Dr. Kerry Magro: Neurodiversity & Inclusion

00:00:00 Sumer Beatty: Welcome to Tomorrow Makers, where we explore how we learn, live, work, and play now and in the future. I'm Sumer Beaty. 00:00:10 Carlos Ramos: And I'm Carlos Ramos. My gosh, we learned so much today. 00:00:14 Sumer Beatty: Oh, we did. 00:00:15 Carlos Ramos: One of the things I really love about this podcast is I get to meet people in different fields and learn about what they do. And a lot of times I have an interest in it and want to try it out. partake in it. In this episode, we get to talk with Kerry Magro, who is doing all sorts of stuff, writing, consulting on films, all in the autism space. It's a space I'm very unfamiliar with, and I felt a little uncomfortable in asking some of the questions, because I'm like, am I asking this the right way? I want to make sure that I don't think I'm offending anybody, but then again, in regular life, I don't know if I'm offending anybody, and I'm sure I am all the time. but you were, you know, we, I, I joked that, you know, the, the couple minutes that we were talking between Kerry being here and getting started with the intro, you know, you're talking about the ASPE conference and your, personal experience there. And I don't think we have to get into the level of detail that we talked about there. I'd love for the audience to hear a little bit about your perspective there. 00:01:18 Sumer Beatty: Okay. So it's the Transitions Conference. 00:01:21 Carlos Ramos: Transitions conference. 00:01:22 Sumer Beatty: ASPE is, I'm glad you brought that up though, because ASPE is a summer camp that we have for students on the autistic spectrum. So thanks for the plug for that. That's great. I think that's a really great opportunity for anybody. out there who might be interested in coming and exploring Penn College in a really safe environment. So there's that. 00:01:42 Carlos Ramos: Great. So remember that when I say that in the episode. 00:01:45 Sumer Beatty: Yes, exactly. I didn't want to interrupt then. So yeah, so we have the Transitions Conference happening on campus. And so we've got, a number of students, special education students here on campus. So I was just helping out with there are workshops and sessions, so they have different tracks they can pick. And it's really inspiring. And the one that I was helping with was the, it was a financial aid session. and it's for students who are considering coming to college. So it was just informative to be in a space where there was such a diverse group of students digesting information in so many different ways. It was just, it was really impactful to be, you know, to be there, to hear questions and to hear not questions, but also to know that everybody's just so different, you know, just the being in that social environment. I think some of us take for granted, like maybe how easy it is sometimes to just go about our day. But, you know, I was asked, some questions and it was like, it was eye opening, you know, like maybe some people don't want to open a door because they don't know what's on the other side of it. And you can take that literally or metaphorically, but there's just, it's just, it's so important when we talk about neurodiversity to just kind of take a step back and realize we're so different from each other. I mean, Even if you look at somebody who's, who's very close to you in appearance, or maybe you work with, like, we're all just so, so different. I think that's just like a big takeaway to, to just remember that you don't know where someone's coming from always. Like they may seem one way, but you just don't know. I don't mean to be vague, but it was just, that's kind of what I took away. Just respecting everybody where they are, and valuing neurodiversity in your world, and just, just being compassionate. 00:03:30 Carlos Ramos: Yeah, and whether you're coming from a, a neurodiverse background or you're neurotypical, whatever, I think that, that means I, again, we're talking about a spectrum and so I don't think there's this clear line that sits between, so I think, you know, we, we all deal with our, our own fears, our own challenges and, but that having, you know, autism being on the spectrum, it does ramp that up. And how much that gets ramped up, like you say, varies between people and I think we just need a little bit of, of, of empathy to step back and say, Oh, wait a minute, how can I be a champion for someone? How can I be part of that assistance? And I think that's a lot of what Kerry gets into with what we talk about. 00:04:13 Sumer Beatty: How lucky are we to have him on here? It's so exciting. I hope you all enjoy. All right, welcome! We are here with Kerry Magro. He is an award winning national speaker, best selling author, and a role model in the disabled community. And I'm sure I'm missing like at least five things. 00:04:38 Kerry Magro: Oh, you're, you're fine. You're fine. Three is enough. 