than a decade doing QA, rising up the ranks on our QA team, showing off his incredible intelligence and capabilities.
00:13:59.725 --> 00:14:03.662
When we launched our cybersecurity program, he was the first person to raise his hand.
00:14:03.662 --> 00:14:05.543
He said I have a bachelor's degree in that.
00:14:05.543 --> 00:14:08.428
That he's never put to work.
00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:25.388
He met Michigan's former chief security officer, and that incredible leader with decades of experience in department of defense cybersecurity said this guy is brilliant, let's put him to work in this field.
00:14:25.388 --> 00:14:33.029
And now he is shining and showing what he is capable of in a very complex and technical field.
00:14:33.029 --> 00:14:40.370
And Wanda, what I think is most impressive he just saved up enough to buy his very first home.
00:14:41.272 --> 00:14:42.474
Oh, what a blessing.
00:14:42.899 --> 00:14:47.392
What a blessing, just what an incredible story.
00:14:47.392 --> 00:14:53.633
I would like to think, and I think he would say, that a Spiritech played a role in that story.
00:14:54.280 --> 00:14:56.469
That is definitely a great success story.
00:14:57.010 --> 00:14:58.946
Absolutely, and we've got dozens of them.
00:14:58.946 --> 00:15:00.105
Yeah, I'm sure you do.
00:15:00.581 --> 00:15:01.705
That's a great one to share.
00:15:01.705 --> 00:15:02.307
I appreciate it.
00:15:02.307 --> 00:15:03.546
Let's talk about collaboration.
00:15:03.546 --> 00:15:08.711
How do you collaborate with businesses and organizations to create employment opportunities?
00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:22.330
So I really love the topic of your podcast and I think we are collaborators in so many aspects of our lives as humans.
00:15:22.330 --> 00:15:31.282
I will say just raising an autistic child is a lesson in collaboration and the village mentality.
00:15:31.282 --> 00:15:36.091
It takes a village to raise a child times 10 when you have special needs.
00:15:36.653 --> 00:15:42.950
So I just want to like nod to what an amazing ethos you have.
00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:58.243
But I think, especially when you are trying to solve a systemic employment problem like the autistic unemployment rate, you have to collaborate across so many different areas of society.
00:15:58.243 --> 00:16:08.283
We are working really closely with education partners K-12 transition programs because right away it's starting as soon as there's graduates.
00:16:08.283 --> 00:16:10.711
There are employment gaps, right?
00:16:10.711 --> 00:16:20.145
Yes, we work with everything from Ivy League universities like Stanford and Carnegie Mellon to local community colleges.
00:16:20.145 --> 00:16:25.998
All have autistic members in their community that are going to be seeking employment.
00:16:26.359 --> 00:16:39.793
Right, Work with other businesses and employer partners to talk to them about the benefit of hiring employees, autistic team members, both as full-time employees as well as contractors through a spirit tech.
00:16:39.793 --> 00:16:48.946
Talk to other nonprofits who are working to solve these problems right alongside us, and that's across the United States, but also across the world.
00:16:48.946 --> 00:17:04.444
We have collaborators in India, in New Zealand, in Belgium and the Netherlands, in Argentina and Peru, in South Africa, who are working with us because this is a global problem.
00:17:04.444 --> 00:17:22.921
So to me, when you're trying to solve a problem that big and that systemic, there's nobody I won't collaborate with, From an international government official to someone in DC to a mom who wants to make a difference.
00:17:23.561 --> 00:17:23.843
Yes.
00:17:24.022 --> 00:17:26.669
This is this amazing woman in Connecticut.
00:17:26.669 --> 00:17:31.344
She called me, she found me and she said I want to start Spirit Tech in Connecticut.
00:17:31.344 --> 00:17:35.634
Let's figure it out how amazing, how powerful.
00:17:37.824 --> 00:17:40.507
That is powerful and that is definitely collaboration.
00:17:40.507 --> 00:17:46.086
But I am so impressed with what your company does and I'm thinking about my grandson.
00:17:46.086 --> 00:17:48.644
I said, God, okay, this is because I never thought about this.
00:17:48.644 --> 00:17:59.967
This is a great way for him to start and he is in North Carolina, he's in by Charlotte, he's in Mooresville, but, yeah, definitely I would love for him to really get to know how to get into that.
00:18:00.107 --> 00:18:01.832
You're my next collaboration, Wanda.
00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:03.984
Yes, exactly, exactly.
00:18:03.984 --> 00:18:05.228
I would love it, I love it.
00:18:05.228 --> 00:18:10.002
So what are some of the misconceptions about neurodiverse employees that you'd like to break down?
00:18:11.444 --> 00:18:22.943
So I think the first is that it's going to be complicated or difficult to hire someone who is autistic, when the truth is it's not.
