Teach Autistic Kids How to Manage Impulses and Build Life Skills That Last - Ron Sandison

Hey everybody, you guys are in for a treat with our next guest. I wish I had him on for three hours. I love this guy already and I only talked to him for five minutes. Get ready. And also, thank you for watching our program every each and every week, The Counterculture Mom Show. We are over a thousand episodes. Oh yeah. And my hair is starting to grow back. Our next guest is Ron Sandison. He has over 15,000 scriptures memorized, including 22 complete books of the New Testament. What? Currently in the US, less than 4% of people with autism are gainfully employed and the average life expectancy is only 54. Ron's life's passion is to empower people with autism to thrive and bring hope to families who have a child on the spectrum. By God's grace and wisdom, he was able to get married and have a family. This guy rocks. Welcome to The Counterculture Mom Show. We are addressing autism today with Ron Sandison, author, national speaker, and founder of Spectrum Inclusion. Ron, how are you doing today? What's happening over there? Great. And I got my emotional support pet Rudy on duty. He's the first emotional support pet who needs more emotional support than his autistic owner. Oh my gosh. He is a cutie patootie. Now I have to tell everybody that you literally, I don't know how you do this. You have four traditional published books. You speak at 70 events a year on autism and mental health, reaching over 30,000 people a year. You've spoken everywhere from Madagascar to Israel, and it looks like you're headed to Cancun with that shirt you got on today. Tell us more. What do you do to teach families how to empower their child with autism to reach their full potential? The way I empower families who have a kid with autism or young adult is I teach them how the autistic mind works and what the missing areas are and how to strengthen those. So this is how you help a young adult with autism be gainfully employed. You teach them to use their strength to adapt and accommodate for their limitations and build connections. Connections are made of three main things. Number one, a support team or Redwood tree family. They are mentors. Number two, marking that ability. And number three, the ability to delight. And people with autism, the hardest thing they have in life is ability to delight. We're like Trump on Twitter. When an idea comes in, we spew it out. And a lot of times we offend people. And I've done that my share of time in life. And I teach people who have family members with autism how to use those strengths, exploit those strengths, and make them stronger so they can impact their world and thrive on the spectrum, not just survive. Okay, Ron, we've got to do a bunch of shows each and every year because you said Trump on Twitter. That's what you guys can sometimes do. You know, the people with autism at the same time, you can never be called a slacker because when you think of something, you just go guns a blazing. So there are some benefits to that too, even though you might offend some people along the way. So my favorite autism unrefined moment was 1996, December 26. The head coach, the Lions, Wayne Fonse, was fired. I was working at a car wash and who should show up there, but Wayne Fonse himself in a Jaguar. And when I finished cleaning off his car, I noticed there were a lot of young adults there working, getting his autograph. I went in the back, I came back, I kid you not, he looked like this, like he was coaching again. When I handed him an application for a job, and I said, you were fired today, we're hiring, it's your lucky day. What did he say to that? He said nothing. The most amazing part is you Google his name and it says Wayne Fonse was the most outspoken Lions coach of all time and autism made him speechless. That's a Trump on Twitter moment. Oh my gosh, you are so awesome. You have a whole like line of t-shirts with killer phrases here in the mix. I already know it. Plus you can your dog in the mix. Now, before we get into what it was like and what it is like living with autism, you said that you're not, and you don't go by your first name of Ronald, you go by Ron. Why is that? Now I'm curious. All right, so here's why. This is an awesome story. So if you Google Ronald on autism, up pops this psychiatrist from Scotland who tested LSD on kids in the 1930s, 1940s. Now here's a real irony. The guy lived to 95. He lived almost as long as some of the pre-flood people. In his final book, he published through a company now that's known for publishing books on autism. So I don't want you to think I'm testing LSD on your kids. I want you to think and believe and know that I'm helping your kids out. We have autism develop their full potential and thrive on the spectrum, not hallucinate on the spectrum. Oh my gosh, we have some crazy stories. I'm just going to throw this 30-second memory in the mix. I have been speaking to kids for like the last 25 years. When I lived in Hollywood, there was a chick that looked just like me, and she did vodka, Sky Vodka ads, and they were all over the Hollywood billboards up on the side of buildings. And I would go speak, and people were like, hang on a second, is this you? And they pull out like pictures of that billboard and magazine ads. And I'm like, that is not me. I'm