00:04:41 Sumer Beatty: So I think you have such an inspirational story. You know, at the start you were a non speaking individual, and here you are as a professional speaker. You know, so I'd love to get into that whole transformative process and how you got from from there to where you are today. But let's just start. I think it'd be important to tell our audience what is autism. And I think if you could touch on the spectrum piece of it, I think that'd be really helpful. 00:05:05 Kerry Magro: Sure. And, as we say in the community, if you met one person who was autistic, you met just that. So autism is very much a spectrum diagnosis. It's characterized as a neurochallenge for many in the community. it often revolves around social and communication limitations, which was kind of my story. I was not speaking until two and a half and it took my parents 18 months before getting a formal diagnosis of autism at four. And there were a lot of questions and a lot of what ifs. And now we know today that autism is just very, very broad. And every single person you meet who's autistic is going to be completely different compared to the next person you meet. 00:05:45 Sumer Beatty: So you talked about your diagnosis taking 18 months. That seems like an awfully long time. What was that like? I mean, you were young, so I'm not sure how much you remember, but maybe your parents have shared. 00:05:56 Kerry Magro: Yeah, so it was really, really challenging because when your kid that you love the most in this world has challenges, you want to do everything you can, and that 18 months of uncertainty was It's definitely heartbreaking for my parents at the time, but that's a common struggle that I see with so many families today, their waitlist and so many doctors are just, as we continue to see autism is more talked about in our communities, leading to doctors having even a longer waitlist in some areas when it comes to getting that formal diagnosis, but my parents just tried to stick to what I was good at and tried to stick to my interests, especially at an early age. And even when I started saying my first few words when I was about three years old, just really just pushing me as far as I could while waiting for that formal diagnosis. 00:06:46 Sumer Beatty: So do you think because of the Everybody's, you know, more aware, I think, does that diagnosis take less time now, or it's still an issue? 00:06:56 Kerry Magro: I think, especially right now, in most areas, we are doing definitely a great job when we're talking about technology to help us. I mean, even today, there are apps like Cognoa that are providing individual parents the opportunity to diagnose their children at home. which is really, really exciting, especially when it comes to the diagnosis rate and some of the waitlists being very, very long, being able to find those answers immediately versus having to be on waitlists. So I think we're doing a better job today. But when I was diagnosed, it was 1992. Just everyone assumed everyone who was autistic was Rain Man. And 00:07:37 Sumer Beatty: Things have changed for the better. 00:07:39 Kerry Magro: Yes, for sure. 00:07:40 Sumer Beatty: So a big piece of this telling your story is through your writing. You have a number of books out. Let's talk about those. 00:07:47 Kerry Magro: I had the wonderful opportunity to do a Lunch and Learn and gain the opportunity to share a little bit about how that actually came about. And I became a peer mentor. And I didn't have a lot of peer role miles to look up to when I was growing up and I felt isolated at times. So I became a peer mentor for kids from the age of 16 to 24 to help them as they transition to adulthood. And one of my mentees actually said, Hey, Kerry, I've never read anything from anyone who had autism. So would you consider, and he knew I liked. poems and writing essays about my journey, would you consider writing a book just based on poems and essays? And, I wrote a letter, which I shared at the Lunch and Learn last night, called A Letter I Would've Written for my Parents When I Was Still Non Verbal. And that started a, I got so much, Positive feedback from that led to me writing my first book when it came out in 2013, became an Amazon bestseller for special need parenting, and I've been writing ever since. I've written five books, I have two more coming out within the next six months, and it's just a dream come true. 00:08:56 Sumer Beatty: Yeah, that is amazing. And we had the opportunity, Carlos and I were both at your talk last night. And, you have another talk here on campus today. We have the Transitions Conference at Penn College. so I believe we have around 300 students from, I feel like six counties coming here and they're doing workshops and they're special education students. And I'm just imagining what that keynote speak or a keynote presentation is going to be like, and the potential you have. to impact those students. I'm looking forward to hearing about that. 00:09:28 Kerry Magro: Honestly, I wish I had something like that when I was growing up. We didn't have any transition