Autism Isn’t Something to Fix: A Conversation with Sam Mitchell
- 5 days ago
- 26 min read
Matt Darrah (00:01)
Hello and welcome to All Things Foster, a place for coffee, connection, and community. We have a great guest that's gonna hopefully shed some light on some things for foster families. But before we get to him, real quick, if you've got a teen heading towards college, I want you to check out College Solutions LLC in Amarillo and their lead college funding pro, Angie Grimm College Solutions helps families navigate the college admissions
and financial aid maze. Handle funding strategies, scholarships, and even test prep, saving you money and stress. Angie and her team have guided hundreds of families through the process of finding a school that fits and keeping retirement and long-term budgets intact while doing it. Want to get ahead so college doesn't catch you off guard later? Visit collegesolutionsllc.com. Schedule your free consultation. That's collegesolutionsllc.com.
And guys, Angie does not just serve the Amarillo area. She serves families all over. just because you're not in Amarillo doesn't mean she can't help you. She's a great lady. She and her husband are very big supporters of our nonprofit. And so definitely check her out. She's a great lady. And she can help you kind of figure out how to get your kid owed through college without mountains and mountains of student loan debt.
So check out Angie, give her a call today, So today we're gonna talk about autism. ⁓ so we've got Sam Mitchell on and he's gonna kinda shed some light on this topic for us. So Sam, thank you for coming on the podcast today.
Sam Mitchell (01:47)
Hey buddy, thanks for having me. Good to be here, brother.
Matt Darrah (01:50)
Absolutely. I'm really excited to talk to you. mean, this is not a topic that comes up a whole lot. And I think it's one that I think you're trying to work to raise awareness for on your podcast, right?
Sam Mitchell (02:04)
Yes, yes, sir. think this topic is so beneficial, essential, and crucial, all in one word. That could be a word, but I don't think you can combine those words. But it is so important because it's growing. All the numbers, they keep growing on the diagnosis. It was 1 in 36. Back then, now it became 1 in 33. And nowadays, it probably has grown. don't know the exact number. But the latest I know is 1 in 33. You'll have to look it up to see the number.
Matt Darrah (02:14)
Yeah. ⁓
Mm-hmm.
Sam Mitchell (02:34)
today.
Matt Darrah (02:35)
Yeah, so it's definitely something that is out there. And ⁓ so I wanted to have Sam on to talk about ⁓ autism and hopefully give some parents some wisdom and some ability to kind of ⁓ recognize some signs and symptoms and things like that. ⁓ Sam, what's the name of your podcast?
Sam Mitchell (03:02)
Yep, so the name of the podcast is called Autism Rocks and Rolls and through the podcast it's just grown so much man, very unexpectedly. It's grown to a non-profit with sponsors, a board of six. I do events and any answers where I'm from and I've done speaking engagements. I've spoken all the way to the top of Canada to the bottom south in Orlando. I know next week when this day is, which today I don't know when it's coming out, but April 22nd, which is the day this is recorded. So the next Sunday, which is the 26th through the 28th,
I will be in Oregon speaking at a parenting conference.
Matt Darrah (03:36)
Wow, wow, that's awesome. So you have some unique experience with ⁓ the topic of autism. But the important part, I think, to note is that you live this, right? This is your lived experience. And so you can kind of speak to this topic in a way that a lot of folks can't.
Sam Mitchell (04:04)
Now you're talking to a guy who has had autism since he was three years old and probably not going anywhere.
Matt Darrah (04:10)
Yeah, yeah. So take us back. ⁓ What do you remember ⁓ in your early life with autism? What does that look like for you?
Sam Mitchell (04:22)
Well, diagnosed at three, I can't remember much because I slept since then. But what I can remember is when going through life in school, I dealt with all the stereotypes you can imagine, the bullying, the exclusion, and people not wanting to handle someone who was out of the box and unordinary and did what he chose to do versus what others wanted him to do or these trends that go on. That was never me.
Matt Darrah (04:25)
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (04:50)
Me, I hopped on a couple of trends when I was a kid, like playing with Beyblades, but that's the only one I could think of.
