(bright groovy music) >>Welcome to "A World of Difference: Embracing Neurodiversity."

I'm Darryl Owens.

As actress Zooey Deschanel famously observed, nothing could be as hard as middle school.

This sentiment rings especially true for many children with learning and attention issues who may find the transition from their familiar comforts of elementary school to the increased demands and hectic pace of middle school particularly challenging.

On this episode, we'll meet a North Carolina student whose family helped her make the successful leap from elementary to middle school.

Next, our panel of national experts will share valuable advice and strategies to help parents and caregivers navigate this pivotal time.

Finally, we'll introduce our latest difference-maker, an accomplished film and television producer, an autism advocate with a remarkable track record of award-winning hits.

First, we journey to Durham, North Carolina to meet the Simmons family.

With middle school on the horizon for their daughter, Ava, mom and dad realized overcoming the unique challenges and complexities of this transition needed to be a family affair.

(bright upbeat music) (gentle acoustic music) >>Really, Ava?

(Ava laughs) >>You know, she's creative.

She always have something to do.

>>Oh, wait, that wasn't good.

Hey, you do this.

(Ava and grandma laughing) >>Before she was walking the journey as a young girl that couldn't read, but now when she walks and when she learns, she's walking the journey as a child with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

(gentle acoustic music) ♪ I, I, I'm gonna let it shine ♪ (groovy music) >>So now that part has changed and she knows who she is.

>>There we go.

>>She goes into school, very intentional.

I had dyslexia and dysgraphia.

This is what I need to do to learn better, to read better based on what is going on with inside my head.

(gentle piano music) (roller skates rattling) >>You know, you see, I'm the same height as you.

>>As parents of a neurodivergent child, the most challenging piece of this journey has been lack of resources, not knowing where to go, not knowing what to do.

I had no idea, I just kind of figured things out.

A lot of YouTubes, a lot of talking to people.

So I can ask other parents of the PTA, but if their child is not neurodivergent, they have no idea what I'm talking about.

So I think that was the most challenging part, is finding resources and finding ways that I can effectively help Ava.

>>All right, there you go.

Can I get a moment?

Jeez!

>>Look at strawberry.

Now she can bring her with us to the take drop off because I got two bags.

>>She's been in public school for her entire education, but now she will go into a school that's private, smaller class size, and specifically for children that have dyslexia.

Just knowing that and being with other children that also have similar learning styles really helps her to be okay being unique, be okay being different and focused on learning rather than focused on things about herself.

(bright gentle music) >>My biggest concern is when Ava transitioned to middle school, was her adjusting to her new schedule, making friends, just doing everything she needs to do as far as getting better at everything.

>>Well, there were things like getting to meet new people or getting the more work, so I know that if I move, when I move on to another grade, there's more work.

And when there's more work, I can get better at what I do.

Are you ready to go to the Goodwill?

(bright gentle music) >>Because not only is she going to middle school, also her body is changing, her mind is changing, you know?

And she's getting older.

I think the biggest emotional balance for us is letting go, because she's becoming more independent, and we're so used to like mama, papa, grandma bear, you know, kind of covering her.

That was really emotional for me.

Like, oh, my gosh, I'm not gonna be there right there to help.

Like, I normally was in the earlier grades.

Can she do it?

And so for me, it was like, I had to improve my emotional resilience to be able to handle that and stay focused in her day and not too focused on, you know, what she's doing.

And I think for everyone, our family that's here, just like when we get in the car, we're ready to hear about her day, right?

And that kind of helps us, like, keep our emotions down as well.

So Ava, can you turn your phone down and tell us how school was this week?

>>Okay.

Then we did our test.

It was like, we have, like, four pages.

It was really easy though, 'cause we learned this.

We've been learning this for the, like, last two weeks, so it was really easy.

Then we went on to third period.

Third period was really quiet.

>>The most positive part of this whole journey has been, it really brought our family together, because we spent so much talking and doing things together to support Ava in this journey.

>>I don't know.

>>And then also, Ava's confidence has been built up really quickly.

(family chattering) >>Oh, her self confidence has exploded.

(chuckles) She's happier, she's doing better as far as interacting with people.