conferences. We didn't have any Autism Acceptance Month events. And to be able to give students something that I never did as a kid, it warms my heart, but it also makes me really emotional. I've been doing this work for the past 13 years and, it, you know, I just have to, it sounds cliche, but I have to pinch myself at times because it's just, it's truly amazing. And I, I hope I can leave the students today with just some inspiring thoughts, because often when we talk about the disability community, there's often a lot of emphasis on children, but disabled children will become disabled adults and we need to be ready for them and support them as much as we can. Cause the age cliff, you know, does end at the age of 21, unfortunately, for a lot of our kids, and we need to provide them with supports, not only now in the transition, but after they age out of high school. 00:10:27 Carlos Ramos: That doesn't, that's not limited to just the kids, to those who get into adulthood, these are the parents, these are the family members thinking back to last night and the stories that we heard from the participants that were there. I mean, some of it's really heart wrenching. 00:10:43 Kerry Magro: Yeah, it's so, so powerful. I mean, having, having just a young adult be able to share her own specific story of not even being diagnosed, but like, for years, wanting to be diagnosed, seeing the signs, but being told no, and having that, that ignorance out there in the world. I mean, there, there's so many people I hope today, during the Q& A period, we'll share a little bit more of their personal testimonies, because that's honestly my favorite part of being a public speaker. I could talk for hours on end, and I know, get yawns during that time. But, the Q& A period is just truly amazing, because it is a spectrum, and there are so many beautiful, unique stories. I hope I can leave the kids today with that. They should always be able to speak up and share their stories to not only make the world a more inclusive place, but also to self advocate and nurture for their own journeys as well. 00:11:42 Carlos Ramos: Last night you were sharing some of the numbers about the number of people that are diagnosed, you know, today versus, you know, even when you were a kid. But that's ignoring the whole population, like the, the young woman that we met last night who. is not diagnosed, but you know, there, there are people that you, you can clearly see the signs, that, that there is something that needs to be, you know, looked at and addressed and, and that, and the, the person is asking for that. 00:12:11 Kerry Magro: Yeah. So it's actually really funny you mentioned that because one presentation I've been giving a lot recently, I'm actually giving it in Toronto next week at a keynote with Dr. Temple Grandin, who's a phenomenal autism advocate called the past, present, and future of the autism community. And a few years ago, MIT came out with a study that indicated that based on the prevalence of continuing to increase. By the year 2025, MIT believed that one in every two people in the United States would have a form of autism. And now even hearing stories like we heard of the young woman's story last night, I think about all the people who went years without receiving proper supports, and how unfortunate that is, whether it's unconscious biases around disability, a lack of awareness. So it's not even just the autism community, but it's the community at large. 00:13:08 Sumer Beatty: So I think it's important to talk about that diagnosis piece. So I'm sure if I were in that woman's position last night, I would, I, there's nothing worse than having an issue going to a medical provider and they're them saying, everything's fine. And you're like, no, it's not. Or I wouldn't be here. So what does that, I know there are, you had mentioned services. What advantages does somebody have to, after they have that diagnosis? 00:13:37 Kerry Magro: I think the most important thing is that for me, for example, when I found out I had autism for the first time, it was life changing, because so many things I didn't know about myself, and so many years I thought of myself as an alien, everything became full circle, and I started learning more about why I had things like sensory challenges, why I rubbed my hands together when I heard loud noises, or was affected by bright lights, and I just discovered a new part of myself that I never really knew existed. I feel like that's a big part of why we want people to learn about their diagnosis is so they can understand a little bit more about who they are, but also in terms of our young adults and our are aging adults as well. Reasonable accommodations, what that potentially looks like, not only at colleges like Penn State, but also in, in, in the workplace as well, what we could provide them to level the playing field, because the world is not structured in a way that we can. Right now, at least, universally, that supports people with disabilities. We