Matt Darrah (04:56)
Yeah, my sons used to love Beyblades. So what did it feel like for you growing up with autism?
Sam Mitchell (05:09)
confusing. It was so confusing because I'll be honest, this world's not built for me. And just part of life in this world doesn't make sense. There's aspects of people lying to little children because they want to make them happy that doesn't make sense to me. Why aren't you telling them the truth? Here's a great instance I can speak on. So we used to an event where we sold food and one of the people with autism spun the wheel. They didn't get a prize.
Matt Darrah (05:14)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (05:39)
The lady asked, hey, she doesn't understand why she didn't win. Can we just give it to her? Now, of course, being the soft spot guy, I said yes. And then she told this lady, hey, I won something. I spun and won on the wheel. Why are you not telling the children, here's the deal, you're not on spectrum, you don't get anything, versus telling them, you didn't win anything on the wheel, but she did. That's not true.
Matt Darrah (05:59)
Mm.
Yeah, right.
Sam Mitchell (06:08)
We're giving
it to her because she's on the spectrum.
Matt Darrah (06:11)
Sure, yeah. So what is your, how do you feel like people misunderstood you the most growing up?
Sam Mitchell (06:22)
I think the way that people misunderstood me the most growing up, it was the socialization. I I've said stuff that was out there, out of the blue, maybe the truth. I've gotten the big eyes before like this and it was why would you say that? That's something you don't say or you shouldn't have said that at the moment or that was kind of an odd thing to say.
Matt Darrah (06:43)
Yeah.
Mm.
Sam Mitchell (06:51)
or it came out of nowhere.
Matt Darrah (06:52)
Yeah, so that's a struggle. And so you're struggling with kind of interpersonal dynamics, understanding cues and clues and things like that because of how your mind works. ⁓ did people, were they somewhat understanding and forgiving or were they pretty harsh? Or did it bend?
Sam Mitchell (07:18)
Well,
depends on who you talk to. My staff at the school, wonderful. The majority of students, thumbs down. Unfortunately, I'll have to say. There are some hidden gems here and there, but for the most part, no.
Matt Darrah (07:21)
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
Yeah. So for the folks that did it right, that connected with you best, what did they do, do you think, that helped you versus those other people that just didn't?
Sam Mitchell (07:47)
They cared and they understood that some of the stuff that I was doing was not intentional. I have a friend who shall remain nameless. She knows I'm blunt. But it's not because of me trying to be a jerk. That's just the way my brain is wired that way. I'll tell you how it is. Versus the person who gave the big eyes, they thought it was, ⁓ he's a rude person. No. That's not the furthest thing for me. I would give someone the shirt off my back if they were homeless.
Matt Darrah (07:49)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (08:15)
But because of how I'm wired, I'm also going to maybe tell that homeless person, is it possible you could get a job? I'm not saying it to be a jerk. Maybe there's a way I could help you out, get on your feet by offering here. Maybe they have this hiring at Wendy's. Why don't we talk to that person and give you a job?
Matt Darrah (08:25)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Mm. Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (08:38)
Because the least thing you could do was ask.
Matt Darrah (08:40)
Yeah, sure. So what is your core message, I think, is you're not broken and need to be fixed, right? So what?
Sam Mitchell (08:51)
Right, because a lot
of people think when you're on the spectrum you need to be fixed. I mean we've been compared to meningitis before. We've been compared to a disease as you're going to get if you're around us. No, that's not accurate. I've been around plenty of people and not one of the people I've been around with came up with autism. They already had autism before I met them.
Matt Darrah (08:59)
Mmm.
Right.
Right.
Yes, not a disease you can catch Wow. So what do you think happens to folks that have autism and people ⁓ kind of treat them as if they need to be fixed?
Sam Mitchell (09:32)
Well, what happens to the people who need to be treated to be fixed is they get robbed from the system and they get so misunderstood that no one wants to be around them, no one wants to even tolerate them, or they don't know how to.
Matt Darrah (09:43)
Mm.