(inspiring music) Oh, don't stop this.

If you can't get help from your school that you're going to, go to a different school, because the help is out there.

It is just that it takes time and effort in order to find the right people that will help your kids to develop into a better person.

(gentle music) (car system beeping) >>Think about, I must have McDonald's.

(bright upbeat music) >>Next, our panel of experts delves into the challenges of this transition, offering practical strategies to help families foster resilience and maximize their child's potential during middle school.

(bright melodic music) Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens is the founder of Fit Learning and CEO of Fit Learning Online.

She's a leading expert on the science of learning and its application to academic instruction.

Dr. Berens began developing the Fit Learning instructional method more than two decades ago.

Since that time, her organization has transformed learning outcomes with thousands of students worldwide.

Dr. Berens is a frequent invited speaker, podcast guest and contributor to popular press publications.

She's the author of the critically acclaimed book, "Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them."

Dr. James McPartland is the Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Yale Child Studies Center.

He's a practicing licensed child psychologist and director of the Yale Developmental Disabilities Clinic in the Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health.

Dr. McPartland has published 7 books and more than 200 scholarly works on autism and related topics.

He has served on the executive boards of the International Society for Autism Research and the APA Division of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Autism Spectrum Disorder, and currently chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of the Autism Science Foundation.

Samantha Owens is a seasoned educator dedicated to empowering learners with unique abilities.

As a learning specialist at Beacon College, the nation's first accredited baccalaureate institution dedicated to educating students with learning and attention issues, she leverages her expertise to support students on their academic journeys.

Her diverse background includes teaching K through 12 students in both traditional and specialized settings with a focus on exceptional student education.

Owens has a passion for creating innovative learning experience as evidenced by her work in developing and implementing hands-on programs for individuals with autism.

She's pursuing a PhD in higher education leadership from Capella University.

And we're gonna start our conversation with Dr. Berens.

What are some of the primary challenges neurodivergent children face when they're making the transition from elementary to middle school?

>>Well, thank you and thanks for having me.

I'm thrilled to be here.

You know, and this applies to all learners, not just neurodivergent ones, but the greatest challenge that I've, you know, observed with kids transitioning to middle school is that many of them lack proficiency in core fundamental academic skills.

And this is a function of the fact that school occurs, you know, advancing kids grade to grade based on their age rather than on true mastery of prerequisite skills required for higher level content.

And so this issue applies to all learners, not just kids who are neurodivergent, but I see it as a more, you know, a greater problem for neurodivergent kids, because they have actual neurological barriers to learning that make it everything harder for them.

And so when they are transition to middle school and they don't have the fundamental skills required to perform that grade level content, and they're receiving resource services or special services that aren't necessarily targeting past deficit skills.

This makes everything dramatically more challenging for them.

So it's really, it's a systemic issue with all kids, but it's very problematic for kids who are neurodivergent.

>>Thank you.

So Dr. McPartland, what developmental changes, both cognitive and emotional, impact neurodivergent children's ability to make this transition successfully?

>>Well, there's a lot happening in development during this period of adolescence.

It's hard for everybody.

It's especially hard for neurodivergent children.

When you think about cognition at this time, children are becoming able to perform more sophisticated reasoning, abstract thought.

They're able to logically process things in ways that they couldn't in the past.

They're really starting to develop the cognitive tools that will be their human power in adulthood, but emotionally, there's a lot going on.

They're not quite as refined.

Puberty is happening.

There's hormones surging through their body.

They're becoming aware of the, really acutely aware in different ways than they had been previously about how similar they are or different they are from other kids.

And so there's a lot of emotional lability and mood swings, and that's just for the neurotypical kids.

If you take that context and think about it from the perspective of neurodivergence, these are kids who may have, you know, more unique idiosyncratic profiles of cognitive strengths and vulnerabilities that are also changing as kids compare themselves to one another more and more.

These are kids who are gonna find, you know, objectively true ways that they're different from other kids.

And so that's really, really challenging.

So there's many unique challenges across cognition, across emotion that we see in the behavior, and we can also see in the brain development of neurodivergent kids during this time.

>>Thank you, doctor.

So, Samantha, are there any specific academic or socio-emotional challenges that children who learn differently experience when they make that transition into middle school?

