The Brady Bunch of Autism
Join Navah and Matt Asner as they discuss topics relating to the world of autism and family. Navah and Matt have six children. 3 who are autistic. They are the founders of the Ed Asner Family Center. A center that provides arts and vocational enrichments and counseling services and support groups to special needs individuals and their families.
The Brady Bunch of Autism
Anxiety, Autism, and Finding Your Way
Ever felt trapped in a crowded space with your heart racing and nowhere to escape? In our most vulnerable episode yet, Navah opens up about her struggle with anxiety disorders and shares a harrowing panic attack experience at Dodger Stadium. What began as a family night out quickly spiraled when a crowded stairwell became an anxiety trigger, highlighting the real challenges many neurodivergent people face in everyday situations.
The conversation takes an important turn as we discuss how one security guard's compassionate response made all the difference. This moment perfectly captures what we advocate for at the Ed Asner Family Center – understanding, accommodation, and human kindness toward those with visible and invisible disabilities. For anyone navigating anxiety alongside neurodivergence, Navah's willingness to share her experience offers both validation and community.
We're also thrilled to spotlight our Academy's media program through a special segment featuring participant Maggie interviewing our Disney artist teacher Jackie. Their conversation about creativity, learning processes, and artistic expression showcases the incredible talents being developed in our adult job training program. Watching our participants grow from hesitant beginners to confident communicators has been one of our greatest joys.
Looking ahead, we touch briefly on concerning Medicaid budget cuts affecting special needs services (a topic we'll dive deeper into next episode) and promote our upcoming Poker for Ed fundraiser on June 14th at Radford Studios. This annual event helps fund crucial programs like our Academy and social clubs for neurodivergent individuals of all ages.
Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or someone navigating neurodivergence yourself, this episode reminds us that behind every diagnosis are real human experiences – challenges and triumphs alike. Connect with us at teafc.org to learn more about our programs or reach out directly to Nava at navah@teafc.org.
www.teafc.org From Our Family To Yours
Welcome to the Brady Bunch of Autism, your source for family parenting and all things. Autism and special needs Created by our family for your family Live from the Ed Asner Family Center and now your hosts, Nava and Matt Asner.
Speaker 2:All right, welcome to the Brady Bunch of Autism. I'm Matt Asner.
Speaker 1:And I'm Nava Pasquitz Asner. And this is episode seven of the Brady Bunch of Autism. I'm Matt Asner and I'm Nava Paskowitz Asner.
Speaker 2:And this is episode seven of the Brady Bunch of Autism Awesome, hello.
Speaker 1:Lucky number seven. Mattie Lucky number seven.
Speaker 2:So we got lots to talk about. We do the first thing. Well, how are you doing, Are you okay? Oh, checking in with me.
Speaker 1:I'm checking in. I'm feeling pretty good today Doing a mental health check-in. Yes, yes, always, always important, and we do that every day at the Academy.
Speaker 2:I hope you're okay with me mentioning something. Uh-oh, uh-oh, I'm getting worried. Well, we had a center journey. The Ed Asner Family Center went to the baseball game, the Dodger game, last Friday. It was very crowded. First of all, I don't know how long it takes you guys to go to the Dodger game, but it took three hours from our house to Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 4:And I kept saying to myself three hours from our house to Dodger Stadium and I kept saying to myself three hours.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was ridiculous. We could go see the Padres. That's two and a half hours away. We could go see the Padres. I mean that's insane.
Speaker 1:Three hours With some very patient autistic kids in the car too, From Northridge to Dodger Stadium Three hours.
Speaker 2:Now our stalkers know where we live, so well, okay we're in Northridge, um, so okay, so we're at the game and you know everything was fine. You know you didn't appreciate the car ride, but you know, you, you, you. I think you actually enjoyed the ball game yeah, I did yeah and.
Speaker 1:I'm usually the one in line for for snacks, so right I remember I, at one point hours into it, I said to you I just looked down at the field for the first time it was like the sixth inning.