How did you get to where you're at now? How did you become comfortable in who you are and what you do and how does that come about?
Sam Mitchell (09:59)
I decided to quit people pleasing because for 15 years I tried it and it didn't work and if you take nothing from today the listeners take nothing. People pleasing to me, it was a crutch. It was the biggest crutch of my life. After I made that decision not to, it was the best one to this date because I felt more relieved, I felt more confident, I felt like I could do more items and actions in my life.
Matt Darrah (10:09)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (10:28)
compared to when I was a people pleaser. biggest one was making friends. After I decided to quit people pleasing and decided to be myself, I realized I can actually do this and make some buddies. Versus before, maybe I did make some buddies or it failed tremendously or the buddy I did have, I was so nervous to be around them all the time because I felt like I couldn't be myself.
Matt Darrah (10:52)
Mmm. Yeah.
So let's connect this to foster care. kids already feel like there's something wrong when they're removed from a family due to ⁓ a bad circumstance. so, you said you had ⁓ a family on a guy that was on your podcast that ⁓ ended up receiving a child that was on the spectrum.
Let's start with if ⁓ a family brings in a kiddo and they don't know if that kiddo's on the spectrum, what are some things that might be kind of an insight or something that might say, hey, this kiddo might be on the spectrum?
Sam Mitchell (11:47)
Well, first of all, if you have a suspicion, educate yourself on it regardless. Because if you're a foster parent, yeah, you could run into that. You very well could run into. You take some child in with autism. And because you have been affiliated with it in your life, which is not your fault, you don't know. And you are just now stuck with more of an obstacle than a child in your eyes. So you have to know the research, know the cues.
Matt Darrah (11:55)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Sam Mitchell (12:17)
which some of the cues are that I can definitely tell you is the ones you hear all the time. Yes, repetitive interests and restricted interests, repetitive behaviors. They have their fixation on something, maybe they're fixated on cooking, for example, and they want to only be in the kitchen, not go to school. Instead of being in school, they'd rather be in
culinary class at the Culinary Institution of America in San Antonio, Texas.
Matt Darrah (12:49)
⁓ Yeah, so fixating on something, whatever the thing is, that's a big cue that we might be...
Sam Mitchell (12:59)
Yeah, no eye contact,
no in the social cues we were mentioning, no looking you in the eye. My guest, according to my mother, when I was younger, if you said my name several times, I didn't respond. I was in La La Land, apparently.
And then for older, the foot and mouth syndrome, like I mentioned before, they're too blunt and they respond saying, I shouldn't have said it, I'm sorry. It's like they say what? They don't realize what they've done wrong.
Matt Darrah (13:26)
Hmm.
So missing some social cues, repetitive ⁓ motions or activities and then zeroing in on something, whatever the thing is and not being able to do, to think about or do other things are big.
that they might need to be looked at for being considered that they might be on the spectrum. sensory issues. Yeah, what does that look like?
Sam Mitchell (13:50)
Yeah, then sensory issues is another one I just thought of. yeah, sensory,
well, it looks different. For some, it's the fact they only eat certain foods because the texture is just terrible on their hands. ⁓ I'll give you a great example with me in particular, it's wet clothing. I don't mind the rain, but if I go in the rain, if I had a choice, I know I can't, so I don't encourage anyone to do this.
Matt Darrah (14:00)
Right.
Mm.
Sam Mitchell (14:18)
But I prefer to take my shirt off if I could because the reason is if I get my shirt wet, brother, I don't know how you people tolerate it. I know for a lot of people it's like, wet shirt, fine, I'll keep it on, it's tolerable. But for me it's like, no, I can't do that. It's so uncomfortable.
Matt Darrah (14:21)
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah. Right.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So so social or I mean ⁓ sensory sensory issues. So they might they might just have a very strong like excuse me ⁓ aversion to a texture type of clothing something like that.
Sam Mitchell (14:58)
You know, or maybe something's too loud or too, like a rock and roll concert. Good luck with that for some people with autism.