not telling you don't drink and drive, and two seconds later, 95% naked on a billboard. So you are something else. I want to come to one of your upcoming speaking events, but let's dive in deep here. Can you go over the major challenges people with autism experience in life from this list? I have this list that I want to rattle a couple of things off that you can go more in detail. Everybody out there, here's some of the challenges with people with autism, what they face. Sensory overwhelm from noise, lights, uniform, and crowds. Exhaustion, meltdowns from masking, group work, talking in front of people, lack of understanding of autism, ADHD, bullying, and being misunderstood. Anxiety is seen as defiance. Oh my gosh. Dissect some of those for us. What's it like? All right. So let me begin by talking about my honey badger moments, and these are the meltdowns. I got my first honeymoon or honey bear on my honeymoon or honey badger. But what I didn't realize is when I pressed the paw, every F-bomb in the book would come out. A honey badger would smack some out of that cobra. What? And when I speak, I've got a declawed honey badger. And my favorite honey badger moment all time was when I was in fourth grade. They had a clown for a Cub Scout event, and a red nose, red hair, and white makeup. And little did the clown know he was going to become an expert on all those things you mentioned. He thought it'd be funny to take a hat off my head, put it on another kid's head, and put it back on mine. And having sensory issues, I ripped the puppet off the clown's hand that was a lamb puppet, and proceeded to beat the living snot out of that clown. That red nose went on the floor. I went running out there. I flew like an eagle at that Cub Scout event, but I didn't get an eagle's badge. I was more aggressive than a wolf, and they didn't even give me a wolf badge. For goodness sake, they didn't even give me a bobcat. They needed a new one, the honey badger. And that's what it's like to have autism and sensory issues. It's like that honey badger from the YouTube commercial, where he uses a lisp voice and uses a lot of f-bombs, because I used a lot of f-bombs as a kid when I lost my sensory ability due to sight, sound. If a popsicle is in the refrigerator, and there's salmon in there, I can taste the salmon, even if it's been gone for a week. Nail polish. Remember Pura Vortex 2014, where it was 30 below? Well, my wife would have to go outside to use her nail polish during Pura Vortex, because I can smell that nail polish, and those are some of the sensory issues I have, but I've learned to adapt to those situations through exposure and being in those situations and learning to meditate on God's Word that helps me be able to calm down a little bit. Okay, this is what's wild. Of course, I'm just now talking to you for just a couple of minutes, and I know there might be things I can't see behind the scenes on what it's like if I were married to someone that was autistic, but you seem to me that you'd be such a fun person to hang out with that life would never be boring. Do people tell that to you? Yeah, people tell me you're the most fun person to be around. They say this, too. The unexpected becomes the expected. Here's an example. In Palestine right now, you got people with machine guns. I went to Shepherd's Gate, where the shepherds were when Jesus was born, and I go in the fountain, I start taking coins out. Two guys with machine guns come up, and they're like, you can't do that. I use my favorite line, no, no, no, English, sir, from the US. They just laugh and let me take as many coins as I want. The unexpected becomes the expected. That is nuts. When I go to different mission trips, I'll say no Espanol or whatever the case is, and here you're saying, oh my gosh, you're just nuts. Were other people saying anything when this was going on? They were filming. They were recording like we are today. Oh my gosh. Do you have your own podcast, TV show? No, I do the Honey Badger verse a day, and I get 7,000 views every day. I do a different Bible verse and share with the Honey Badger. Have them subscribe. I also have Prairie Pup, who my mom used to teach me, and you, Loving Hollywood. I got a funny story about him. I met Kurt Armstrong, who did Booger from Revenge of Nerds, and I said to him, do you think you could put your finger up your nose like in the movies and hold Prairie Pup? He said, I'll take it to the next level. So Prairie Pup went groin in the nose of Kurt Armstrong Booger. Stop. I got to go to commercial break before I have an accident. More with Ron right after this. 