Episode 10 Notes

Hey, there slay gals, it’s me, Sophilia Lark-Woodbury, and this is episode 10 of the S.O.S.

podcast. Today is Friday, January 26, 2018, and I want to come right out of the gate and

apologize for not producing the 2 podcasts this week that I promised. We have been having

some technical difficulties with our equipment, so I was not able to record in the home office

on Wednesday as I had planned to do, and when I got the chance to record yesterday, the end

result ended up being a disaster, so we had to make some new adjustments.

But, here we are today, ready to move on with the show. Hopefully, next week, things will be

back to normal, where I can start producing the 2 episodes a week on a consistent basis. So,

hang in there with me. We will get there.

 So today, I’m going to talking about people who have inspired me to become a social

entrepreneur where the primary goal is to conduct business in a way that solves social

problems and effects change in local, national, and international communities.

Influencer stories are important to me because they have provided a foundation for me to

connect with other moms and women who have endured some of the toughest struggles to

come out on the other side victorious. They don’t just emerge with those victories to keep for

themselves, but they are willing to share their stories to empower others.

 Froma Walsh: I was first inspired to create a healing arts program for moms and families

with children on the autism spectrum when I was studying family resilience back in

2015, and ran into the work of renowned psychologist, Froma Walsh. Walsh is the co-

director and co-founder of the Chicago Center for Family Health as well as Professor
 Emerita in the School of social service administration and the department of psychiatry

at the University of Chicago.

 What I found particularly interesting about Froma’s family resilience approach is that it

was an intervention method that emphasized prevention. In other words, the

intervention sought to teach families not just how to problem-solve and support each

other during crises, but it also taught them how to strengthen key family processes such

as how to make meaning of adversity, how to affirm each other’s strengths, how to

accept the things they couldn’t change, and how to lean on values and faith in order to

successfully cope with hardship.

 It also focused on envisioning new possibilities and realities through creative expression,

and this is where my creativity for my social enterprise took flight. It was at this juncture

that my vision became clear and strong. I not only knew what to do, but I became aware

of how to do it.

 Soon, I created The Happy Meetium’s MADLiPS Approach™ and was on my way to

effecting change in the lives of mother’s who shared struggles similar to mine.

 Ruth Sullivan story – was an Irish Catholic mother of seven children. During the early

1960s, one of her son’s began demonstrating abnormal childhood behavior such as

speaking cessation. After consultations with several doctors, Ruth’s son – Joe, was

diagnosed with autism.

 During those times, the prevailing view of childhood mental illness or disability was

centered on neuroticism, which suggested that children suffered from neurosis caused
 by disturbed mother-child relationships. But Ruth was unconvinced that she was the

cause of her son’s autism, because she had six other children who did not have it.

 As a professional woman with ample experience as a nurse in the U.S. Army and a

Master’s degree in Public Health, Ruth set out to establish a grassroots organization that

would rally parent activists who were not raising children with autism, but who were

also willing to use their voices to raise awareness about developments in the field to

help educate the public.

 In November of 1965, Sullivan helped found the National Society for Autistic Children,

which is now known as the Autism Society of America. Because it was grassroots,

Sullivan initially ran it out of her house due to lack of funds and resources.

 As time progressed, and the organization became more successful, Ruth established a

reputation as a foremost authority on autism parenting and advocacy.

 In the late 1980s, she served as a consultant for the award-winning movie, Rain Man,

and appeared on iconic television shows such as Larry King and Oprah.

 Because Ruth said, “No” to “No”, the Autism Society of America has grown and

flourished for more than 50 years.

 She is still an active member in her community although she is well into her 90s. This is

how you change the world.

 Camille Proctor – founded The Color of Autism, a nonprofit organization aimed at

providing support and spreading ASD awareness to communities of color. The creation
 this organization was inspired by Proctor’s own experience as a mother of a child on the

autism spectrum.

 She found that Autism spectrum disorder was more likely to go undiagnosed in

communities of color than in majority communities.

 The most recent data from the CDC showed that white children were 30 percent more

likely to be identified with ASD than black children and 50 percent more likely than

Hispanic children. But black or Hispanic children were not less likely to have ASD, so

there was a clear disparity in screening for autism among communities of color when

compared to autism screenings conducted in the Caucasian communities.

 Proctor noted that the narrative around disabilities and autism in communities of color

was mum. There is really no diversity in the stories we hear about children with autism.

We might hear a story here and there about a child with autism from a minority group,

but I will tell you, the one’s I have often heard are of those children who have tragically

ended up on the 6:00 news. Most of the time, it is due to a drowning accident.

 It’s events like these and the lack of narrative related to autism in communities of color

that led Camille Proctor to establish The Color of Autism.

 Because of her determination and willingness to say “No” to “No”, she has made a

significant impact on the underserved communities of color. But as she noted, there is

still so much more work to be done in terms of getting the resources to the people who

need them the most.

 So the completion of episode 10 marks the end of what I call the “groundwork” sessions

of the S.O.S. podcast where you have learned about me, why I created a podcast, and
 the kind of tools that I use to help empower moms of children on the spectrum become

better versions of themselves. Beginning with episode 11, we will be getting out into the

culture and exploring our lives and circumstances through the lens of the creative-

expressive arts while taking action to transform ourselves into the best change agents

and self-healers that we can possibly be.

 I’m looking forward to sharing those things with you, so come on back and join the fun.

I’ll see you in just a little bit.