00:18:22.943 --> 00:18:27.493
And I often quote our head of support and inclusion at a spirit tech.
00:18:27.493 --> 00:18:44.875
She has been here almost since the beginning, almost 20 years, and she says in those 20 years there has never been an accommodation request that she could not, with a little bit of creativity, solve for free and quite easily.
00:18:44.875 --> 00:18:55.568
So I think when you're an HR person or you're a hiring manager, you're like I don't want to hire someone that's going to make things more difficult for me and that just isn't the case, right?
00:18:55.568 --> 00:19:03.299
And then I think what I would like to say is that you may not be thinking about the incredible benefits that come from hiring autistic team members.
00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:10.574
Autistic people on average have brains that solve problems 40 percent faster than neurotypical people.
00:19:10.574 --> 00:19:12.365
I bet you see this in your grandson.
00:19:12.806 --> 00:19:13.749
Yeah, yeah.
00:19:14.009 --> 00:19:14.290
They do?
00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:16.565
Yes, I do.
00:19:16.565 --> 00:19:19.527
And just like I'm simple as a remote I didn't know which remote.
00:19:19.527 --> 00:19:20.549
I mean something like that.
00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:21.551
He has that problem for you.
00:19:21.551 --> 00:19:23.144
Yeah, he was only three years old.
00:19:23.144 --> 00:19:24.811
Yeah, I don't need him anymore.
00:19:24.811 --> 00:19:27.268
I was like, oh wow, this is interesting.
00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:29.046
But think about the benefits of that.
00:19:29.046 --> 00:19:48.771
As an employee, You've got incredible productivity, loyalty, retention, innovation and problem solving all wrapped up in a team member that might just have some difficulty interviewing and if we can get past that, we can have such talented, brilliant people in our workforce.
00:19:49.452 --> 00:19:50.674
Absolutely, absolutely.
00:19:50.674 --> 00:19:56.330
And that's my next question how can companies benefit from including neurodiverse talent in their on their teams?
00:19:56.330 --> 00:19:59.606
You can answer, but I can see the joy.
00:19:59.606 --> 00:20:02.582
As far as they like to have fun, they love to.
00:20:02.582 --> 00:20:04.469
I'll tell you he loves to interview people.
00:20:05.761 --> 00:20:06.444
I love that.
00:20:07.040 --> 00:20:08.005
What's your full name?
00:20:08.005 --> 00:20:08.907
What do you do?
00:20:08.907 --> 00:20:09.348
Do you have?
00:20:10.881 --> 00:20:12.064
My son, who's autistic.
00:20:12.064 --> 00:20:16.257
He likes to get to know people by memorizing their birth dates.
00:20:16.739 --> 00:20:17.099
Yes.
00:20:17.560 --> 00:20:30.584
Really put you in context, right, okay, grandma was born first and then we have this person and that person and it really helps him understand the world and he really shows a deep interest in people when he gets to know them.
00:20:31.406 --> 00:20:31.887
Absolutely.
00:20:31.887 --> 00:20:36.739
And numbers he knows my number from years ago, so he knows my heart.
00:20:37.040 --> 00:20:39.630
That old landline you had Wanda yeah.
00:20:40.340 --> 00:20:41.444
I don't have a landline anymore.
00:20:41.444 --> 00:20:42.248
He knows my stuff.
00:20:42.248 --> 00:20:44.728
So my 20-year-old grandson, he said what's landline?
00:20:44.728 --> 00:20:46.487
And he just rattles it out, he writes it.
00:20:46.487 --> 00:20:47.627
How do you know that?
00:20:47.627 --> 00:20:50.685
Because you remember You're giving such great examples.
00:20:50.826 --> 00:20:56.250
Ray, autistic people, like all of us, are people.
00:20:56.250 --> 00:21:02.261
Like all of us are people.
00:21:02.261 --> 00:21:04.028
We have these amazing strengths and sometimes some gaps they might need help filling.
00:21:04.028 --> 00:21:05.513
We often reference this, what's called a spiky profile.
