Not every autistic is Rainman!

Divine Enigma

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Our guest today is Toni, a neurodiversity coach based in Northampton, Massachusetts. She spent most of her life in the social service sector working with oppressed individuals and populations including people with developmental disabilities. She realized her love for coaching and started coaching neurodivergent individuals. Neurodiversity was a term coined because many of the deficits were under neurological minorities, and the term was a way to destigmatize individuals with such deficits Autism and ADHD.
Research shows that there are specific coaching techniques that are beneficial to neurodiverse people. An example is asking the person to define two SMART goals they want to work on, and evaluate their progress every eight weeks.
Sarah observed that coming to terms with her neurodiversity made life easier as she didn't have to mask the condition anymore, which is something a lot of neurodiverse people still do. This can be so exhausting that it causes burnout.
For a new client starting with Toni, the first step would be a discovery call to determine if trust can be established, and to explain what coaching entails. Following this, they would get help with setting goals towards self-improvement to be the best version of themselves while also learning in-depth about their neurodiversity.
Neurodiverse people have many major qualities that can easily be overlooked or, in some cases, misjudged. They can be very intelligent, passionate, caring, loyal, empathetic to a point of sensory overload, and have a lot of integrity that does not give room for much diplomacy. However, they can be reluctant to get other points of view which gets them stuck.
Toni has also struggled with chronic depression, anxiety, and alcohol addictions. Based on this, she can relate to the typical challenges of neurodiverse individuals.
Resources Mentioned

● “Rain Man” movie on Amazon

● Connect with Toni on her website: www.tonibator.com

● Connect with Toni on LinkedIn & Facebook

● Watch this clip of Rainman on YouTube
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Music: “She Royalty” by Amaro & “Whistle” by Lukas Got Lucky

Kapitel

1. Not every autistic is Rainman! (00:00:00)

2. About today's guest, Toni. (00:00:47)

3. What is the difference between neurodiversity coaching and conventional coaching? (00:04:15)

4. What typical challenges do you observe with neurodiverse individuals? (00:09:08)

5. Do you think that the world should start accepting neurodiversity as a norm? (00:16:10)

6. What are the first steps you take with a new client? (00:21:42)

7. In your experience, what key attributes have you noticed among your clients? (00:23:43)

8. What inspired you to coach neurodivergent individuals? (00:31:06)

9. Are more people now offering similar coaching services to neurodivergent people? (00:32:47)

10. Rainman; a description of Autism (00:35:10)

11. A quick round of questions. (00:39:40)

12. Connect with Toni (00:41:56)