Speaker 2:I think that's yeah that's usually the so, but the interesting, interestingly, you know, now they, they, uh, they sell hot dogs in the stands again, which they stopped doing for a long time, and now they're doing it again, so which is kind of cool, which is your most important.
Speaker 1:Well, that's important, that's your that's important. Um, it used to be hot dogs and a beer, but yeah um those days are long over for you, sweetie those days are long over for me now it's.
Speaker 2:hot days are long over for me, now it's hot dogs and a Diet Coke. Yes, If I even have a hot dog.
Speaker 1:You did, don't lie, I did have a hot dog. You probably had two. It was delicious, you know me well, Okay.
Speaker 2:So something happened at the game and I wanted to talk to you about it. I want to see if you talk about it on air. I think you should because we actually were just walking in here and talking about generalized anxiety.
Speaker 1:Well, first of all, it was Mental Health Awareness Night at Dodger Stadium which was very ironic.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, and yeah, I'm not afraid to talk about it because I think it's really important to talk about mental health issues. And a lot of people tell me all the time oh, you seem so confident and you talk in front of these big crowds and in reality I struggle greatly with general anxiety disorder and panic disorder, claustrophobia, OCD, many other things, but those are the things that really are crippling at times. I've always been a fearful flyer and we've talked at length about what it took for me to get back in a plane, which is like the elements of anxiety and claustrophobia all in one. But when Eddie is with me, I'm usually okay. I usually rise above because I don't want to trigger his anxiety with my own, so I can just kind of get through it.
Speaker 2:Let me explain exactly what happened and then you can explain kind of what you went through.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:So we're at the game, we're leaving the game.
Speaker 3:The game's over.
Speaker 2:It's long over actually. People have been filtering out of the stadium for a while, so we get to. We're on like the third level, so the very top level and it was. You know, it's actually not a nice place to see a game Because you get the whole experience. You get to see the whole thing. So we're leaving through. Nava doesn't like the elevator, so we didn't want to leave through the elevator. There's a very long line for the elevator.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The escalator was kind of out.
Speaker 1:Well, I think we went the wrong way.
Speaker 2:Well, the escalator was kind of out, you know, in a kind of weird place.
Speaker 1:I've only ever gone to the Dodger Stadium and taken the escalator Right, so I had no idea what we were going to experience.
Speaker 2:We didn't take the escalator, we went to the stairs.
Speaker 1:Don't ever do that, listeners, I mean even for myself.
Speaker 2:So you get into the stairway and there's an instant traffic jam and people are barely moving. Actually, they're not moving, they're just standing. No, I mean, that's it was and it was I'm not exaggerating it was 40 degrees warmer in the stairway.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Right, yep, okay, so we get in the stairway and Are you trying to trigger a panic attack in me right now?
Speaker 2:And Nava's halfway down the stairs with Eddie.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was Well that's, and you tapped out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh shit, sorry about that, and you tapped out.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't call it tapped out. I came around the corner and Eddie and I were at least a stairway ahead of you guys and I just came to just a wall of humanity. It was a wall of humanity. I start immediately taking off all my clothes not my clothes, literally, but my jackets. It was very cold that night, so I was wearing two jackets.
Speaker 2:And it was like 90 degrees in the night.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and heat is a trigger for me. But then what really got me into defcon 10 was that the, the sea of humanity, was coming behind me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it was like and there was no going forward. It was like a who concert.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like you know there was no going forward, there was no going back. I felt like we were in tokyo, on one of the station platforms.
Speaker 2:You thought some guy was going to come behind you and start pushing you in.
Speaker 1:Well, I was that guy, because I start pushing my way forward and nobody-.
Speaker 2:People were yelling. People were getting pissed. People were yelling in the-. Yes, they were getting angry Like move it. Yeah, come on.
Speaker 1:Move it. And so I noticed that Eddie was following me, me and so I was like, okay, eddie's gonna get hurt, somebody's gonna hit him because it's gonna he's a big guy. So I turn around and with a wild look in my eyes, I'm sure I say to you watch eddie and then I went towards the wall and you were gone somehow god himself put an emergency exit there.