00:00:08.532 --> 00:00:09.673
00:00:09.673 --> 00:00:11.295
00:00:11.295 --> 00:00:16.591
00:00:16.591 --> 00:00:21.012
00:00:21.012 --> 00:00:23.007
00:00:23.007 --> 00:00:25.708
00:00:41.749 --> 00:00:50.576
00:00:50.576 --> 00:00:59.994
00:00:59.994 --> 00:01:09.435
00:01:09.435 --> 00:01:13.591
00:01:13.591 --> 00:01:15.546
00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.891
00:01:20.971 --> 00:01:21.373
00:01:21.373 --> 00:01:34.251
00:01:34.251 --> 00:01:40.206
00:01:40.206 --> 00:01:41.665
00:01:41.665 --> 00:01:46.530
00:01:46.569 --> 00:01:48.394
00:01:48.394 --> 00:01:50.665
00:01:51.546 --> 00:01:52.930
00:01:52.930 --> 00:01:54.132
00:01:54.132 --> 00:01:56.302
00:01:56.302 --> 00:01:59.326
00:01:59.326 --> 00:02:00.528
00:02:00.528 --> 00:02:02.652
00:02:02.652 --> 00:02:03.733
00:02:03.733 --> 00:02:07.743
00:02:07.743 --> 00:02:08.786
00:02:08.786 --> 00:02:15.921
00:02:15.962 --> 00:02:19.430
00:02:19.490 --> 00:02:25.811
00:02:25.811 --> 00:02:30.716
00:02:30.716 --> 00:02:32.745
00:02:32.745 --> 00:02:41.269
00:02:41.468 --> 00:02:42.650
00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:43.991
00:02:44.252 --> 00:02:44.953
00:02:44.953 --> 00:02:47.134
00:02:47.134 --> 00:02:48.415
00:02:48.415 --> 00:02:52.307
00:02:52.307 --> 00:03:02.248
00:03:02.248 --> 00:03:27.302
00:03:27.302 --> 00:03:28.466
00:03:28.466 --> 00:03:40.044
00:03:40.044 --> 00:03:42.491
00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:43.580
00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:46.149
00:03:46.188 --> 00:03:46.469
00:03:46.469 --> 00:03:50.984
00:03:51.626 --> 00:03:53.300
00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:59.114
00:03:59.114 --> 00:04:05.073
00:04:05.073 --> 00:04:17.339
00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:20.370
00:04:20.370 --> 00:04:23.168
00:04:23.168 --> 00:04:33.822
00:04:33.822 --> 00:04:51.425
00:04:51.425 --> 00:05:24.791
00:05:24.791 --> 00:05:32.031
00:05:33.382 --> 00:05:36.708
00:05:36.708 --> 00:05:43.468
00:05:43.468 --> 00:05:44.052
00:05:44.052 --> 00:05:45.076
00:05:45.076 --> 00:05:45.699
00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:52.428
00:05:53.440 --> 00:06:02.930
00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:13.951
00:06:13.951 --> 00:06:31.810
00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:36.862
00:06:36.862 --> 00:06:40.187
00:06:40.187 --> 00:07:00.041
00:07:00.062 --> 00:07:00.401
00:07:00.401 --> 00:07:17.437
00:07:17.437 --> 00:07:23.442
00:07:23.463 --> 00:07:24.786
00:07:24.786 --> 00:07:35.711
00:07:35.711 --> 00:07:40.367
00:07:40.367 --> 00:07:43.293
00:07:43.293 --> 00:07:59.329
00:07:59.329 --> 00:08:13.495
00:08:13.495 --> 00:08:16.269
00:08:16.269 --> 00:08:24.916
00:08:25.336 --> 00:08:25.697
00:08:25.697 --> 00:08:26.059
00:08:26.059 --> 00:08:28.026
00:08:28.026 --> 00:08:32.385
00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.272
00:08:37.272 --> 00:08:50.390
00:08:50.390 --> 00:09:07.792
00:09:07.792 --> 00:09:08.634
00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.128
00:09:12.128 --> 00:09:13.130
00:09:14.884 --> 00:09:15.749
00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:17.043
00:09:17.043 --> 00:09:18.207
00:09:18.207 --> 00:09:22.663
00:09:22.663 --> 00:09:24.068
00:09:24.068 --> 00:09:26.708
00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:28.846
00:09:28.846 --> 00:09:31.086
00:09:31.668 --> 00:09:39.870
00:09:39.870 --> 00:09:46.312
00:09:46.332 --> 00:09:48.417
00:09:48.417 --> 00:09:58.652
00:09:58.652 --> 00:10:02.059
00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:08.933
00:10:08.933 --> 00:10:17.863
00:10:18.264 --> 00:10:19.448
00:10:19.448 --> 00:10:19.971
00:10:19.971 --> 00:10:25.447
00:10:26.048 --> 00:10:26.729
00:10:26.729 --> 00:10:31.203
00:10:31.203 --> 00:10:38.682
00:10:38.682 --> 00:10:41.308
00:10:41.308 --> 00:10:49.220
00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:55.869
00:10:56.461 --> 00:10:58.368
00:10:58.368 --> 00:11:09.160
00:11:09.160 --> 00:11:12.248