>>Yeah, so neurodivergent children, as they're entering middle school and throughout their time there, are gonna face some pretty significant academic challenges as they adjust to things like an increased workload and more complex assignments as well.

They're struggling in dealing with this on top of also having difficulties with executive functioning skills.

They might, for the first time ever, have more than one class and more than one teacher, which requires strong time management and strong organizational skills.

So those are areas academically that our students might need some more support in.

And then socially and emotionally, middle school tends to be a time where students are exposed to some very new and unstructured social settings.

So they're having to eat lunch for the first time ever in a large cafeteria, or they're working on group projects.

And for students who already are struggling with social skills, these new situations might cause some misunderstandings, it might cause some isolation, and it might also negatively impact their self-esteem as well.

>>Thank you, Samantha.

So Dr. Berens, drilling further down into what Samantha was saying, in what ways does the increased academic rigor and expectations impact a neurodivergent child's self-esteem when they make this transition to middle school?

>>Well, and again, I'm gonna make this a blanket statement about all kids, but you know, there's a misunderstanding out there in the world that self-esteem or confidence happens first, and that's what sets kids up to be successful in academics.

And that's actually incorrect, because competence is what actually produces what you might call self-esteem or confidence.

So knowing what you're expected to do and being able to execute that is what creates confidence for kids.

And that could be in any area, music, athletics, and academics.

So the big issue kids have when they transition to middle school is that they're still not proficient readers and they are still disfluent in core math skills.

They can't write well.

You know, those things happen across the board with kids in the United States.

And so when you have neurodivergent kids who are probably more behind than a neurotypical kid, that's gonna make it even harder for a child to perform in the classroom, because they actually don't have the core skills required to complete, you know, to learn that grade level content.

And the biggest problem with neurodivergence is kids have received a diagnosis or a label most of the time.

And so that label or that diagnosis is used as the explanation for why the child is struggling.

But that's not always the case, because all kids, again, need mastery of fundamental skills, and if they don't have that, then all kids struggle.

And so the problem is when you kind of attribute a deficit to a diagnosis rather than looking at a core skillset and identifying core skill deficits that can be fixed with effective instruction, then you're missing the opportunity to produce the kind of mastery that gives kids confidence, because they are competent in the classroom.

And again, this applies to all learners, not just kids with a diagnosis or a neurodivergent label.

>>Okay, thank you.

So Dr. McPartland, middle school introduces multiple teachers and rotating schedules.

Does this throw a new monkey wrench into the executive functioning challenges neurodivergent children have?

>>I think monkey wrench is a good choice of words.

I wanna first just say what we mean when we say executive functions.

So executive functions, we refer to the set of skills that we, the mental skills that we have that let us keep information in mind and manipulate it.

I think of executive functions as kind of your brain's administrative assistant that lets itself keep itself on track.

And it's a really common area of vulnerability in many, many forms of neurodivergence.

It's something, for example, is impacted in autism, in ADHD, for example, for an anxious person, that's also gonna have an impact on executive function.

And so during this time, there are many changes that are happening in the academic environment that really tax executive function.

Class routines, you don't just show up and sit there and rotate topics.

It's much less predictable and more complex.

You've gotta navigate physical space to get from class to class.

You have to change from math to English while you're doing that.

There's many, many more pieces of information to keep in mind.

And the expectations are much higher.

Teachers and parents and academic administrators are beginning to expect students to be more responsible and independent.

We talked a moment ago about the cognitive and emotional challenges, so that's layered onto this.

There's a lot, a lot that we're asking for kids who have trouble keeping all these things in line at once.

But there's also, on the one hand, the demands are greater than ever, but the tools accessible to these children to do better are also stronger than ever.

We all carry an administrative assistant in our pockets.

And so we as educators, as parents, can help our kids learn to use these kinds of tools, whether it's electronic or not, there's risks to keeping this particular administrative assistant in your pocket, but teaching kids to use planners, to think about how to anticipate their day.

The simplest instruction, like, just thinking what your classes are gonna be before you go to school in the morning.

You take five minutes and make a big difference.

So there are many challenges on executive function during this time, but there's also a lot of very straightforward things that we can do to help children feel prepared.