Speaker 2:There was a big burly. I didn't see you leave, by the way, I know I didn't see you leave.
Speaker 1:I disappeared in a bubble as well, so there was a big burly security guard and he's like you're not going in there. And I looked him in the eye with, I'm sure as I said, a wild look in my eye and, sure as I said, a wild look in my eye and I said I'm having a panic attack, I need to get out of here now. And I didn't really even have to say it again and he opened the door and this wonderful guy who I'm gonna make a uh, you know customer, uh, not a complaint, the opposite of yes um he, he took me into this little um veranda side thing.
Speaker 1:There was no, there was no uh access there and he just talked to me. Like you know, I'm okay, breathe. He and I walked back and forth and it was in the fresh air. You know, we were outside and this guy was so kind and so empathetic to what I was going through and I was overwhelmed with guilt because I thought I just abandoned my baby.
Speaker 1:Obviously I knew he was with you and Jill and Spencer and Moe, and he was with a group of people, but I did have the severe guilt and I was shaking like a leaf. I could barely talk. I was in the midst of this panic attack?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, but it was substantial. Yeah, I mean, it was difficult for me and I'm okay in that kind of stuff, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it was difficult for me. No, it was horrible, it was very warm.
Speaker 2:That's the thing that really bothered me. It was really warm. I mean all those people. Eh, it's all right, you know.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm okay with that but the heat plus that was For me. It's about not being able to get out, like you're stuck somewhere.
Speaker 2:That's one of my biggest triggers. God forbid there's a problem there, like a fire or something I know, that's all I think about. I mean, you know, I I'm surprised that you know donder stadium. I would think they would you know, change that. But well, you know, having people go down this stairwell, like it's like you are in like an emergency, yeah, and you're going down the you know the the moral of the story is.
Speaker 1:The moral of the story is boys and girls who are listening. Wow, we suggest that you don't take the stairs when you leave Dodger Stadium. Take the escalator. Take the escalator.
Speaker 2:That's the moral of the story.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:But I mean, I thought you dealt very well with that and I thought you'd like to talk about it today because it was you know. It was, you know, something that mattered to you.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was something that.
Speaker 1:Well, it didn't matter to me.
Speaker 2:Well, the fact is, there was a guy there that really helped you.
Speaker 1:And if he hadn't been there. I do think that there should be more opportunities for people to know where the escalator is for people to know where the escalator is, that, if I would say to dodger stadium.
Speaker 1:And and I am gonna, I am in my, in my letter about this wonderful guy I am gonna say you know, I, I I'm a neurodivergent person myself yeah, you know, and we are there with a whole group gaggle yeah and uh going forward, I would say that they should put more signage up about other avenues of escape, because the line for the elevator not in a million you could pay me not escape million dollars and I wouldn't have gotten in that elevator, but well there was a long line for the elevator.
Speaker 2:No, but just the concept of that elevator you knew that they were going to cram into that.
Speaker 1:No, but I ended up in an elevator-like setting but anyway, it's over. I'm going to go back to Dodger's table.
Speaker 2:We were reunited, yes, and you were reunited with Eddie, yeah.
Speaker 1:And I was shaking for hours afterwards. It really freaks me out when that happens and you know, write in to us. Write in and tell us about your anxiety stories.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have stories like that. Yeah, because we can all relate. We can relate. So we were going to talk a long time about this, uh, other stuff and uh, I don't know should we get into it.
Speaker 1:Should we get into it? Well, we definitely want to. We definitely want to talk about our upcoming event, yeah, which is in just a few weeks yeah, no, in june 14th everyone poker with ed or poker for ed um 13 lucky number 13 um, it's going to be at the radford studios.
Speaker 2:We've lowered the price, it's. You know you're never going to get a deal like this great food, great drink, all you can eat, all you can drink, and poker where do you get all you can drink anymore?
Speaker 1:I don't know, you don't, you know, not in la.
Speaker 2:And it's an open bar.
Speaker 1:Right, I mean it's pretty good. How can people get tickets to that, Matt?