Matt Darrah (15:06)
Yeah. ⁓ So what are some things that they can do if they see and they suspect that they have a kiddo that might be on the spectrum or if they've gotten, if they have received a kiddo that they've been told is on the spectrum, what are some practical support mechanisms that you
recommend.
Sam Mitchell (15:36)
Well, for sure therapy. I I've heard all the controversies with ABA therapy. And if you don't believe it, I understand. Trust me. But I'm not going to say it's not bad either. It depends on how the child is. For some, it has worked. I met a mother who they said if they didn't take their son to ABA therapy, they didn't know where they would be.
not handle it well. I'm one of them probably because if you took it to me with ABA therapy, I would see it as controlling and I'm one of those people who just doesn't like to be told what to do.
Matt Darrah (16:03)
soon.
So for our folks that don't know, what is ABA theory?
Sam Mitchell (16:15)
ABA therapy stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. And it's just showing you behaviors that instead of doing this, you can do this. So say when you get mad at biting people, you do something else.
Matt Darrah (16:29)
Right.
And so you've run into some folks that that's been beneficial for and some that it hasn't.
Sam Mitchell (16:37)
No, yes, yes, yes, it's been a coin toss for that one.
Matt Darrah (16:40)
Yeah. So other than that, where do you recommend that they start? If they say, OK, either they've been told this child is on the spectrum or they suspect it is, where do they start? How do they begin?
Sam Mitchell (16:56)
Well, I do suggest starting with the doctors because doctors will give you the facts. But I think where you do start after the child has been diagnosed is I think you start off with the online as well. But online will only tell you, for the most part, the negative stuff. Your positive stuff, that might be through an expert. That might be through a therapist.
That might be through another parent who's been through the same situations you have because they'll know what's going on in their brain.
Matt Darrah (17:35)
Mm.
And that's just so important because a person with autism, their brain is different. so what that foster parent might say is, this doesn't make sense to me, but it makes sense to the kiddo. And so we need to figure out how to make this work, right?
Sam Mitchell (18:01)
Right. then, I don't think people understand how much it can affect us, too. I mean, for some people with autism, they are non-speaking, and it affects their speech. Sometimes they don't speak. Sometimes I ran into someone with autism who uses a lot of verbal crunchers. Every five words, it's, you know, like all those words. For some, it's like they speak for five seconds, and then they stop for five seconds, then they speak again.
Matt Darrah (18:02)
and start and go.
Right?
Sam Mitchell (18:32)
For some with autism, have a buddy who stutters. And then for me in particular, I speak a little too fast.
Matt Darrah (18:40)
Yeah, yeah. So say that a foster parent's got a kiddo that has autism and they're in the middle of a, like a meltdown. What are you, you speak on this, what are folks, what should they do?
Sam Mitchell (18:56)
Well, avoid the trigger for one thing. If you figured out the trigger because sometimes they may not be able to communicate with you because of them being non-speaking, you might have to play a clue and figure out the.
Matt Darrah (18:59)
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (19:06)
trigger yourself, but for some, if they have a widespread of communication like I do, then they can communicate to you with the trigger. Or they may say something that's coming across as kind of odd, but in their brain, they're trying to tell you, this is the trigger, please don't put me in front of it. That's what another trigger is right there, people need to understand. It's a spectrum. People think,
Matt Darrah (19:08)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Right.
Sam Mitchell (19:33)
It's just autism and they assume it's everyone's in the wheelchair. We can't go to the bathroom on our own. Our IQ is low. We can't brush our teeth. I'm not going to lie. That is several people with autism. There is a population like that. But there's not everyone on the spectrum like that. I met several people who are in the middle of the road. Maybe they go to work but don't live on their own because financial stability will be terrible. But then you have some who are like me who
Matt Darrah (19:59)
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (20:02)
is actually in the process of getting a job, going in the process of moving to his own apartment, and can do really well for himself in life, just may not even understand social stuff and may be a little bit delayed. So biologically, I am 23. But if I had to estimate my mental capacity, I would say it's like 19 and 21.
Matt Darrah (20:25)
Yeah. Which is, mean, that's amazing that you're self-aware enough to say that, right?