>>Watch the full ask the expert segment on our website at awodtv.org if you wanna learn more about this topic.

You can also watch or listen on Facebook, YouTube, or on your favorite podcasting platform.

(bright melodic music) Next, let's meet our latest difference-maker.

From reshaping skylines to redefining storytelling, Scott Steindorff is a powerhouse of creativity and vision.

Steindorff first made his mark as a thriving real estate developer, turning 2 million square feet of ambition into landmark success.

But feeling the tug of Tinseltown, Steindorff transitioned into a force behind some of the most celebrated films and television series, from "Empire Falls" to "The Lincoln Lawyer" and "Station 11."

What truly sets Steindorff apart is his unwavering commitment to fostering a more inclusive world.

His documentary, "Understanding Autism," offers a poignant exploration of the condition, shedding light on his own personal journey with an adult autism diagnosis.

A passionate advocate for neurodiversity, Steindorff champions inclusion and representation both on and off screen.

(bright upbeat music) >>I look at things differently.

I feel differently.

I think differently, and it's been my superpower.

Hi, I'm Scott Steindorff.

I live here in Malibu, California.

I am a director, writer, producer.

I just have a movie called "Understanding Autism," which is on PBS.

I've won many awards, I've done well in my career, and I'm very grateful to be a creative autistic person.

I had speech delays, I couldn't make eye contact.

I was socially awkward, I was getting bullied.

The teacher in the classroom took me out and said, "You're staring into space, you're living in your head.

You're not socially involved.

We think you're on drugs."

I was 10 years old.

I mean, I knew I had ADHD.

My youngest daughter was studying autism, and came upstairs and said, "Dad, you're autistic."

And it was shocking to hear that from my child.

And then I reached out to a well-known autism therapist in New York City and went through the diagnosis process.

I think the biggest challenge is, in the creative world, you're constantly rejected.

And so as an autistic person who got bullied as a child, you know, the constant rejection is hard to take.

And you know, one of the biggest misconceptions of autism is we don't feel, is how people perceive autistic people.

It's the opposite, we feel too much.

And because of that, just the slightest things can, I'm so sensitive, can take me in a tailspin.

But it allows innovation, original thinking.

And so I don't think I would've had any success in this business without my autism.

And why I made "Understanding Autism" is that there's not a lot of clear information about what autism is.

And I felt as a filmmaker, I had an obligation since autism runs in my family and is so prevalent in my own personal journey in life that I wanted to do a movie that captured what is autism.

And so I went to over 40 cities around the world to interview families and experts on, you know, the real truth of autism.

But what I really discovered making this movie is, you know, there are people that are non-speaking, that are very, very intelligent and very, very sensitive, that get overlooked.

And they are diminished because they're told that they have lesser intelligence.

What I discovered is they have more intelligence.

And I also found this thing that I term autistic love and autistic joy.

And I really witnessed that with families and how much the capacity for love that autism brings out in families is incredible.

You know, one of the things about neurodiversity is it's overlooked, and we're overlooked in the companies, in the businesses, in arts.

And people need to recognize what it is and that we bring to the table special skills.

And most of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters and some of the biggest inventions from Silicon Valley were created by autistic people.

And we need those people to come out.

There's a lot of shame and stigma about autism.

And so I'm very proud to be openly talking about it.

And I hope other people that have created some wonderful things in our world and innovations need to come out to inspire those just starting out on the journey of film schools or tech schools and realize that you can reach for the stars.

There's so many gifted autistic people that are unrecognized or unseen.

I want those people seen and recognized.

(inspiring piano music) (bright lively music) >>Congratulations, Scott Steindorff, for making a difference.

And that does it for this episode of "A World of Difference: Embracing Neurodiversity."

I'm Darryl Owens, see you back here next time.

You can watch episodes of "A World of Difference" on the Beacon College Facebook and YouTube channels, and on the show's website, awodtv.org.

The website also provides tip sheets and other resources for your parenting journey.

You can watch the show from the PBS app available on your favorite streaming device, and you can listen on your favorite podcasting platform.

Thank you for watching and supporting "A World of Difference."

(bright groovy music) (bright melodic music)