Speaker 2:All they have to do is go to teafcorg and go to the poker icon. You'll see a poker icon and that'll be an easier way of doing. It would be poker4edcom and going to that website and you can buy tickets there and don't wait till the last minute, or we're going to be sold out we're going to, I think, save the medicaid journey for another show for our next show, because that's an ongoing thing yeah you know we have.
Speaker 2:We have issues, you know, with the budget cuts and you know they have to cut 700700 billion from the Medicaid budget, which is substantial, and a lot of people are worried about that. So we're going to get to that next show and this show. We've made it a practice of making sure that our participants in our academy, you know, get some love on our podcast, and so we've had Asher and his podcast, we've had Zoe and her podcast, and this time we have a little taste of what Maggie talks about.
Speaker 1:Well, maggie's kind of become our kind of podcast spokesperson, because Maggie has her own YouTube channel.
Speaker 2:No, yes, I did not know that.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's called Maggie's Calico Corner.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:And it's actually really cool Okay.
Speaker 2:You should check it out. Check out Maggie's.
Speaker 1:Calico Corner, but every week we're going to just give you a little insight into our adult job training program, the Academy. For more information about the Academy, you can always reach out to me, nava, at teafcorg.
Speaker 2:And so now we're going to toss to.
Speaker 1:Maggie and.
Speaker 2:Jackie, and then we'll be back to say until next week. So, maggie and Jackie, let's go.
Speaker 4:Well, hello, my name is Maggie. Welcome to Crafty Coordination with me. Actually, my special guest is the awesome. She work at Disney and she work at the Adler House Nurse Center and she worked me the Christmas story and welcome to my Jackie. Hi, maggie, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you so much today. Today and the episode today. So we are talking about arts and crafts today and I love doing arts and crafts journal in the year 2020,.
Speaker 3:My first craft was I started working at Disney at Disney Television Animation for the show Alice's Wonderland Bakery. That's where I was a storyboard artist and a storyboard revisionist. At Disney Television Animation for the show Alice's Wonderland Bakery that's where I was a storyboard artist and a storyboard revisionist. Oh, that's so cute. I started as a revisionist, aw, and I got to use a lot of the experience that I gained from an internship that I had at Hasbro working on some of the Transformers properties and just all my drawing experience. I think it really really helped out, but I had a wonderful time working on the show.
Speaker 4:Oh, that's so like fun. I wish like I had to do that. I wish I did, but I think it's so hard to do Disney right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, we do some animation stuff in media sometimes. Yes, we do. Yes, it's hard though.
Speaker 4:You're right, and how she helped at the beginning of your art journey, actually.
Speaker 3:What helped me at the beginning of my journey. Probably the most important thing was the people in my life being so supportive yeah, yeah, like me, like, yes, exactly, actually very supportive people. They would they would um encourage me to draw. They'd give me time to draw, because it takes a lot of time to practice right. They'd get me the good tools to use, so I'd be able to use really great materials to help me along my journey.
Speaker 4:So that was really helpful, having supportive family and friends. Uh, about you, about learning skills, how what is something you love about don't you know have to do actually?
Speaker 3:Jackie, what's something that I want to learn? That maybe I don't know how to do, yeah well, my grandmother was a costume maker in addition to being a dancer and a choreographer. She made all her own costumes. She knew how to sew really good and she helped me sew a little bit, and she taught my mom how to sew. So my mom helped me sew a little bit, but I would love to be able to learn how to sew Okay. I'd love to make my own wardrobe of clothes and stuff.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'd love to get better at sewing.
Speaker 3:Okay, that's.
Speaker 4:It's you I like to. I love to crochet, but I don't know how to do it, so I like I wish I knew how to do it. You know it's like, but it's hard, right it's so hard. But you know it's so easy to do. On that one.
Speaker 3:Your knitting machine. Oh yeah, the loom, the loom.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's so much easier not to do the crochet, but one day I hope I do it, so yeah, I'd love to learn with you. I know, don't know how to do it.
