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Welcome to the podcast Beyond Expectations, Parenting Autism.
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Follow Michelle Chabola's journey of raising a child with autism, the challenges, victories, and rewards.
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If you're a parent, caregiver, or simply someone seeking to understand autism on a personal level, you're in the right place.
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All right, I believe I hit recording.
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All right, here we are with Sean and Mario and Courtney on Beyond Expectations.
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We're so glad to have you guys here and talk about Gregory and what it's been like since you met him.
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And like, um, how was it when you first met him?
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And what did you think?
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And how has your relationship with him evolved?
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You know, we were obviously uh friends with his aunt, and then we became friendly with with uh you, Michelle, and then his uncle, Sean.
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So we love the whole family, and and Gregory was just an extension of that.
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He's just a warm, beautiful soul and a sweetheart.
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And um, we always look forward to our annual uh Hollywood Horror Nights trip, and when he visits us in Orlando, uh at Universal, you know, my kids uh uh love him, and uh he's just always a joy and a pleasure to be around.
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He came from a great family, of course.
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Um, I just we fell in love with Gregory from day one.
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How can you not?
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He's just a sweet soul, and I he's slow town, blown away to learn everything that he does.
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I couldn't even begin to understand or comprehend or do any of the wood cutting, like how he does it.
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Um, he's just an exception.
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Yeah, we get great Christmas gifts.
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I love that.
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So, how old was Gregory when you guys first met him?
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I don't know how long has it been, Michelle, was but at least 10 years, right?
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2012.
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Yeah, when is that?
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2012, 14.
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14 years I'm going like this.
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Wow, so you you've seen a lot, you've seen a lot of the development.
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And so we we put this show together for Michelle to be able to share her experience with Gregory and to really to try to help parents because as you can imagine, when you get this diagnosis for your child, uh the amount of pressure and stress you might go through, and then you feel like you're a little lost.
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And so, what's what's fascinating about having you guys here is that you've seen sort of his whole adult progression.
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And I think when I think about sort of our core mission of message to parents, it must might be interesting to ask, sort of, like when you first met Gregory, had you did you have any any experience dealing with people with autism or or have any expectations?
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And then what you know, all of our messages are like what should parents be doing in that time that they have with a child to prepare them for sort of social interactions?
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Well, he's blessed to have a loving, supportive family.
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Um, you know, not that's number one, and not everyone, unfortunately, uh uh has that.
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But uh we uh we've had uh people in our lives um who have uh had autism in their children.
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One of my uh c cousins who are co close with two, I believe you actually met her Michelle too.
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Her son was diagnosed uh as well.
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And and um again, very loving, supporting family.
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And um uh we of course love and support him as well.
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And and uh it's just one of those things that you kind of kind of rally around and as a family and and uh comes together.
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Um you you kind of want to be there and and and uh support as much as you can, but you're just kind of growing and everyone is everyone's sort of first time, right?
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So you're and as they get older, you're sort of evolving with them and learning um kind of how to adapt and what works.
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And I know there's I'm learning as far as there's different sort of degrees of the spectrum um and what that all entails.
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I think too it was a blessing to meet you guys because at the time when we met you, I didn't re we didn't know that we were gonna have Mario's cousin was gonna hold autism, and we had a baby with autism.
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So after meeting you and talking to you, Michelle, hearing your journey and your story and everything you did for Gregory, it allowed us to introduce you to people that needed you and needed your your um expertise in that area because you know nobody knows what to do when you're driving the bad.
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And um it's I I believe we met you for a reason to introduce other people in the world that yeah.
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I think I think that I think that's right.
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I think that's right as well.
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It's just been pretty cool because you guys seem you've just seen very go from like like 20 to 32 16 to 31, 16 to 31.
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And you gotten to see them regularly, like two, three times a year.
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Now these traditions, yeah, consistently, yeah, consistently, yeah.
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And I think these traditions, guys, are super valuable to us, and we appreciate you.
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We really appreciate what you've done for Gregory.
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But maybe tell the audience like what this what it's like to be friends with the Lopez family.
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What is Gregory up to these days with you guys?
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Well, you know, we again every time we get to um hang with him, we're always having a good time, whether it's at a theme park or he's visiting me, uh shooting the show.
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Um, and we're gonna be doing another show in Florida too.
