Danny Combs: Building Opportunities In Autism Employment

Danny Combs on Buildable, TACT, and Expanding Trade-Based Careers for Autistic and Neurodivergent People
Host Tony Mantor welcomes Danny Combs to discuss progress since their last conversation on creating meaningful employment pathways for autistic and neurodivergent individuals.
Combs shares receiving a Congressional Mentor of Honor Society Citizen Honor Award and being appointed by Colorado’s governor to the new Colorado Disability Opportunity Office, funded through reissued historic license plates that generate sustainable revenue for disability-focused grants statewide with disabled-led oversight.
He introduces Buildable, a new Tennessee-based initiative launching workshops in Nashville in March with Belmont University, aiming to expand TACT’s trade-skills transition-to-employment model toward full-time programming in the fall, supported by corporate partners like Subaru.
They address challenges including staffing, costs, facilities, and job availability, discuss policy barriers and data gaps like autism prevalence needs assessments, emphasize nonprofit collaboration, employer education, ROI-focused messaging, and the urgent need for future supports as aging caregivers can no longer provide lifelong care.
00:00 Show Introduction
01:02 Meet Tony and Subscribe
01:21 Introducing Danny Combs
02:39 Colorado Disability Office
03:14 License Plate Funding
04:25 Grants and Inclusion
05:05 Buildable Comes to Nashville
06:00 Workshops and Timeline
07:09 Partners and Workforce Shift
08:04 Scaling Beyond Colorado
08:34 Consistency and Franchising
09:30 Startup Challenges Ahead
10:37 State Role and Policy
11:37 Legislation and Data Gaps
15:14 Nonprofits Need Unity
16:56 Nashville Hub Vision
18:52 Employer Perception and Language
21:39 Rethinking Education and Training
22:38 Five Year Future Vision
23:46 Parents and Long Term Care
26:32 Final Message and Wrap Up
27:22 Closing Credits

INTRO/OUTRO: T. Wild
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The content on Why Not Me: Embracing Autism amd Mental Health Worldwide, including discussions on mental health, autism, and related topics, is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. 

The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect those of the podcast, its hosts, or affiliates.

Why Not Me is not a medical or mental health professional and does not endorse or verify the accuracy, efficacy, safety of any treatments, programs, or advice discussed.

Listeners should consult qualified healthcare professionals, such as licensed therapists, psychologists, or physicians, before making decisions about mental health or autism- related care.

Reliance on this podcast's contents is at the listener's own risk. 

Why Not Me is not liable for any outcomes, financial or otherwise, resulting from actions taken based on the information provided.

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intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to Why Not Me, Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide. Hosted by Tony Mirator. Broadcasting from the heart of Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as our guests share their raw, powerful stories. Some will spark laughter, others will move you to tears. These real life journeys inspire, connect, and remind you that you're never alone. We're igniting a global movement to empower everyone to make a lasting difference by fostering deep awareness, unwavering acceptance, and profound understanding of autism and mental health. Tune in, be inspired, and join us in transforming the world one story at a time. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Why Not Me, Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide. Before we jump in, if you haven't already, I invite you to tap follow. It only takes a couple of seconds, and it helps this show reach more families who need to hear these conversations. Thanks for being here. Our guest today is someone who's been doing incredible work in the autism community, especially when it comes to employment and opportunity. Danny Combs has been deeply involved in helping create real jobs and real pathways for autistic individuals through his work with tax. He's also involved with initiatives through the state of Colorado that focus on neurodiversity in the workplace. The last time Danny and I spoke, we talked about the vision of building meaningful employment opportunities for autistic individuals. Today we're going to revisit that conversation, talk about the progress that's been made, and look ahead at where things are going. So before we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Yeah. I've been looking forward to it. I'm so glad we were able to connect.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Yes, me too. Give us a little information on what you've been up to since we last chatted.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Yeah, I mean it's it's hard to believe last time we had spoken. Last time you and I had the chance and privilege to connect, was honored to have received a Congressional Mentor of Honor Society Citizen Honor Award for my work with the autism community, specifically here in Colorado with TACT and the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce and a book that I had written. And have since, since I had spoken to you, I ended up getting appointed by the governor here in Colorado to work for a new office called the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