have some groups like disability support services at college campuses that are doing some great work in trying to provide those reasonable accommodations, but we still have a very, very long way to go. 00:14:53 Sumer Beatty: Is there anything a college could do, just generally speaking, in addition to just having disability and access resources available and accommodations available? I'm sure there are a hundred things you could list, but are there just a couple off the top of your head? 00:15:08 Kerry Magro: Well, it's actually funny, in my third book that came out called Autistics on Autism, which is available to check out on Amazon, we actually did a roundtable conversation with five professors who are autism experts, who have autism related programs at their post secondary institutions in the United States. And they were able to share not only online resources available for, you know, these, students, but also offline and what they believed every single college campus should do to support people with autism. And one of the things that I brought up last night in my talk, the idea of a student organization for those with disabilities, that peer to peer interaction can be so powerful, especially for a kid like me who went to college and felt isolated because I was the only kid going to that university for my high school. So I need to. go out there and try to engage with people. And I just started coming out to my peers about having a disability at that time. It would have been life changing to have something like that in store, but also considering sensory friendly ways that we can provide supports as well from dimmers in our classrooms for individuals with challenges with bright lights, in addition to external noise being lowered for people with sound sensitivity. Also thinking about our visual learners as well, being able to provide closed captioning on all of our videos as well for individuals who might have those challenges and might be visual learners who don't really necessarily take the auditory they're hearing, but when they see it on screen, such as closed captioning, they're so much more able to process that information. So, small little things like that that make just the most common sense of the world, but definitely could go a long way if implemented. 00:16:53 Sumer Beatty: And they don't seem like expensive things, really, generally speaking. I mean, for the length that you could, or for the benefit, you know, it doesn't seem like a whole lot, a lot of cost involved. 00:17:04 Kerry Magro: Yeah, it doesn't affect the bottom line, if at all. Maybe just an additional, like, 15, 30 minutes of going on YouTube, getting the transcript of the videos, and all the other accommodations as well. It's not very time consuming, and it doesn't affect the bottom line for colleges to consider. 00:17:22 Carlos Ramos: What can we do at the faculty level? 00:17:26 Kerry Magro: I recommend that every faculty member go online and research universal design for learning and really take in the key principles that UDL. Coming back from my background, I received a doctorate in educational technology leadership and one of the things I learned from doing countless interviews in my qualitative research with professors across the country is the importance of feedback from students. Not only anonymous feedback to help shape our lesson plans, but also to find what their talents are and what their strengths are and how we could use those strengths of our students to implement our lesson plans in a way that's fun, interactive, and engaging for them. Because, I mean, and, and I talk a lot about this in like K through 12 and like the whole structure of like Common Core and standardized testing and how sometimes it goes over some individuals with disabilities heads. When we really think about that feedback, and we really actually take the time every beginning of the academic year and actually ask anonymous feedback, ask questions, I mean, it can go a long way. There is something called classroom assessment techniques where people Professors and faculty members today can go online, figure out how to structure these internal feedback from their students. And that's one of the, just the best ways. We need to meet every single student where they are in their development, because it's not only a spectrum in terms of the autism and disability community. You could just say that about every single student who might be coming into, into your classroom. 00:19:05 Sumer Beatty: So I think your parents were so instrumental in your journey and there's a huge, huge value in having a support group. So, I don't know if you want to talk about that. Everybody is not fortunate enough to have supportive family. Is there anything that those individuals could do if someone's listening and just feels like they need, they just need someone to talk to, they need help, they need to feel like they're part of a community, but they don't have the support? 