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Maybe you guys can come and visit us over there too.
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Uh Michelle, we always like to kind of include you.
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I know we've gotten together in Austin when uh where where you live as well.
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So that's always good to go over there, honey.
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I know.
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I know we got our lunch just recently.
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Yeah, that's nice.
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Yeah, so whenever we're in town, your town, or you're in our town, um, we always try to make it a point to kind of get together.
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And and and Gregory's never in a bad mood, he's always a sweetheart, always just uh you know, uh a pleasure to be around.
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I wish more people had that demeanor and way about them.
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Uh I know we talk about we we talk about he's one of my favorite people to be around because he he is does seem to always have a such a positive outlook, and I think his own level of empathy, you know, is hurt hurts him a little bit because he feels everyone else's stress and feels every everyone's emotions so strongly.
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I think for those that of us that get to be around him, it's you know a little bit of that stress is off lured onto him, and he's he's always very attentive and understanding what you're doing.
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I think that's like the the gift side of autism is that is this extreme level of sensitivity and and empathy for the people around him.
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And I know that Michelle was telling me that when he's around a baby, he's gonna get super nervous because he's so worried about worried about the baby.
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No, I know, and one thing I love is when we go to horror nights because even though we've got it for a decade.
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Yeah, tell us what is this horror nights thing?
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This has become like a six or seven-year tradition, right?
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With you guys, I'm sure.
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So it's my favorite time of year.
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October is my favorite time of year, Halloween is my favorite holiday, and we just started coming here when you know it's right here.
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And I go, please, can we make it an annual thing?
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So so we did, and then Michelle and Gregory started to join one time, and it just became you know, they're they're a staple every year.
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Like we don't want to, we we so this is like schedule, but but just so you know what it is, they take the whole backlot of Universal Studios and they work on it all year, and they create these huge haunted houses, elaborate, very expensive, just wild haunted houses, and every year they change them up, and it's usually tied into like a movie theme.
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Um, and they come and scare the you know the crap out of you basically, um with chainsaws, and it's just uh uh it sounds frightening.
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So and Gregory, like with his because he's got you know a lot of senses coming into him, he's super sensitive, he's aware of all these surroundings.
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It seems like not the environment I would expect him to thrive in.
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He leads the charge.
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They let him take over, Sean.
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I'm in the back of the bus, he's in the front with Mario and Courtney.
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I'm nobody, I'm just like his Sherpa, and it is the most unbelievable thing that you've ever seen.
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He eats the meal with them.
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I mean, truly, yeah, I'm it's like I'm not even there.
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He hangs with them, he sits with them, he hangs with them, and they let him lead the whole path.
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They spoil him brought me.
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I love watching him go through the mazes because they're different every year, but it's just every year you just it's like there's an innocence there.
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There's just there's something there that you know you want every child, your child to have forever, you know, and never grow out of.
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And it's just an amazing thing to see.
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And he's just always in the moment and loves it so much.
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And yeah, he he leads us and takes some of the scares.
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Yeah, it's a good time.
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They've given him way more independence than they even realize what they've done.
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And then we meet him in Orlando almost annually, and they do this Mardi Gray Mardi Gras parade.
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And this year, Mario just booked Gregory and not his mom.
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And I'm like, he's like, Michelle, Michelle, it's gonna be fun.
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I'm like, Mario, he's gonna be on this float by himself, and he just looks at me like okay.
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So Gregory gets to go with the parade with you, everybody.
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Yeah, so he just gets on the float with everybody, and of course, I'm trying to find guys I know.
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I'm making Tootie and Blake with him, and Mario and Courtney are like, whatever, see you later, mom, and take him away.
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And he's on this float going through the park.
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It's unbelievable.
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It really is.
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It's it's it's a good time.
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Yeah, it's a good time.
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They give him a lot more independence than they even realize, and they do way more for him than they realize, too.
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It's it's really fun.
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He looks forward to it every year.
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Man, that's that is that is pretty amazing.
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And I think that sense of normalcy, that sense of treating him like everybody else is such a huge gift to him because you know, I it from my perspective, when someone has autism, there's always a risk that people kind of over over-index a little bit and and start to not treat them, you know, uh as an adult and and to the full extent of their capabilities.
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And I think Michelle's message has been pretty solid here that the capabilities are significant, and and it's it's there's a danger to there's always a danger to expect too much, but there's almost as big a danger to not expect enough from a child with autism.