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I didn't want anything wasted, so I'm just going to comment right here right now. Ron, you need your own program, so let's step it up from your YouTube couple minutes speech every day. I'm not kidding. You need to get picked up for a national program. I would watch you daily. I almost did. I was a runner-up for Travel on the Spectrum. I made it to the final cut, and then my family didn't get picked. The only reason we didn't get picked was everyone they picked for the show was higher needs, and not being higher needs, me and my wife missed out on it. We made it all the way through seven cuts, and then it came down to six families, and then we were number seven families. We were cut in the seventh one. If it would have been one more, I would have been on that TV show on MDC. Okay. You are absolutely going to go places on TV. I'm already going to speak that into existence, so that was your test around. I believe that's one of the things God put on my heart. Absolutely. Test around. You have a lot to offer. You are such a fun person to chat with. Let's go back to when you were a kid. Here's the question I was going to ask you. In pre-show set-up, you said, oh, no, you asked the wrong question. I'm just going to ask it the way anybody would typically ask it. What do you think causes a person to be autistic and to have autism? I don't think there's a cause of autism. I think there's contributing factors. Some of the contributing factors with me, my dad was an architect, engineer, making me 30% more likely to be on the autism spectrum. My dad was 41 when he had me. My mom was 25. A big age gap made me more likely to have autism. My grandma was a famous murder mystery writer. She had mental health issues that made it more contributing factors. Right now in the United States, the odds of a kid 25 or younger getting cancer is 79% higher than when I was a kid. The foods we eat, we are what we eat. I love to eat. That makes me more likely to be on the autism spectrum. All these contributing factors. A better question, too, than what causes autism is how can we help people with autism rather than cure autism? Knowing people's needs, helping them to adapt to their environment and build connections. Connections are what makes the world go around. Use those connections to thrive, not just survive. I love it. Here's going to be a curveball question, a little bit serious one. We're getting into your fun childhood and what your parents did to help you along the way. You're the first victim here for this week that I'm taping for the subject of autism. I don't know, but I'm suspecting that other guests might say yes to this following question. I want your take on it. I have done a lot of research for probably 20, 25 years on childhood vaccines and the potential, which I believe there is a massive connection to autism. What is your thought on that? I think there is a connection and I think they believe it too because you look at the side effects, all those side effects are the same as autism. If their side effects are autism, then how can you say it's not autism? The law of contradiction, thing cannot be what it is not. Absolute attributes cannot adhere to the same subject in the same way at the same time. If they're contradicting what it says on the warning, then there's something going on there. Absolutely. Can I ask you how old you are? Were you born in the 70s? 75. I'm 50 years old. I can still run a mile under six minutes. I still do 40 pushups every night before I go to bed. I still have more energy than anyone I know. I work 45 hours a week at a hospital part-time as a professor. Every two years, I write a nationally published book and speak at 70 events a year. It's the Holy Spirit in me who energizes me and gives me that power. You are absolutely phenomenal. You are such a cool guy. If there's people tuning in right now that might have kids, family members, or they themselves feel like they're stagnant on the bench, listening to your message right now, there is no reason we can't be off the bench in the game in this critical hour, in history, on this globe before the Lord comes back. You are such a testimony to so many people, Ron. Such a testimony. You need your own program. I'm going to see what I can do with people that I know, but anybody out there watching this, if you have connections to TV networks, get him a show. He needs a program. Okay. Going back to when you were a kid, how did your parents empower you to overcome autism? Was it difficult? Was your mom frustrated? Was your dad frustrated? Or they embrace you as you are and say, that's it. We're going to figure this thing out. What was their take and how did they help you? So my dad was a Protestant. So second Thessalonians 3.10, if a man will not work, he shall not eat. So he threw me in the deep end. With jobs and made sure I always had a job to learn those skills. Mom, she was a great advocate. She said, advocate, advocate, advocate, and then your kid will be an advocate. And my mom prayed that the Holy Spirit would show her how my brain processed information. And she realized I learned nothing phonetically. I learned everything visually. And she prayed that God would show the key to getting in my world so that she could bring me out to her world. And she found it was Prairie Pup right here. Prairie Pup in 2002 met Muhammad Ali. 2012 met Shriek from Saved by Bill. Last celebrity he met was about a year ago, Jose Canseco. But with his build, I don't think this Prairie Dog's on steroids. He's in desperate need of Rogaine. He's like and one girl made him a jean jacket. One made him an astronaut outfit. And by me interacting with Prairie Pup, I learned social skills. And even won a major art contest with Prairie Pup and got to meet Isaiah Thomas. And Isaiah Thomas, Piston's all-time leading scorer, he was in a commercial for Detroit Edison, which I won their poster contest. And he said this, look up. And the kid said, but I don't see anything. Goes good, there's no electrical wires. So my poster had Prairie Pup building