00:19:32 Kerry Magro: Yeah, I, I think the most important thing is to speak up because even what we learned from last night is that we have people in our community who want to support, but to get that support, you need to be open and honest. And sometimes that's really, really challenging. Don't get me wrong. It's like, there, there were literally people, tears from so many of the attendees last night when that self advocate shared a little bit about her story and feeling isolated. The most important thing we need to remind these self advocates is about the importance of sharing your story because there are people that want help from the groups like the SASSY group, the small parent group that's being started to help support parents. There are people in our community who want to help and especially for young people, that's sometimes really, really challenging. I see this so much with things like bullying prevention in our schools. So many people being bullied and not wanting to speak up about that. But then also in terms of self advocacy as well. I have a quote in the disability world where I say, disability doesn't come with an instruction guide. It comes with a family who will never give up. And I changed that quote several years ago because I was giving a talk to fifth graders, and one of the students came up to me afterwards. I had like the giant meme that said that quote on it at the end of my presentation, and he told me that he had just lost his parents recently. And I know so many parents who, who leave when their child is diagnosed with a disability at times, and I know so many single parents who deal with a lot of challenges. I think it's really, really important, and that's why I changed it to, it sometimes comes with a family who will never give up. It's really important to have individuals not only speak up, but to find those individuals who might have the most challenges in being able to support them and understanding like the valedictorians of the world are phenomenal in their own right, but that kid who might have struggled in class who has an IEP and that he might have just climbed his Everest and we need to be willing to give them positive praise and support them in any way we can. So speaking up, but also reminding ourselves to really take care of the kids who need the most support. 00:21:58 Carlos Ramos: You just mentioned IEP. Can you define that for the audience? 00:22:01 Kerry Magro: Sure. So, it's called an individualized education plan. And as part of students being diagnosed, they receive an IEP where they can receive accommodations in pre K through 12th grade before moving on to college, where it would pivot to 504 reasonable accommodations. 00:22:20 Carlos Ramos: You've been very successful to this point. And whether someone might say, in spite of, despite of, maybe because of, you know, the challenges that you face, how would you characterize that and how How could anyone really latch on to what they've got inside them to achieve that level of success? 00:22:41 Kerry Magro: Oh 00:22:41 Carlos Ramos: my god, 00:22:41 Kerry Magro: thank you so much for that. first and foremost, I, my story is definitely not finished in terms of what I, I want to do in my life. I, I still have a lot of challenges and obstacles I'm still trying to overcome, not only in terms of my own autism diagnosis, but what I'm trying to overcome in my own life. But what I can say is, stay grounded. Really take time out of your life to figure out what your strengths are and your talents are and go after them because it may sound cliche, but we only have one life to live. And I was telling all the people last night, that, one of my interests growing up was to become the next Kobe Bryant. So, and yeah, I, I never, I never became six foot seven and I never default the jump shot. So that wasn't happening. But what, what I can say is just, understanding, like, you, you need that mentality in your life to go after what you want the most and just strive to be the best version of yourself every single day. And as, my final thought to the people last night I already talked was that, don't let any one thing in your life define who you are. Because I know so many people who sometimes get stuck in what defines them, that they don't, you know, necessarily put in that effort towards really going after what, what they want, because they're so worried about words. And don't get me wrong, there's some people with some extreme and very difficult challenges, but trying to latch on to what your strengths are, and then figure out how you can shape that into what you want to do in your life, but not only professionally, but also personally as well. 00:24:18 Sumer Beatty: I think too. I know just with some things that I've attempted, it's almost like the harder something is for you to do, the more rewarding. And that also sounds cliche, but like the more rewarding it is when you can accomplish it. It's like, if it was easy, what fun's that? You know, it is nice to be able to, to work towards something. And even if it is that person's Everest, you know, we each have our own individual ideas of what we can accomplish and like one little piece at a time, right? Like it's a process. It's a journey. It's, 00:24:48 Kerry Magro: It's, it's a marathon. And, I, I had an old college professor who I absolutely adored, who said, think with the end in mind. and, and I just take that little step by step and just realize that not everything's going to come all at once. It's a process. But there are rewards along the way because of your effort. 