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And I think that that that ends up kind of taken away from the child's uh life experiences and their development if yet that expectation level isn't right and isn't really high enough.
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No, you're exactly right.
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And I think that's an important message just to get out to people in general.
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At the end of the day, you want to just get treated like like everyone else with respect and be able to kind of have a good time and participate in you know activities, um, just like anyone else would.
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And and uh uh I think once you sort of because I think it's just there's just an unknown, and you people that are lawyer or have anyone in their family or circle that uh is experiencing autism, uh you don't know exactly how you're supposed to act.
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And I think the best message is you just treat them like people and like you would anyone else, you know, with respect and dignity, and and um um and it's really as simple as that.
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And you know, again, I'm fascinated by uh like his talent and stuff too, the the way he's able to sort of lock in and do all the woodwork and all that and create a business and and uh generate that for himself.
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That's uh you know, really impressive.
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So they're not limited either.
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That's another thing people are thinking about it.
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Yeah, but Michelle I said before he's so lucky to have a family that supports him the way that you guys do, because I mean you quit your job, you you everything everything's got for you, but it looked at what you've done for him.
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Yeah, that's what's so important to get the message out because not everyone's gonna be able to do that.
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And and I think that that you know the the mom part of this thing is so big, like like Courtney, you're a mom, you know what it's like to be a mom uh when the children don't have uh his sort of development disability and that how taxing and and all developing it is.
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And so when a mom has a child that just needs that much more um support, then it can feel overwhelming.
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And so we're hoping that more people hear Michelle's story and not only understand how how she sort of you really beat expectations, but like how do they pull from that and how do they how do they start with tomorrow, right?
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And I think that having having your child who's a teenager start to have adult friends and be able to experience you know the same thing that everyone else gets to do is kind of the that's kind of the a huge measure of success.
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And so, Michelle, did you at some point did you think, man, this might not ever happen, that Gregory might be living in the house all day and not have friends and not have relationships?
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Absolutely, absolutely, because he wasn't invited to parties, he wasn't if you think about normalcy, that didn't really happen for him, and so you do you panic.
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You're you know, will he have friends?
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Will he be able to go places?
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Will he do things?
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So and how did you sort of turn the tide to where where now he's got he gets invited to places you're not invited?
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That's Mario, like on the shape, but that's but that's a but that's a huge accomplishment, right?
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Mario knew he could fly by himself, I wouldn't even get to kill him.
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That's right, that's right.
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It's just it's fun watching him, especially in these environments, because not only do they give him independence, but they have, I mean, he is around major crowds, major groups, and it's really funny what he does because if we sit down in the group, he sits right between them, which I was like panicked in the beginning, and Courtney's like, stop.
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You see, he wants to be right beside both of them and they could care less.
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But um just watching him, because it's huge, guys.
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You have no idea because when we travel, we're together, right?
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Totally together the whole time.
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And from the time I see you at Universal until the end, where's Gregory?
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He's with y'all, yeah.
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He's with y'all.
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And he's and he's you know, appropriate.
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I mean, he's doing everything, but it's just it's really fun to watch.
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But I was gonna ask you, Courtney, when the the kids met him, they were young.
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Did they have they ever asked or wondered or because I know they go to private schools, which is great, but they're really not exposed.
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Usually in private schools, you're not exposed to a lot of disabilities.
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Yeah, so has that helped or hindered, or have they wondered, or have they asked you anything?
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They you know, before they met him, we we told them a little bit just because they were so young and just trying to get it.
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Um, and after that, they he's just Gregory.
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They say nothing, they say nothing.
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I mean, he's Gregory to them.
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That's such a big such a big success to have it be nothing.
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Yeah, but we get a they they know you know, I've had to take them to children's hospital for different reasons, and they get to see, you know, some of the kids that are in there, and and they they get you know, they they get to see stuff like that.
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So yeah, I'm not happy they do, but I am happy that they get to see that because they you know they understand.
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I think it's important for other parents out there too to have those conversations with um their kids and just kind of expose that, hey, you know, there's there's there's special people out in this world, and and some have certain challenges that uh you know you may not doesn't make them uh uh any different, any less than.