That's awesome. Tell us a little bit more about it.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

It's really pretty fantastic in the sense that Colorado became one of the first states to have a disability policy advisor, where most states to the governor will have somebody that advises them on education, transportation, housing, all those kinds of things. However, not disability, which seems kind of surprising. Colorado does. And as this governor's term has been coming to an end, he wanted to make sure that kept going. And so they ended up making a whole new state office to do just that. They didn't want to raise taxes to do it. And so they got really creative in the way they went around it, is they ended up reissuing historic license plates here in Colorado. So, not like, you know, in Tennessee, you would have, if you're a UT fan, the volunteers, you'd have a Tennessee Titans plate or a disabled veterans plate or something along that. They have that here in Colorado too. Nothing like that. They took historic plates from the 50s, the 60s, etc., and brought them back and said, okay, the one that's really popular for us is an all-black plate with white lettering. It's very simple. Looks a lot like the black and yellow out in California. If you'd like this license plate, you can do it. It's$25. Well, people turns out really like historic things like that. When it's clean and simple and not branded with us favorite sports team or cause, it's now generating about a million and a half bucks a month for us.$25 a pop. That's great. Which is just wild. It's fantastic. And with that, it makes it sustainable funding because every year when somebody wants to reissue their plate and get their little stickers for their license plate, they have to pay it again. It's really creative and we get to advise. That doesn't mean that, you know, we get the final say, but it's really neat to have a seat at the table and make sure that the voice of our community is heard. Yeah. And then we get to take that funding and provide grant opportunities for a whole bunch of groups throughout the state, from for-profits to nonprofits to state offices to municipalities. The funding's open to everybody, as long as there is at least a committee of folks with disabilities overseeing it, which we're really proud of to make sure there's like a nothing about us without us kind of mindset.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Does this funding cover all disabilities? It does.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Yeah. It covers all disabilities, which is amazing. And especially with the work that I've got to do in the autism. And I think that the governor asked me to do this because building tact and the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce and those teams from ground up, this very much feels like a startup. Sure, that makes sense. With that startup kind of mindset, one of the things I'm excited to be starting in your neck of the woods in Tennessee is a new group called Buildable. And it's kind of taking the idea that we've been working on with TACT for all these years and the fact that no one has copied this idea of using the skill trades as vessels to develop employment skills, just take a neurodivergent individuals. And here in Colorado, at least, it has grown to be the most successful transition to employment program in the state. Nice. Over a thousand students, it was a thousand fifty-seven students went through it last year. We regularly get folks that reach out and say we'd like to do this in our state. Well, we're going to do it. We're doing it under a different name because folks have advised us, the people that are smarter than be with the fancy law degrees advise us to do it this way. Right. It'll be a separate organization, but it's kind of taking the IP behind that and it's taking it, creating this platform and transition, educational transition, training and education program for autistic and neurodivergent individuals to get job skills and then hopefully do careers. That's what we're trying to do.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

When does it plan to start in Nashville? Actually in March. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Yeah. So we found Belmont University has decided to be the first partner university for our workshops. Shared it at Vanderbilt. Belmont's come on board as far as hosting some of the classes. And we're having these workshop opportunities for children, young adults, and grown adults to kind of come in and get the opportunity to try and kind of explore, discover, create, see if it's something that they're interested in doing. And so, like we're doing like a ukulele making class, for example, for come in and build ukuleles and actually give it a shot. And the idea is that we're going to be empowering these individuals to try and see if it's something they like. And then we're also then building up, you know, the students that might be interested for when we get this going full time. When do you think that will be? Hopefully it's this fall. That's our goal. By the time we acquire the facility, get it reneged, and then start going. That's our plan.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Now, where do you see this developing and what do you see it developing into? It's kind of a startup, like you mentioned. How do you see this evolving? I mean, this could be unlimited in what you do. What are your main objectives and what are you focusing on in getting this thing started?