00:25:11 Carlos Ramos: I don't recall if you said this last night, or if it was in one of the books, if I read it elsewhere, those that have autism tend to have that focus to be able to go to two things, or maybe three things, and that's what they do. They do, that's what they focus on. We find that in high performers, regardless of autism or no autism, when you have that focus, you vastly increase your chances of succeeding. So, would you almost say that's a strength in a way? 00:25:42 Kerry Magro: Yeah, I mean, even if we look at the history of some of the most successful and talented people in our history, like the Albert Einsteins of the world, we, a lot of them have been rumored to have characteristics on the autism spectrum, being able to have for like Albert Einstein's Science and Mathematics, being able to focus on that for long periods of time, and it can be a very, valid strength, but also at the same time, we also need to find those support for those individuals where they're not necessarily, for example, I work with many kids who are great at technology but then also play video games eight hours a day. And it's, it's, it's, it's a fine line between having a kid who I know was able to code starting at eight years old. I know other students who were able to build a computer at 12 years old. And then also the individuals who not only are able to do that, but then also play eight hours of video games a day, being able to find that structure, is really, really pivotal. It can be a very amazing strength, but it needs to be honed in. And, a lot of that comes back to our guardians, making sure that we are giving our kids not only positive reinforcement, but also helping structure their lives so they can go after, hopefully, their strengths turning into careers one day. 00:27:10 Carlos Ramos: So then speaking of careers and thinking about the workplace, what's the current state of the workplace for those that have autism or are neurodiverse and what could it look like? 00:27:23 Kerry Magro: I think one of the interesting things that happened during COVID 19 was we saw a true pivot for many individuals with autism and disabilities being able to succeed in remote work situations. And I think that has encouraged a lot of employers to really consider that as an accommodation. And especially with the kids I've been working with, with they've been really succeeding, especially in STEM related jobs. So we're talking about science, technology, engineering, mathematics, really being able to thrive by having their own internal structure and not necessarily having to come into work, being able to not take public transportation where there might be a lot of sensory stimuli, not necessarily having to do that quote unquote water cooler talk with some of their coworkers, which, you know, can be, you know, challenging for anyone, let alone somebody who has a social communication challenge. So I think we're, we're seeing more companies really trying to pivot towards that, but we're also seeing the ROI benefits today. We, for this is October, which is also National Disability Employment Awareness Month. We've spoken with several companies about tapping into this untapped talent pool with the fact that one in five Americans do have some form of disability. But unfortunately, those with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to their non disabled peers, while I was mentioning during the Lunch and Learn yesterday that those with disabilities are more likely to stay at a job longer, they're more likely to take less time off from work, and the majority of reasonable accommodations for them in the workplace cost nothing. So, what are we doing to tap into this untapped talent pool in our communities today? 00:29:05 Sumer Beatty: I have to ask about Love on the Spectrum. A lot of people are fans. So when I told people we were going to have an opportunity to talk to you, it's like everybody told me, I watched that show. I love that show. and I know you were, assisted on a number of different films. How did you get into that? And any fun stories about, your work? Were you in LA? Did you say? Okay. That's fun for a lot of our fans, I think, to think about and just what that might've been like. 00:29:31 Kerry Magro: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, I, I always grew up a big theater nerd and, I was telling during my talk last night, I've wanted to grow up to become the sixth member of the Backstreet Boys. So, it never got there, maybe one