Sam Mitchell (20:36)
Yeah, it's very amazing to have that, but some don't have that. mean, trust me. I got a buddy right now who's shall remain nameless. Biologically, in his brain, he's probably, I think, in his late 20s. But mentally, I would say he's maybe like a, should I think of the age, teenager, preteen.
Matt Darrah (20:41)
for sure.
Mm. Yeah.
So let's say the family's trying to do something that they think is going to help, ⁓ but it actually makes things worse. What do you recommend for families that are trying to help, but they just don't know what to do? Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (21:17)
They don't know what to do. Well,
it's definitely a hard battle, but we need to enjoy the good moments because your child with autism will have good days. I have plenty of good days. Trust me. I can tell you that from a personal standpoint. I've had some rough days. Yeah, I'm not going to lie, but I tried to tap into what they're into as well. So maybe your child can't go to the zoo because of the crowd, but they don't mind fishing. Well,
Matt Darrah (21:24)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm.
Sam Mitchell (21:47)
Take her to a lake and fish.
Matt Darrah (21:49)
Yeah.
So it's kind of a trial and error to figure out what helps versus what doesn't.
Sam Mitchell (21:57)
Yeah, it really is. And then for work, if you're trying to get them on a job, I would definitely pick a place that's inclusive because I've done several job search arounds and I've landed one that's very inclusive with my company I'm going to work for. But before, I won't say which restaurant, but I could just tell with the restaurant it wasn't inclusive.
Matt Darrah (22:04)
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you, with your experience, the podcast and speaking, you are speaking to folks to try to help them be more inclusive and be more aware of what can help.
Sam Mitchell (22:38)
Mm-hmm. Yep. I think what can help too is not only tapping into their interest, but at the same time, them like everyone else. You don't give them a free pass because they bite someone. There's gotta be some retrospective discipline. It may not be a spanking, but it may be putting their head down.
Matt Darrah (22:39)
Yeah.
Sure, sure.
Mm.
Yeah.
So I know some things that I think are really beneficial. so like being predictable, like having a consistent routine is really beneficial, right?
Sam Mitchell (23:11)
yeah,
I definitely prefer my routines. I like routines in some cases. Now some people with autism, depending on their higher or lower understanding of the world, they can be very rigid with their routines. Mine in particular is I am very tedious when it comes to something I'm passionate about. So autism rocks and rolls, yes, very strict, tedious, routine-ish ordeal, yes. But when comes to going up the arcade,
Matt Darrah (23:22)
Yeah. ⁓ Yeah.
sure.
Sam Mitchell (23:39)
And Daven Busters, no. I'm pretty laid back.
Matt Darrah (23:43)
Yeah, yeah, I know ⁓ one of my one of my best friends has ⁓ twin boys that are that have autism and ⁓ Early early on we were ⁓ just watching they were they were about three ⁓ Three or four I can't remember and so we were keeping them so that they the mom and dad could go have a date and we were we had told them we were gonna go to the park and so we
they were in a stroller, so we were walking towards the park and they knew how to get to the park from their house, right? And so we were gonna just get off the path for a second to get some bottles of water out of the car. ⁓ And they really, they were like, no, the park is this way, it's this way, it's this, you know.
And so what we ended up having to do is, you continue on to go to the park. I'm going to go get the water and then, you know, join up, join back up with you guys. Cause they, they, right. They knew where they were going.
Sam Mitchell (24:46)
you handle that the right way. I'm telling you that you handle that the right way. I've ran into that too before
because I'm always not a fan of like mini-tasks because they focus on the bigger picture. So the great example is I used to have a life coach and one time before we were driving to my life coach, I accidentally spilled Dr. Pepper on the truck. My mother told me, we need to clean that up, yada yada, before we go, we'll stay in your truck. I told her, no, I don't want to do that right now.
Matt Darrah (24:56)
Yeah. Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (25:16)
My brain right now is solely focused on arriving on time to my appointment with my life coach. Not this Dr. Pepper spill. I'm not saying I'll ignore it. I'll clean it up when we're done or when we get there. Right now, let's talk about getting to the appointment first.