Speaker 3:So that was really hard for me to learn was maybe not to compare myself to other people Because that could really make me feel bad, and then, like I, wouldn't even be motivated to draw. So I try to just focus on building my own skills at my own pace and you know if any other people are feeling success. That's like good for them. And if they're making strides?
Speaker 4:I'm happy for them. Guys, what is hard for you to like to like, what is your heart they're harder for you guys to learn about is it crochet? Is it about um? Is it about um like anything? What it's hard for you guys to, you want to learn about oh yeah, maggie, maggie is curious.
Speaker 3:Drop it in the comments.
Speaker 4:Yes, I would love to know like any someone you know have a hard time for me is actually doing like jewelry sometimes, you know doing like learning like new foods, you know, and I'm learning about how to like take it easy about like my health issues, you know. So it's kind of hard to learn about.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it's hard, but it's good to keep an open mind. Yes, that helps the learning happen.
Speaker 4:Yes, actually, the next page is All right. So how do you learn about this one About the?
Speaker 3:tea. How do you learn about topics you?
Speaker 4:are curious about I learn things through videos like TikTok.
Speaker 4:Yes, I love TikTok topics you are curious about. I learn things through videos like tiktok. Yes, I love to talk, so I love to watch. Um, it's this one girl she does crochet, you know, and you know I watch her. Um, she has a youtube channel, um, and it's crochet corners uh, three, four, eleven, eleven, four. So I watch her on tiktok. She makes like bunnies and then she makes like like. Sometimes she makes like um, like a mid-dancing now. So, yeah, beanies or something, and I love watching.
Speaker 3:It actually makes me so happy actually, I think I also definitely learn through videos that I look up. I'll look up like tutorials on YouTube or like you know, but hearing input from other artists is definitely, I think, how I learn. Like, if I'm hanging out with some of my friends who are also artists, we'll switch sketchbooks and, like my friend shane, you know, yes you guys murimoto on you know, you guys if you know shane, he was here, uh, for like a couple times and he helped me in my tango stories.
Speaker 4:you know little bit. And now he is doing something fun. Actually, he's doing YouTube now and I'm like happy for him. He's doing his awesome, like Awesome.
Speaker 3:YouTube channel yes.
Speaker 4:I'm so happy for him. I hope he comes back soon, because we love.
Speaker 3:Shane, we love Shane. I learn so much from him. He tells me all the time that he feels like he learns from me too. So we'll switch sketchbook, we'll look at each other's sketches and then we'll go off and draw like newly inspired.
Speaker 4:That is so much fun the way he's doing right now. What is your favorite piece of art that you ever made? Made is the Christmas piece we work on together.
Speaker 3:I remember we worked on that for our background class.
Speaker 4:Yes, a Christmas background, and we're still working on it actually, and right now we're like in the end kind of, but we're not like in the half right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're almost done writing a book. Yes, a Christmas storybook. It's a Christmas book. Yes, I'm very excited about that.
Speaker 4:Yes, and then my next one is going to be fairies actually, and I'm very excited about yes and then my next one is gonna be fairies, actually, and I'm so.
Speaker 3:I'm very excited for that. Yes, and me too. Actually, I'm trying to think of my favorite piece. I I definitely one of the things that I'm most proud of, um is, uh, this art book that I made, and I just I put like a whole bunch of different art pieces in there. I'm really proud of it. My grandmother helped me publish it.
Speaker 4:Oh my God, that is so cute. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3:That is so cute. I am so glad you like it oh my. God, I have so many different pieces in there. One of my favorites is those ones that you're looking at right now. I was developing an idea for a. Disney feature type of movie a Disney princess based on the princess and the pea. So those are some of my favorites. I did a princess, I did a villain.
Speaker 4:That is so much fun actually. So thank you for showing me actually You're so welcome. Yeah, so we did that. So let's play a check against your favorite. What is your favorite color, jackie?
Speaker 3:It used to be blue, but I think now it's like green or purple.
Speaker 4:Okay, my stew is my favorite, um, pink always, actually it's. I've seen like in tiktok or something. Oh, I have to get it. Oh, it's something I think, something I I have to get something it's like it's not going to clear, or oh, that's it, I'm going to get pink, something I love pink. And what is your favorite TV?