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It's just they're just or it makes them you know just a little different, but not any less than, and and uh they're special and they're all God's kids, and um, we treat them like everyone else, and we um maybe show them a little extra love too.
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So I think it's important for other parents to kind of have their conversations with their kids because um you need to you know you need to lead with kindness with everyone really, but especially you know we all have our own superpowers, you know.
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Right every like we all have different things that we do great and things that we don't do as well, and uh so and I think and they're cool.
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You you mentioned they go to the private school, yeah, they go to Catholic school, and I think faith-based schools are really good about that, actually.
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They're really good about um sort of kind of making points and uh treating all people uh with respect and coming from a place of love.
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That's great, that's great.
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I did I didn't mean anything about it, I was just like sometimes when they're not exposed around it, yeah, you know what I mean.
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Right, right, right.
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Yeah, totally.
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Yeah, yeah, hottie tottie one, it's a faith-based one, so they usually have one, yeah.
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I didn't mean that we're in a bubble, but I just yeah, we've done this, we've done several shows about the education system, and it's kind of wild because there's like the federal government has done a lot to create standards and and to create access for kids with special needs, but at the same time, at the every school already has their own strategy, and some of the schools on the public side, it seems like the strategy is to is to kind of avoid the situation and move the kids off to another soul.
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That's that's been something Michelle's been leading to charge on is arming parents with the knowledge to sort of advocate for their kids in the school system, which is super complicated.
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But I think the example, the example you guys are given, I think that it's hard to tease it out, but like the parents that you guys have, someone in your family now who has a child with autism.
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That like this this friend thing that you guys have done is so important that we hope that people get get the concept to kind of reach out to their friends and say, guess what?
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Like the development of our child is going to really benefit from having people come in and be that kind of aunt-uncle figure and be that adult that's not a relative, which is sometimes you know, super additive.
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Um, but people might be nervous to kind of start because, like you said, there are some unknowns.
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You're like, you don't know like what uh what to expect in terms of behavior, and you feel like you gotta be trained, but you guys seem to just dive off into it, yeah.
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My my grandmother, who my mom's mom, both my grandmothers had a bunch of kids, but my mom's mom had 10 kids, right?
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My my mom had five brothers, five sisters.
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Wow, and after raising all those kids, she took care of special needs kids.
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Wow, all growing up.
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So I grew up going to my grandmother's house since I can remember as a little kid, and there were uh kids with special needs the whole time.
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So I grew up with it since I was a kid.
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Oh, I didn't know that.
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That's amazing.
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Oh, yeah, ever since uh uh my grandmother lived there, my great grandmother lived there, and uh and she yeah, she took at least three, four at a time, mind you, and all the and it was it was interesting to see because um some worked, some would go by themselves, you know, others would uh uh stay more at home and stuff.
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But my mom always, you know, we always just kind of treated them like everyone else, and uh like kind of just part of the family.
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So I was always exposed to it, and I just always looked at it like they were God's kids and uh special, um, and nothing but full of love.
00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:21.759
And so I was sort of like immersed in that at a young age, which it was and it was great.
00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:24.160
So it didn't even, yeah, it doesn't even phase me like at all.
00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:26.160
You know, that's that's awesome.
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:27.759
That's a great good for her.
00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.880
Wow, yeah, I couldn't believe after all those kids she ended up raising more kids.
00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:35.119
That's man, it's super super that's a superpower.
00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.160
That is a superpower, that's super patience.
00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.559
Oh my goodness, that's that's that's fantastic.
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:55.839
So, um Mario Courtney, you guys may not know this, but something we're um we're fairly large supporters, have been large supporters of the University of Texas School of Social Work for the last 10 to 15 years, and we've gotten to learn a lot about what social workers do, and there's a whole track for special needs.
00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:04.880
And what we what we learned from the former Dean in School of Social Reverse Texas is that the Latin American community is way behind on diagnosis.
00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.119
You know, you ever you ever heard this?
00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:12.640
I have not that there's a that there is uh uh this is a study that that the dean did.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:16.559
He was the dean from uh New York and then he then he went to Texas.
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:33.680
Um, but his part of his mission, and something something and not that you need anything else to do, but part of his mission was to really focus on the Latin American community because there became kind of a con a cultural phenomenon to kind of kind of uh almost sort of willfully ignore the symptoms.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:50.960
And it's uh it's a a big problem because as Michelle's pointed out and and several times in her podcast, she said, like we came home to the diagnosis and we set up a school and we started training and we started this, and so Gregory benefited from like quick action that started when he was very young.