Matt Darrah (25:21)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so having that predictability is really, really beneficial. ⁓ And then maybe slowing down communication, that's pretty good?
Sam Mitchell (25:42)
Yes, sir.
Breaking it down a little more can be very helpful, yes. But it also depends on what it is. You don't need a breakdown. You're going to the bathroom. I mean, that's pretty self-explanatory.
Matt Darrah (25:51)
Yeah, sir.
Yeah, yeah. And then giving space. talk about giving the kiddos some space.
Sam Mitchell (26:09)
Yes, I think with me in particular, what I've learned is when I'm angry, the more you chatter with me, the more I'm gonna get worked up and basically turn to Gordon Ramsay and tell you, it pretty much cuss you out. Pretty much cuss you out. So the best thing to do for me is until I chill off, leave me alone or don't come around me or you will make me turn to the Incredible Hulk.
Matt Darrah (26:25)
Yeah.
⁓ But then there's still...
Sam Mitchell (26:40)
And I don't want to go
there. Trust me. I don't want to go there. But it's a reaction.
Matt Darrah (26:43)
Sir.
Yeah, yeah. And then when that happens, there's excuse me, there's still a need to come back after you've calmed down and say, you hey, I lost it, I shouldn't have, I'm sorry, something like that, repairing the relationship.
Sam Mitchell (27:07)
And that's my problem too. While I'm turning to the Incredible Hulk at the same time, I can't go back to that problem. Because my mind is, I'm so angry. This needs to be solved now. Or yeah, I'm going get more mad.
Matt Darrah (27:20)
Mm. Yeah.
so you ⁓ Use you do motivational speaking. What do you say? To a foster parent right now who's got a kiddo that's that's struggling They're on the spectrum and they just feel overwhelmed right now. What do you speak to them?
Sam Mitchell (27:41)
Well, I would say if they feel overwhelmed is, they want to take a few steps back, everyone get some space, maybe go take a walk, go get a drink of water. After that drink of water though, yeah, it might need to be solved. Or if you're like me who is like going through the tornado, you may need to go through it. Because they may not be able to let go of that problem until it gets solved. I'm just telling you that right now. If you got to step back, fine. But don't talk, don't expect that they're going to be moving on.
Matt Darrah (28:02)
Mmm.
Sam Mitchell (28:08)
until that problem is solved. They get rock brains, is what I have to call it, which is when someone gets mad someone, they might let it simmer in their head and then talk about it again. That's not us. Rock brain is a rock, it's stuck, it's not going to be token down with the crane unless it's solved now.
Matt Darrah (28:19)
Yeah.
Yeah.
What do you say to a child who is in this home and is feeling misunderstood?
Sam Mitchell (28:38)
If they're feeling misunderstood, find people who will find you interesting. I've always thought as the time when I was going through this, I'm so disappointed in myself. I'm going to be boy excluded. No one's going to find me interesting. I realize now that was a really dumb decision and idea because I figure now there's 8 billion people on Earth. Someone's going to find you interesting. It might be someone you don't expect. It might be you. It might be a World War II veteran. It might be...
a foster grandparent, but someone will and take you in. It's just unrealistic that all eight billion people are going to hit the red X buzzer on AGT.
Matt Darrah (29:11)
Mm. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So how do you think having autism has helped you be successful?
Sam Mitchell (29:32)
creative outside-the-box thinker good at problem solving because I don't let the problem go until it's solved and I try to let it go believe me I've done K through 12 speech therapy. I like to say wow. I love the speech therapist I don't mean any harm by this she did wonders with the social cues it elevated my Social skills really well, but did it help with the rock brain? No, I Still have that to this day So I think
Matt Darrah (29:52)
Yeah, sure.
Sir, sir.
Sam Mitchell (30:00)
Sometimes with the child and parents, you gotta pick your battles. My mother has accepted I have rock brain. While she accepted the fact that I have rock brain, she won't accept me biting someone. Which is understandable, I get it. So I'm just saying you gotta pick what battles do you really conquer.
Matt Darrah (30:07)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Right?