Speaker 3:show Jackie. My favorite TV show is it's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Really, I quote it all the time.
Speaker 4:Well, my TV show, it was actually Jane the Virgin and I still love it. If you guys are teen, or teen Michael, I was Team Michael.
Speaker 3:Definitely drop in the comments if you want to know.
Speaker 4:Yes, please you guys, and what is your favorite, disney?
Speaker 3:park actually. Ooh, I think my favorite Disney park is Disneyland here.
Speaker 4:Me too, yeah right here in California, you guys, I went to Disney World and very interesting actually, and you know I'm so used to Disneyland, you know, here, and I feel like Disneyland it's the OG, it's the first Disney, you know. But my favorite was Epcot. Disneyland it's the OG, it's the first Disney, you know, but my favorite was Epcot. Epcot, it was my favorite actually because more rides, more shopping. I guess the Magic Kingdom they don't have like what's it called, they only have have like food shopping. They don't have like over there, you know, like here, like you could shop or something. No, they don't have like that and like for a first training. A little bit about me, because I was like not happy about it in your dis, your Disneyland here.
Speaker 4:Yes, actually, and thank you so much, jackie, for helping me on my journey. Hope you guys come back the first, back on the next episode and I hope you are in my journey. The podcast please leave a like, comment, subscribe. You can find me on the YouTube channel at Mackie's Craft Corner. Thank you, and again, and have a wonderful day actually. Thank you so much, jackie and I have a commercial. Actually actually we are loving and I have a commercial actually Actually we are loving Hello Kitty and Care Bears. Why not best of both worlds and buy the Hello Kitty and Care Bears cartoon? You can buy it on TikTok shop and shop and for 20 looks for it today all right, that was maggie and jackie.
Speaker 2:Congratulations, guys. That was wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 1:I love that jackie is our media teacher and um, it was so great because each participant was able to interview and really work with their person that they were going to do these kind of like mock back and forth and by the end of the semester they were so confident and their podcasts have just blown my mind. And their podcasts have just blown my mind so we're actually going to be putting that up on our YouTube channel at the end of the semester. So I want you guys to all check that out and it's just amazing what they've done in just one semester.
Speaker 2:Thanks, to podcast teacher Maxie yes, and I think we're going to little different, little bit of a different kind of theme on our podcast, not the next episode, but maybe the episode after that. We're gonna actually start having guests.
Speaker 1:Yes and um like the og brady bunch of autism, like the og yes, but I like this new format. I like this new format because I can come with my hair up I know I can come without makeup.
Speaker 2:We're still going to be doing audio only.
Speaker 1:No, that's what I'm saying. I like this new format because I don't have to. I can come straight from you know.
Speaker 2:But this way we can have guests come and we can interview them about this great, amazing world that we're in called the autism world. Right? Is that the actual time?
Speaker 1:It's not just the autism world, right? Is that the actual time? It's not just the autism world though, yeah. We want to remind everyone that we are about all special needs, not just autism, right.
Speaker 2:We are.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:We're about neurodivergence.
Speaker 1:You're so used to being in the autism world that you forget there are other I know I don't forget communities that are really supported and yes and we have a whole gamut of different um individuals in our academy that are it's really exciting that we're supporting, like the whole gamut of special needs with people with cp, people with down syndrome and if people want to find out more about what we're doing and the academy or dating spectrum or anything like that.
Speaker 3:Our social clubs or art or social clubs who do they?
Speaker 1:write for that. They can reach out to our administrator, blanca at teafcorg, or myself, nava N-A-V-A-H at teafcorg. Myself, navah N-A-V-A-H at T-E-A-F-Corg. All right, all right. Well, this has been fun.
Speaker 2:It's been a good one it is. I'm glad we had a talk about your anxiety.
Speaker 1:Yes, I feel better already. All right, anytime.
Speaker 2:And for you out there. Thank you for joining us and we will talk soon. We will talk in two weeks all right, see you next time.
Speaker 1:Take care of each other and shalom aloha everyone take care.