SPEAKER_01 7:06

The main focus at first is to find a couple trades that uh people seem interested in. And we've got uh thankfully a lot of really big corporation partners that love the work that we've done, kind of the proof of concept with tact that have come on board. So, for example, in auto mechanics, Subaru is a really great partner. They've agreed that, you know, they will come to those dealerships that are selling those products on our behalf and say, hey, there's this training program. You should hire their graduates. And it comes from them rather than us just knocking on the door, more credibility behind that. What we're hoping to do is to start kind of shifting that paradigm of workforce and saying, hey, everybody's looking for workers, specifically among the autism community being the highest unemployed demographic in the country. We have got this opportunity to have real meaningful careers. Why don't you come through our program and let us support that effort and that life change for you? And so um we're hoping that the folks in Tennessee, it seems like they're already getting very excited about it, will come on board with that. And then as we've shared the idea, we've had about 15 states that have also expressed interest. And then those are at different stages of getting startups. So hopefully when you and I talk in another two years after the last time, we started to do it's been two years since we spoke last.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

I know.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

There will be, you know, multiple of these all over the country. That's the goal.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

The last time I talked with you, I do remember you were speaking about trying to increase tact across the country.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

So is it more focused on doing this and keeping tact in the background for more of the support?

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Yeah, there'll be separate organizations. I think what TACT is doing in Colorado is just working so well and is so blended to the community. We want to make sure that what we're starting here with buildable, it honors that and doesn't take away from that. As we've been traveling around and really meeting with folks from all over the country that have successfully spread nonprofits across the country, one thing that's been really interesting to see is there doesn't necessarily be a level of consistency where you go to one in one state and another in another state, you're not necessarily getting that same product. So we want to make sure that by doing it this way, we're taking that opportunity, but trying to kind of most franchise it, if you will, which you can't do with a nonprofit, that we're able to control the idea to make sure that the team is teaching the way that we think they should teach, structuring the classrooms, the way that we think they should structure them, have the right tools that we think they should be using, all of those things so that we can do our best to guarantee that individuals are going to be successful.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

What are some of the challenges that you still have to encounter in turning this into a reality?

SPEAKER_01 9:32

You know, finding the right people is very, very difficult. There's a lot of well-meaning people that want to help. But the thing is, and you know, I mean, you're an entrepreneur yourself. When you're starting something up, it is hard and it's expensive. And, you know, specifically in the trades, there's a lot of tools, and those tools are not cheap. Unfortunately, while well-meaning people want to get things set up, once they start pricing out what classrooms full of power tools and hand tools and all that equipment looks like, it's expensive. And then finding the right locations that are both A, zoned properly and B, can handle transportation and infrastructure for that kind of equipment. There's a few of those dominoes that need to fall in alignment for it to be successful. So trying to find those locations and then also our near, you know, jobs, because sometimes we get folks in rural environments that reach out, which would be incredible. But if there's no opportunity for jobs in those environments, what becomes the point of the training program? It crosses into that semi-day treatment kind of program.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yeah, that makes total sense. Now, working for the state versus this. What are some of the differences you've seen doing this?