Mm-hmm, pick your battles. What strengths do you think that folks with autism bring to the world that we need?
Sam Mitchell (30:31)
I think what they bring to the world and what you need is the aspect of just trying to understand logic. Because the way we think about it is logical for the most part. But then if we have to, we can be illogical and cross the line. And some people who are bosses won't do it. I'm the type of person who doesn't care. And I will cross that line.
Matt Darrah (30:53)
Hehehe.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (31:01)
But don't get it wrong with me in particular, I'm going to try to think of the logical way first.
Matt Darrah (31:06)
Mm-hmm.
Sam Mitchell (31:08)
But then if I had to cross the illogical way, then we're screwed. Well, not we're screwed. We'll go for it. Here's your exam. I don't know if I can use bathroom humor on here, I think we can. You'll understand my point. OK, so you're using the bathroom. You're doing your number two. And you have no toilet paper. Well, your logical step is clearly to get more toilet paper. But we're out of it. You have no toilet paper.
Matt Darrah (31:13)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Sam Mitchell (31:35)
Clearly you can't be sitting on toilet forever. So what are we going to do? We're going to find something to use. And it might be a tissue. It might be we clean our backside with the walls. I know it's not ideal, but trust me, we're trying to solve the problem now, and we're not stuck on that toilet. I guess I know it's of disgusting maybe and kind of funny, but I think that you understand the point.
Matt Darrah (31:44)
Mm.
You
Mm.
Yeah, yeah, you gotta fix it. Out of what you're doing right now, what are you most proud of?
Sam Mitchell (32:10)
I would say I'm the most proud of just doing something good for the world because even though this world's not built for me and I've dealt with so much BS in my life, I still want to do good for the world and I was one to have a chance to but never had the opportunity to and here's why those worlds not built for me. I'm smart enough to see that while in my eyes there this world is
Unfortunately the majority of the America is full of just not nice people. There are some good people in this world and I'm not going to say everyone is so mean I'm not going to do help anyone out. No, there's some there's a good population of good apples. They don't deserve to be categorized with the bad apples.
Matt Darrah (32:41)
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
new.
So helping people see and understand what folks with autism struggle with and so raising that awareness and hopefully encouraging people to see things differently.
Sam Mitchell (33:18)
Yep, that's what I want to do. I want to encourage people to just get out of their comfort zone, see what we see. I know that we need to see what you see. I get it. I think it's fair. But we should have to do it all the time. It needs to be 50-50. I see what you see. You see what I see.
Matt Darrah (33:29)
Yeah.
Right. Yeah. Yeah, that's it's ⁓ you know, it's it's like, you know, let's say somebody has cancer, right? We need to we need to be aware of of how to help them ⁓ through get through that that issue. Right. And by the by the same token, we as we as the public need to be informed about how to
communicate with and how to help and walk alongside individuals that have autism, right? Not that it's a problem to be solved, but you guys see things differently than the majority of people. And so how do we help the folks out there know better how to connect with and how to support ⁓ folks that have autism?
Sam Mitchell (34:15)
Right.
I think what people need to do for those with autism is to give us a chance. I mean, we live in this country where you say everyone deserves a chance. I think sometimes that's just not true because people with autism aren't gaining a chance. There's a humongous population of people with autism that are unemployed because people aren't giving us the chance. We want to work, but you won't accommodate to us. What? You do that to your other employees.
Matt Darrah (34:42)
Yeah.
Alright.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. I love it.
Sam Mitchell (35:08)
Those with autism,
hopefully from experience too, are some of the best workers out there. They don't want to make mistakes. They're punctual. They're probably the better employees than some people without autism. And you're taking those over us? What?
Matt Darrah (35:16)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely, I mean, yeah, we've got to make space and try to do what we can to accommodate and be, like you said, be inclusive.
Sam Mitchell (35:38)
I know, it just mind blows me that this world promotes it, but sometimes doesn't follow it. And I think with people who see autism, I think we are aware of it. And I will give props. We've gone far away from back when people were institutionalized because they had autism. So I'll admit, I'm very happy to say we're no longer institutionalized and we can walk on the street. But do I think people are still accepting? No.