00:11:12.248 --> 00:11:13.370
00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:16.083
00:11:16.083 --> 00:11:31.753
00:11:31.753 --> 00:11:46.486
00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:48.427
00:11:48.427 --> 00:11:48.908
00:11:48.908 --> 00:11:51.962
00:11:51.962 --> 00:11:53.408
00:11:53.408 --> 00:11:54.110
00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:57.350
00:11:57.700 --> 00:11:58.701
00:11:58.701 --> 00:12:22.331
00:12:22.331 --> 00:12:32.067
00:12:32.589 --> 00:12:33.451
00:12:33.451 --> 00:12:34.212
00:12:34.212 --> 00:12:34.734
00:12:34.734 --> 00:12:35.863
00:12:35.863 --> 00:12:38.370
00:12:38.659 --> 00:12:45.280
00:12:45.301 --> 00:12:46.163
00:12:46.163 --> 00:12:47.087
00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:53.650
00:12:54.272 --> 00:12:57.927
00:12:57.927 --> 00:13:00.946
00:13:00.946 --> 00:13:06.666
00:13:06.666 --> 00:13:09.326
00:13:09.326 --> 00:13:10.289
00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:16.033
00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:20.368
00:13:20.368 --> 00:13:33.466
00:13:33.466 --> 00:13:37.902
00:13:37.902 --> 00:13:41.951
00:13:41.951 --> 00:13:47.327
00:13:47.327 --> 00:13:59.725
00:13:59.725 --> 00:14:03.662
00:14:03.662 --> 00:14:05.543
00:14:05.543 --> 00:14:08.428
00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:25.388
00:14:25.388 --> 00:14:33.029
00:14:33.029 --> 00:14:40.370
00:14:41.272 --> 00:14:42.474
00:14:42.899 --> 00:14:47.392
00:14:47.392 --> 00:14:53.633
00:14:54.280 --> 00:14:56.469
00:14:57.010 --> 00:14:58.946
00:14:58.946 --> 00:15:00.105
00:15:00.581 --> 00:15:01.705
00:15:01.705 --> 00:15:02.307
00:15:02.307 --> 00:15:03.546
00:15:03.546 --> 00:15:08.711
00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:22.330
00:15:22.330 --> 00:15:31.282
00:15:31.282 --> 00:15:36.091
00:15:36.653 --> 00:15:42.950
00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:58.243
00:15:58.243 --> 00:16:08.283
00:16:08.283 --> 00:16:10.711
00:16:10.711 --> 00:16:20.145
00:16:20.145 --> 00:16:25.998
00:16:26.359 --> 00:16:39.793
00:16:39.793 --> 00:16:48.946
00:16:48.946 --> 00:17:04.444
00:17:04.444 --> 00:17:22.921
00:17:23.561 --> 00:17:23.843
00:17:24.022 --> 00:17:26.669
00:17:26.669 --> 00:17:31.344
00:17:31.344 --> 00:17:35.634
00:17:37.824 --> 00:17:40.507
00:17:40.507 --> 00:17:46.086
00:17:46.086 --> 00:17:48.644
00:17:48.644 --> 00:17:59.967
00:18:00.107 --> 00:18:01.832
00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:03.984
00:18:03.984 --> 00:18:05.228
00:18:05.228 --> 00:18:10.002
00:18:11.444 --> 00:18:22.943
00:18:22.943 --> 00:18:27.493
00:18:27.493 --> 00:18:44.875
00:18:44.875 --> 00:18:55.568
00:18:55.568 --> 00:19:03.299
00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:10.574
00:19:10.574 --> 00:19:12.365
00:19:12.806 --> 00:19:13.749
00:19:14.009 --> 00:19:14.290
00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:16.565
00:19:16.565 --> 00:19:19.527
00:19:19.527 --> 00:19:20.549
00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:21.551
00:19:21.551 --> 00:19:23.144
00:19:23.144 --> 00:19:24.811
00:19:24.811 --> 00:19:27.268
00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:29.046
00:19:29.046 --> 00:19:48.771
00:19:49.452 --> 00:19:50.674
00:19:50.674 --> 00:19:56.330
00:19:56.330 --> 00:19:59.606
00:19:59.606 --> 00:20:02.582
00:20:02.582 --> 00:20:04.469
00:20:05.761 --> 00:20:06.444
00:20:07.040 --> 00:20:08.005
00:20:08.005 --> 00:20:08.907
00:20:08.907 --> 00:20:09.348
00:20:10.881 --> 00:20:12.064
00:20:12.064 --> 00:20:16.257
00:20:16.739 --> 00:20:17.099
00:20:17.560 --> 00:20:30.584
00:20:31.406 --> 00:20:31.887
00:20:31.887 --> 00:20:36.739
00:20:37.040 --> 00:20:39.630
00:20:40.340 --> 00:20:41.444
00:20:41.444 --> 00:20:42.248
00:20:42.248 --> 00:20:44.728
00:20:44.728 --> 00:20:46.487
00:20:46.487 --> 00:20:47.627
00:20:47.627 --> 00:20:50.685
00:20:50.826 --> 00:20:56.250
00:20:56.250 --> 00:21:02.261
00:21:02.261 --> 00:21:04.028
00:21:04.028 --> 00:21:05.513