day. But what I can say is that theater became such a huge outlet. To help me with my social communication challenges. And, I wrote about theater therapy on my blog when I was just 22, 23 years old. And I had a pretty good size following back then. And I had a movie director just reach out to me. It was like, Oh, I was reading about theater therapy. I have a character who's going to be autistic in my next film. And this was a film being done by Warner brothers. And I was like, Oh, my God, I would love to be involved with this. He let me rewrite the entire script to make sure it was authentic and as representative to the autism community as possible. And then he had me as a consultant. We went through the entire production process together, and I got to meet so many incredible, incredible contacts there in that time, not only in L. A., but New York, that really helped me understand that we were trying to not only myself, but So many filmmakers were trying to really be authentic and representative to the disability community. So, I've been consulting for the past just 12 years now, and it's been an amazing ride to work with Warner Brothers, HBO, Netflix on Love on the Spectrum, which has been truly amazing to see so many of them fall in love and get into their first time relationships. It just melts my heart, cause, that's why I wanted one when I was growing up. Now, as somebody who, has a girlfriend and, has, has kind of figured out that, but didn't have the time, it's, it's great to have a show like Love on the Spectrum to be able to provide that platform for these individuals. 00:31:27 Carlos Ramos: So many people have not figured that out yet. 00:31:29 Kerry Magro: Oh, true story, yeah. It's, it's, not only autism, trust me. 00:31:34 Sumer Beatty: What was, was there anything interesting that you would share? Like, was there anything on set where you saw it happening and you were like, No, no, no, no, no, that would never happen that way or anything like that. 00:31:46 Kerry Magro: Well, I think the interesting thing is working with Cian, the director I Love on the Spectrum, some of the speed dating has been interesting to see in the two seasons we've had, there's been speed dating with some of the individuals. And I always have to just remind people that I work with, and I do a sensitivity training with all the crew members of Love on the Spectrum, to kind of tell them what to expect, because nothing is staged on these shows. It's all of them sharing their own stories of trying to find love and relationships, being able to understand some of those sensitivities, and understand that sometimes speed dating will work, sometimes it won't, and to give these individuals the opportunity to be able to be themselves as much as humanly possible. Taking the camera back just a little bit during some of the more pressurized situations, because especially a lot of those dates that are, they're also on this, that's their, the neurotypical individuals, a lot of them, that's their first time ever getting to be on camera as well, along with the cast members. So being able to be mindful and understanding to take their time, be patient and realize that it might take a little longer to film this, but it's worth the rewards to see those beautiful individuals being able to do something that for some of them, they thought they would never be able to do. 00:33:07 Sumer Beatty: I'm sure the response from the autistic community has been very well, I'm sure it's been very well received. 00:33:13 Kerry Magro: Yeah, we're, we're just blown away and Netflix has been incredibly, just amazing. Their publicity team have been going above and beyond to make sure that we're promoting this in many areas as we possibly can. We talked a little bit about the Lunch and Learn. our second season came out in May. We were in the top ten shows on Netflix for three consecutive weeks, which is like, just in terms of the disability community, we haven't had that much popularity for a show, not only on Netflix, but on a streaming network towards those with disabilities. So, it was truly remarkable to see and, hopefully it will give a platform for a lot of autistic individuals to pursue relationships in the future too. 00:34:00 Sumer Beatty: That's so powerful that you had an opportunity to be a part of that. I just think that's so cool. So cool. 00:34:06 Kerry Magro: Yeah. And we have, season three coming out in 2025. I just got, episode one sent to me two weeks ago to, edit. So. 00:34:14 Sumer Beatty: Okay. No spoilers. No spoilers. 00:34:17 Kerry Magro: No spoilers. It was funny last night. One of the, parents was like, So can you tell me how many cast members are coming back for this season? I'm like, pretty sure my non disclosure agreement would, frown upon anything above that, but get excited. There will be some fun things going on. 00:34:33 Sumer Beatty: Okay. Stay tuned. 