Matt Darrah (35:45)
Hmm.
Sure.
Yeah.
Sam Mitchell (36:07)
I don't think people understand sometimes when we make a joke and it crosses the line, but people in our eyes think, ew, you made that joke? That was rude. No, sometimes they actually don't know better. And they were impulsive. They made the joke and they thought in their brain, it'd be great laughing. I didn't see anything rude with this. Why am I getting in trouble?
Matt Darrah (36:19)
Yep. All right.
Sure.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so the biggest piece is awareness. So where do folks find autism rocks and rolls?
Sam Mitchell (36:42)
You can find me on your favorite media platform, I'm not a hard guy to find. If you Google me, your search engine optimization, something will pop up. Just do me a favor, don't search my name because you get a basketball player. Google search Autism Rocks and Rolls.
Matt Darrah (36:54)
Yeah, you say it's on YouTube it's on you know Spotify and Apple podcasts and all the places and then you have a website
Sam Mitchell (37:03)
Yep.
Yes, my website is Autism Rocks and Rolls. Thank God we got that to work, finally. But no longer defunct, but it was defunct. But thankfully it's working now and it just tells you what's coming up down the pipeline and what other resources you can use for jobs, for trying to get your person with autism on the right path. Just gives you a lot of people that can help as well.
Matt Darrah (37:08)
Right.
Hmm.
Yeah, so AutismRocksandRolls.com.
Sam Mitchell (37:31)
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Matt Darrah (37:33)
Awesome, awesome. Well, Sam, I really appreciate you coming on. This is not, it's not an easy ⁓ topic and it's not an easy thing to do to come on and kind of put yourself out there. And I appreciate not only you coming on my podcast, but in general, getting out there and raising awareness ⁓ and trying to help some folks that...
that definitely needed, I really appreciate that.
Sam Mitchell (38:05)
Of course, absolutely man. mean think it's growing, it needs to be spoken about and thank you again for your time and I just hope you take something from today and I hope that the next person you see in the mind of autism, you think again on who they are.
Matt Darrah (38:21)
Yeah, absolutely. Well, guys, thanks for tuning in. ⁓ You know, our organization, Panhandle Orphan Care Network, our primary goal is to provide placement packages to kids that are coming into foster care. So every kid gets a suitcase, a Bible, a teddy bear, a book, a toy, and a blanket. And then beyond that, every placement package is customized to the needs of that family in that moment. We try to deliver.
these placement packages within 24 hours of when the kiddos get placed. And so in order to do that, we are a nonprofit and nonprofits are businesses and they need funding just like every other business. And so what we ask folks to do is to consider becoming a placement package partner. Placement package partners set up a monthly draft to come out of their checking account and just help us to grow.
to be able to reach more and more families. Last year we did 161 placement packages, this year we hope to do 250. so in order to get there, we need folks to consider setting up this monthly donation. You can do that at panhandleorphan.org slash donation. Guys, $100 a month buys us all the clothes we need for one placement package. $50 buys us case of diapers, and $10 a month buys us
one outfit each month. And so in order to get there, it takes all of us to be able to reach these goals. 600 kids come into care in the 26 counties in a given year. And so we need your support to get there. So please consider going to our website, panhandleorphan.org slash donation and set that up. Thanks, Angie, so much for coming for sponsoring an episode and ⁓ for the support that you do for our organization.
If you're interested in more information with her, go to collegesolutionsllc.com and set up an appointment. Again, Sam Mitchell, look for Autism Rocks and Rolls and you'll find a great podcast and some great information. So guys, thanks for tuning in today. Make sure to like and subscribe. Share this episode with your friends. We've got great content that we put on here.
that really helps foster and adoptive families and the community become more aware of the issues that foster and adoptive families face. So thanks for your time. Thanks again, Sam, for coming on.
Sam Mitchell (40:57)
Of course, man. Thank you again, brother.
Matt Darrah (40:59)
Absolutely. And you guys have a great day. Thanks.
Comments