Episode 10: The Divide in the Autism Community with Russell Lehman

Russell Lehmann: Speaker, Poet, AdvocateRussell Lehmann is an award-winning and internationally recognized motivational speaker and poet contextualizing autism, mental illness, and cannabis use. His words have been featured in the USA Today, LA Times, NPR, Yahoo! News, Success Magazine and archived in the Library of Congress.A graduate of MIT’s “Leadership in the Digital Age” course, Russell sits on the national Board of Directors for The Arc and is a council member for the Autism Society of America. Russell has also been the Youth Ambassador for the mayor of Reno, Nevada, and a member of the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities as well as the Nevada Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders.Russell showed signs of autism as a newborn, however, he was not formally diagnosed until the age of 12 after suffering through 5 weeks in a lockdown psychiatric facility.His new book, “On the Outside Looking In” recently hit bookstores nationwide.In 2018, Russell was named as Reno-Tahoe’s “Most Outstanding Young Professional Under 40”.In 2019 & 2020, Russell lectured for the prestigious King’s College of London and the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Special Education in Abu Dhabi, respectively. Russell currently travels the world spreading hope, awareness, and compassion in a raw and dynamic fashion, while also setting his sights on erasing the stigma and stereotypes that come with having a disability. Russell’s passion is to be a voice for the unheard, for he knows how difficult and frustrating it is to go unnoticed.Website and TestimonialsInstagramLinkedInFacebookYouTube

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Autism In Real Life, hosted by Ilia Walsh, is dedicated to offering insights into the joys and challenges of living with autism. Are you a parent or educator frustrated with how to best help someone diagnosed on the autism spectrum? Ever wish other people understood what living with autism was like? Want to know what resources and tools exist to better help your child or student? In this podcast, you will hear first-hand from other parents, educators, advocates as well as adults on the spectrum share their experiences and expertise. You will learn strategies for learning, employment, relationships, day-to-day living and more. These personal stories and interviews will inspire as well as empower you to try new tools and be a better advocate so you can see the unique gifts and talents of individuals on the autism spectrum fully recognized. Please join Ilia's email list to get more information on the podcast, receive blog posts and the newsletter. To learn more visit www.autisminreallifethepodcast.com. To support the podcast please consider donating at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/autismIRLMusic & Editing Copyright 2020 Ryan Walsh. To hear more of Ryan's music, you can check out his SoundCloud @TransparentDark The information, opinions, and recommendations presented on the Autism in Real Life podcast, website, or newsletter are for general information purposes only and are solely those of the individuals involved and may not represent AANE’s positions, strategies or opinions.