SPEAKER_01 10:39

You know, taking this position with the state, I'm so grateful I got the opportunity to do it because it feels like you get a bigger picture of where everybody is at, as far as where everything is at at that point. To that being said, I've been able to meet all kinds of nonprofits across the state that I hadn't had access to before in the past. Seeing where they're at, I understand nonprofits even more than having run one, which is kind of interesting. I feel like it both builds you up and then also keeps you humble. Understanding the state processes and why they are the way that they are is really interesting too. I think I've learned so much about policy. I mean, how the policy portion of it, how that really either can make or break outcomes and opportunity for individuals. And, you know, having the chance to help support that, I'm really grateful for that. I think that's going to help have those kind of conversations and learning how to speak that language in the future in other states.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Yeah, that's great. Now, I'm curious. Yeah. I'm doing a special in May that's incorporating around the mental health part of it, but I'm dealing with state legislators, state senators, former U.S. House of Representatives, and they're all telling me how they try to create legislation that will help the justice system and all the other things that go along with autism and mental health. If you run into those situations to where you're talking with legislators and senators and all that, to where you see the frustration that everybody's having and trying to get something passed.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Oh, absolutely. And I think the hard thing is, I mean, the way that the system is structured, right? Where those legislators they mean really well. They have really good intent. A lot of cases, they've never run a state agency or office. Even the policies that they develop, they don't understand how that truthfully impacts those running those state offices, and let alone the interaction between, you know, those offices and the nonprofits that they're trying to serve and the community members they're trying to serve. The most interesting thing that I have found is like, for example, we're doing a needs assessment here in Colorado. Our office is getting to spearhead, and I'm really excited about it. And it's come up that no other state that we've been able to find, and we talked to a whole bunch of states, and the contractor we've hired to help us, right, has also researched, has ever done this. And what I mean by the needs assessment is we don't have any real information of how many folks in the, for example, in the state have autism. We don't really know. We have general studies that you know the CDC does or the World Health Organization does. It's taken from a handful of states from one specific age demographic, and then we paint broad brushes. Well, how do you put in place a solid strategy and program infrastructure if you don't really know who you're trying to serve at that point? So to really trying to begin with the end in mind. And to your point about those legislators, they again they they mean really well, but they're not they were those roadblocks that can stand in the way, or they don't really understand the ideas that they have how they're going to serve the community when they don't have all the actual data at the same time, too.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Have you been able to give them some advice where you operated TAC for so long? You've worked with nonprofits, you understand how they operate. So have you been able to give them some real life, everyday operational advice?

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Oh, absolutely. I find that they want to learn, like they're hungry, but even the way that they can go about it is rather limited. That being said, I've worked at the state level. Things I've done at the federal level was getting to work with the Neurodiverse Air Force, where we were able to change the National Defense Authorization Act for neurodivergent folks, going into the Air and Space Force. I was really, really happy to be part of that team that got to work on that. And I was not the lead on that. I was fortunate to work with some incredible individuals, and I just got to be part of that team. I'd be really curious to see what it would be like to work with the more federal level representatives for sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Yes, it certainly can be eye-opening in the way that they do their legislation. Yeah. You do have a certain amount of legislators and senators that really do want to help. Then you have a certain group of those that have no concept or understanding about it. And unfortunately, because they don't understand, they're the ones that will veto.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

I spoke with one legislator, they got a unanimous vote through the House, and then when it got to the Senate, unfortunately, it died. We still have a lot of people that we have to get information to so they can understand what is needed to help these people. They have to understand that this is not just national, it is also worldwide. Oh my gosh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Yeah. Well, I think to your point, that the communication and the way that we articulate the need, the strengths, the assets of community, we need to unify that. And I think one thing that has not helped our community, specifically in the autism world, is some of the arguments that come up from time to time. And rather than saying, okay, you said something one way that I maybe wouldn't have said it that way, understanding the centralized point and mission and heart are at the same core at that point. In the nonprofit world, too, unfortunately, nonprofits are so competitive and they're so siloed in their scope of work, fighting over similar grants, same kind of buckets that they don't necessarily collaborate. When you look at for-profits, right, they can kind of cannibalize each other, merge, combine, partner. You don't really see nonprofits doing that very much. I think if there was more of an alignment of nonprofits working together in concert, I think that could be a really powerful force to start really kind of shifting the narrative. Because then everybody's saying the same thing. I would imagine that at that point they would be more likely to listen.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

You know, I think you kind of said it right. I find that the bigger charities, they do not play well together.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

I find some of the smaller ones will reach out some and at least communicate at some level. Even though they're going for that same dollar, they do understand there's a certain need they all have to have.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Yep. That's a great way to say it. That's a fair point, too. But especially when you start looking at, you know, nonprofits, A, not very many make it over five years, and then B, the ones that get over half a million into the, you know, making millions of dollars a year, it's even smaller pool at that point.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

The other ones are definitely more collaborative because it's almost like a survival point of view at that point, too.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Very true. Now, what are you hoping to see? I know you're trying to push this Nashville collaborative as high as it possibly can go.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

How do you see it evolving in Nashville beyond Belmont and some of the other things we've already discussed?