00:34:35 Carlos Ramos: So you've had this just, it seems like just an amazing sequence of events. Like you just don't jump into consulting and being involved in that level of production for a Netflix series. Yeah. I think it goes all back to that self reliance and the support that you had, but there's an intentionality there that you've had. Nothing would have happened had you not put yourself out with that first letter that eventually led to the book. 00:35:05 Kerry Magro: I think it was just, my parents also just played a pivotal role. I mean, my mom joined the Board of Education. when I was just starting in the special education classroom for the first time because she didn't want me to fall through the cracks in a system that really no one was talking about special education at the time. So, and she spent 20 years there, not only to see me through graduating high school, but to stay to help the future generations. And I think her motivation to support me gave me a lot of self motivation to support myself, knowing how hard she wanted to see me succeed. At some point there, there was just that moment that just clicked and everything became like, Oh my God, my mom and dad have just done so much for me. And I would, I, I've seen myself succeed in some areas. Let's see how far we can, we can push this. And, without them, I wouldn't be here today. And I just love them to death. 00:36:03 Sumer Beatty: Aww. 00:36:05 Carlos Ramos: What kind of message would you send to that teen, the preteen, that's out there struggling right now, who is not getting that diagnosis? 00:36:15 Kerry Magro: Just realize that you should always feel free to speak up. And realize that your feelings are valid and that you have your own unique, beautiful story. And this Is a message we'll actually share with a lot of the high school students today, but you have a beautiful message that needs to be told in this life. So go out there boldly and write it because you, for, for some of the kids I work with, they don't realize how capable and amazing they are at times and just gain the opportunity to meet them one on one and meet them where they are. I would just tell those pre teens just don't, don't give up and just keep pushing to be the best quality version of yourself every single day. Because I have been in your shoes and I know sometimes it's rough, but you have a lot that you're capable of in this life. So keep pushing yourself. 00:37:07 Sumer Beatty: I think we want to talk about what you have coming up. What's, what's on the, I'm sure you have like a hundred things. So let's, what are the top couple of things you have that you're really excited about that you have coming up in the next few months? 00:37:18 Kerry Magro: Absolutely. So, we're coming into holiday season and I'm so thrilled to say that I have a new children's book coming out called, Santa Goes the Extra Mile for Children with Disabilities, which will be available on Amazon in mid November, where I've been so blessed to be able to play a sensory friendly Santa Claus. for the past 10 years to give over 500 autistic and special need children. One of the, for most of them, one of their first opportunities to ever meet Santa Claus in a sensory friendly setting. So we actually wrote a entire book about a young boy who goes to North Pole to meet with Santa to share a little bit about his needs and some of the accommodations that he needs. So Santa. could go around the country and provide sensory friendly events for kids to meet with Santa for the first time. So we're highlighting autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and over 15 different disabilities. So we could go into classrooms to be able to provide an education for younger students. Just a little bit more about disability in our community today. So we're really, really excited about that. And then, I am writing for a children's show, which will feature an autistic protagonist, which will also be coming out in November. I can't say the name of it. because also NDA, but it's funny how those things work, but I started doing a little bit of script writing and I'm getting headshots right now to go back into acting. So, that's something exciting as well, but the children's book will be exciting. And then the upcoming children's show as well. 00:38:52 Sumer Beatty: Wow. I can't wait to follow your journey. Thank you so much for coming in today. 00:38:57 Kerry Magro: Well, thanks for having me. 00:39:01 Sumer Beatty: Thanks for hanging out with us today. 00:39:02 Carlos Ramos: Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. 00:39:07 Sumer Beatty: Check out our show notes for bookmarks to your favorite sections and links to resources that we mentioned in today's episode. 00:39:13 Carlos Ramos: You can also find past episodes and see what's on deck for upcoming ones at pct.edu/podcast. 00:39:20 Sumer Beatty: And of course, we are open to your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, so send those over at podcast@pct.edut.edu. 00:39:28 Carlos Ramos: It's been real. 00:39:30 Sumer Beatty: Catch you next time. To roll to, here I go. Okay. Let's rephrase that.