a fort near electrical wires and said, look up. And there's a squirrel about to hit a transmitter. Says you don't want to become a furry fried friend. Oh my gosh, you are something else. We have to talk about all the different events that you speak at, what you talk on, how you reach a bunch of kids. But here's my next quick question for you. And then we'll get into that. What impact has autism had on your faith specifically? And what were some key God moments you can share with us? So my key God moment was when I changed how high school athletics is done in the United States. My senior year of high school, I was three months past the age limit to compete in high school sports under the Michigan High School Athletic Association. Things looked hopeless. They said it'd be a cold day in H-E-L-L-L before they'd let me compete. And I know it gets cold in Michigan with 17 degrees today, but I don't think it gets that cold. And my dad said this, Psalms 25 three, no one whose hope is in you, wherever you put the shame. And we prayed, gave in like God's hand. And I got back from a five mile run on the front page of Detroit. Free Press was a story of a young man whose civil rights were also being violated. Same age as me, same sport, track and cross country, and they weren't going to let him compete because of a learning disability. And my mom contacted Detroit News. That Wednesday I was on the cover of Detroit News at two young men, civil rights were being violated. And then I was getting baptized that Sunday to show my commitment to following Christ. When I came out of the water, I'll never forget the look on the pastor's face. It was like when Moses saw the burning bush. And he said this, I saw something in the heavenlies. Joel 2.25, I repaid the years at the locust meeting. Great locust, young locust, daughter of locust, locust who are my great army and son among you. There is a disability. It ate away from you. God's giving you a message. You're going to go throughout the world and proclaim it. And it begins today. For over six years, I've been sounding the alarm regarding the dangers of EMF exposure, primarily coming from the towers that were implemented during the pandemic. I've interviewed countless experts on the show that confirm my research. Besides harmful 5g radiation, we are constantly bombarded with EMF exposure from Wi Fi routers, smartphones, laptops, smart appliances, all contributing to massive sleep issues, headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, brain fog, heart palpitations, and even increased cancer risk. 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Her pup is now walking again and cancer free. That's why so many people are using in force and mush puppies for themselves and their pets. There's a three day money back guarantee and 80% of customers keep coming back for more. Check out pet club 247.com forward slash Tina to get your own supply that's pet club 247.com forward slash Tina with cancer on the rise. It's imperative to boost our immune systems every day. Take the first step towards a future with in force. The two books everybody that you have to get your hands on is adulting on the spectrum and insiders guide for navigating life with autism five star on Amazon. Not a surprise. Next up a parent's guide to autism practical advice, biblical wisdom. This is coming from a person who has literally and is living with autism. Grab those books today. Both five star on Amazon links will be surrounding this episode. Fantastic website that he's got up. Make sure you flood it. I want this thing to just go viral out there spread the word spectrum inclusion.com that spectrum inclusion.com bring him out to speak. Check him out on YouTube all of his short videos. He's got a blog here portfolio his story. I don't know where you're headed if it's Cancun Cozumel somewhere but make sure you let the Griffin gang know and we'll meet your family out there and hang out for a while. You rock. Keep at it. Say hi to your dog for me. He's doing an excellent job as well. Our ministry of over two dozen committed grandparents, parents and yes even teens exist because of your prayers and donations. If you are not currently a partner with us and would love to help us reach more people through the production of this show or through live speaking events, you can give through our website counterculture mom.com by clicking on the pink donate button at the top of the page. Your donations will greatly help us reach more and more people via radio, tv, podcasting and all the rest. It also helps us cover the cost of reaching thousands of students at schools and conferences throughout America. We received this email 20 years ago from a student when I spoke at her school assembly. Hi Tina my name is Kim and you came to my school to speak. I just wanted to tell you how much you inspired me. I've always wanted to be someone to make a difference in people's lives in the way that isn't cliche or by the book. Lately I've been sort of questioning what I want to do with my life but you reminded me today and we want to continue doing that as the counterculture ministries team. Once again if you'd like to donate and help us reach more of America's future leaders just go to counterculture mom.com and click on that pink donate button. Thank you for helping us reach more people in this critical hour.