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Yeah, I think when we get our own facility and get that going, I think we can make an incredible hub and opportunity. I think as Nashville and Tennessee have been growing dramatically, the exciting opportunity exists to make sure that, you know, there is a program that's centralized that can bring together those nonprofits, get everybody collaborating and unify around the idea that our kids deserve an opportunity to be successful and that there is a pathway forward to actually lead towards that. Because just like we've experienced here in Colorado, just like what Tennessee is experiencing in other states too, is there isn't that real opportunity for our community. I mean, there's a reason that when you and I spoke two years ago about the statistics of employment for autistic individuals, it has not changed. Yeah, and that's not good. Ten years ago, it still hasn't changed. And people keep going about things in the same way that they've been going around them and then wondering why we're not getting different results. And I think what Buildable has the opportunity to bring is saying, hey, this is something different, this is something unique, this has a pathway and is opening doors to actually create authentic opportunities and differentiating between jobs and careers. And I think that's an important thing to recognize the difference between because what happens a lot with like day treatment programs and they do field trips and other exploratory events that might lead towards a part-time job working at a coffee house or at a restaurant. And if that's what somebody wants, then God bless them. I hope that they love it. Sure. But if they want more or something different, I should say, where they're working in a trade, working in tech, etc., then they should also get that same opportunity. And unfortunately, that has not happened where we've been kind of put to the side and said, okay, you can be here. This is what's available, options are, and that kind of takes away the real opportunity and choice that neurotypicals would normally have.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

The unfortunate situation I still see that the autistic community still has is the perception from the potential employers on understanding what autism is.

SPEAKER_01 18:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Unfortunately, there is still a general lack of what autism is.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

I see a very difficult part of your job, and that's not just educating the autistic community on what needs to be done, but educating the neurotypical community on what autistic people can do to help them.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Well, I mean, I think that's what goes back to you have to that that unity message. I mean, I remember when TAC started, we would talk about our students as autistic, and people would be like, no, no, you can't say that. You have to say person with autism. Now, if you said person with autism versus autistic, it's flip-flopped, right? Rather than missing the message of what we were trying to achieve, they got caught up in the language. I use that because if they're well-meaning, they didn't mean anything by it other than the sense that by taking energy from what's the opportunities being presented to focus on things like that, you are missing a greater opportunity to unify around a team and actually get that genuine job or career for that individual. I mean, that's just an example, but I think we need to come together and do that. And I think, you know, in the neurodiversity community as a whole, it seemed like last year there was almost this setback where folks that were getting in this DEI space miss that really neurodiversity, in addition to that, is a return on investment. It's a value proposition. And if the language shifts to the value proposition and return on investment for businesses in a unified way, that's a much stronger argument to make for programs supporting our community.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Yeah, business, especially those for-profit businesses, many times they only look at their bottom line. They have to make sure the ROI is good. So the only thing I see as a path forward is to change the language so they're not looking at it as autistic versus neurotypical. They're looking at can this person do the job I need and make me dollars?

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Yeah, I agree. A hundred percent. And I think we need more folks saying that same thing, because you're exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Yes. Yeah, like you say, we have gotten so wrapped up in the language of the way it's being presented. Like a big thing now is I've heard, is it level one, level two, or level three? A lot of people have the terminologies they want to use, but in my opinion, I think they're missing a very big point. What needs to be put across is these autistic people can do everything and anything that a neurotypical can do. Sometimes it's just presentation.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

A hundred percent. And I think that's where like truly buying into the notion of changing the environment and not asking the individual to change, like meeting the individual where they're at, where you want to go, and then elevate them to that level. I think traditional education and training programs where they've suffered and where they've, in all fairness, you know, in a public school setting, for example, those teachers just aren't set up for success. They're just not. The classrooms are too big, they don't have enough resources, they don't have enough support, they shoot down the middle and it's like the bell curve. They're trying to get as many as they can, they do the best they can. The reality is people don't all learn. The same way. They don't all retain information the same way. They don't all progress in their skill development. Some elevate really quickly, then slow down. Some, you know, progress really slowly, then all of a sudden they can do all these amazing things. And that's okay. I think it's an opportunity too to really reframe on a broader scale. How do we relook education in general? How do we relook training in general? Because even neurotypical kids aren't being served in the ways that they deserve to be served.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

Now, you brought up if we have this conversation in two years, let's jump ahead a little more. If we have this conversation in five years, what do you think it will look like then?

SPEAKER_01 22:35

If you would have told me five years ago, you're thinking that we were still overcoming COVID. I mean, that just feels like a lifetime ago, right? And what we all went through with that. In five years, honestly, I would love to see that the entire system has changed to the point that we don't even need programs like this because everybody is doing this, that we have truly embraced our entire community, that we have shifted as a system, and that genuine inclusion of equality of opportunity exists for everybody uniformly. That would be the dream. I don't think we'll be there. And especially having a chance to not work in a state in government, seeing how slow the ship turns. But I think we can get more interested parties. And the more folks like you that take the time to listen to those of us that are, you know, kind of practitioners in a way that are demonstrating that this idea can work. I think the more of those that of us that get our voices out there and together, again, uniformly, I think the more likely we are to get some people higher up that can really join us in making that change. And I would like to see that take place if possible.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Another thing that we all have to think about is, of course, the parents of the autistic children. They always want what's best for the child. Unfortunately, sometimes they're not looking at reality. How do we get them so they can have small successes? The reality will unfortunately set in that they're not getting them exactly where they want to be, but they will realize they are getting small successes. This way, it not only helps the parents, it also helps the community by showing them that things can actually change.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

That's such a great question on so many levels because one of the things that's a very real, I don't want to say fear, but a very real training that's coming down the tracks. I don't know how what a better way to say it, is what's happening now is for the autism community, there's a large number that live at home with Eugene caregivers. This is the first generation of autistic individuals that for a lot of them or large group of them did not end up in institutions, which in my mind is a good thing. However, we have not in that same period of time built up the infrastructure to support them outside of institutionalism, other than their parents. And when you look at how parents are getting older, and in a lot of cases, parents are in their 70s or 80s and still taking care of their autistic child, what happens next? And for some reason, that's another elephant in the room that no one is talking about. So I think using that as an example for the current parents of younger children recognizing they have to start looking at programs like this and investing in real opportunity for their kids for the future because another generation of parents trying to take care of their life while awesome is not going to be sustainable. What that looks like, I don't have the answer for that one. I think that's a whole other nut that needs to be cracked. You know, housing and living situation. But it's something that is going to be, I'm guessing, very regularly talked about here in the next couple of years because I don't know what's going to happen to those individuals when their parents really start passing. And there's going to be a lot of them that that's going to start happening. And there you see little pockets of housing initiatives or inclusive housing initiatives taking place, which is great, but it's certainly not enough that's going to capture everybody at that point.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Yeah, I definitely agree. This June is my third year of doing my podcast. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

You have grown tremendously in three years. Good for you. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Yeah, thanks. I appreciate that. But being here in Nashville and talking with everyone, I can see where there is so much more that needs to be done to correct all these things that we've just talked about. But that's a whole nother podcast episode. So, in closing, what would you like to leave with our listeners giving them the thoughts of what you're trying to do?

SPEAKER_01 26:20

I think I would love to leave the listeners with a thought that our kids can do amazing things when we give them the opportunity to do those amazing things and to not limit their scope of what they think is achievable. I mean, you talked about autism level one, two, three, or if you were talking about cis levels one through seven, our kids ourselves get put into boxes. However, I find that individuals can regularly break out of those boxes when you elevate and empower them and give them the tools to truly be successful. And I hope that they'll come by and see what we're trying to build in Nashville and give it a chance. And I think they'll be blown away at the opportunity of what their kids can do. And I think they'll be proud of their child as they always are, but also the future that exists for them now.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Yeah. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Yeah, me too. Thanks again for making the time.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

My pleasure. Thanks again. A big thank you to our guests for sharing their journey. If today's conversation helped you see the world a little differently, then we're doing exactly what we hope to do. Until next time, keep believing, keep learning, and most importantly, keep asking yourself, why not me? Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to our show today. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. If you know someone who has a story to share, tell them to contact us at why notme.world. One last thing spread the word about why not me. Our conversations, our inspiring guest, the show. You are not alone in this world.