00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:57.279
Um and we and as I understand it, if the intervention starts older, it just becomes less and less effective.
00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:01.200
So that early adoption, the early recognition is something that's super important.
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:17.119
So I think we gotta also try to work on trying to get the message out that uh that the diagnosis is not something to be ashamed of, afraid of, certainly not something to ignore because, like a lot of things, the sooner you get on it, the better chance you have to have an outcome like like you have, like we have with Gregory.
00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:18.400
No, you're absolutely right.
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:26.799
And you know, I think culturally, um Latinos in in general may just not be aware or a little confused by all of it.
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:36.240
But I think once you raise raise the awareness level, um again, that can only uh benefit uh the child, the family, everyone can uh benefit from that.
00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.559
But uh yeah, anything I can do, let me know.
00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.160
Yeah, we gotta we gotta work on that.
00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:47.359
Uh the dean was super passionate about it, and uh he was Latino, he's from he was uh his parents were from Puerto Rico.
00:21:47.440 --> 00:22:02.480
Um, but he made a big effort of it, and he just felt he said there was a condition in Spanish, they called it Nerovicio, but it was almost like their own sort of um, you know, kind of an explanation of something that wasn't clear, and so it didn't get it didn't get the kind of uh the kind of attention that it gets.
00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:07.119
And so we're you know, we're we're now at a diagnosis rate in the US that's very high.
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:25.519
And and part of the benefit what Michelle's doing here is that there's a there's this um growing population of of adults that can contribute, and as Gregory points out to us, wants to create they want to contribute, and so we just need more people to accept them and more people to kind of be willing to build that infrastructure around the way the way Michelle has.
00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:29.039
Yeah, we're talking about millions of millions of people now, right?
00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.160
No, you're exactly right.
00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:30.960
There is millions.
00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.480
We need more Michelle, yeah.
00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:41.519
All right, well, trying to get Michelle leverage across the millions, so we'll we'll we need your help to get the word out, all right.
00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:44.319
And you will, this has been great, guys.
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:49.119
I know you've got to run to another show, and we'll just oh, I appreciate this time so much.
00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.960
You got it trusting us for everybody uh you know listening.
00:22:53.039 --> 00:23:07.759
You guys are like the the epitome of how one should uh sort of if they're find themselves in the situation, sort of kind of handle it and uh to educate these people, and uh just as your friends, you know, we're proud to call you friends, and and uh we love Gregory and you guys.
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:16.240
Anything we can do to either help raise the awareness level or to kind of flip with the conversation with other families out there that might be going through it, please don't uh hesitate to ask.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.279
You guys have done so much.
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:20.000
We really appreciate it.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:22.079
Yeah, you got it, guys.
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:22.960
Hey, nice talking.
00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:25.039
Uh see you soon.
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:26.000
Okay, see you soon.
00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:26.400
Bye bye.
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:27.680
That's a good one, Sean.
00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.200
We're trying.
00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:29.920
All right.
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:05.679
Welcome to the podcast Beyond Expectations, Parenting Autism.
00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:11.919
Follow Michelle Chabola's journey of raising a child with autism, the challenges, victories, and rewards.
00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:19.280
If you're a parent, caregiver, or simply someone seeking to understand autism on a personal level, you're in the right place.
00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:22.960
All right, I believe I hit recording.
00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:28.480
All right, here we are with Sean and Mario and Courtney on Beyond Expectations.
00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:35.759
We're so glad to have you guys here and talk about Gregory and what it's been like since you met him.
00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:39.520
And like, um, how was it when you first met him?
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And what did you think?
00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:44.399
And how has your relationship with him evolved?
00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:54.479
You know, we were obviously uh friends with his aunt, and then we became friendly with with uh you, Michelle, and then his uncle, Sean.
00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:59.280
So we love the whole family, and and Gregory was just an extension of that.
00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:03.039
He's just a warm, beautiful soul and a sweetheart.
00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:17.840
And um, we always look forward to our annual uh Hollywood Horror Nights trip, and when he visits us in Orlando, uh at Universal, you know, my kids uh uh love him, and uh he's just always a joy and a pleasure to be around.
00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:21.280
He came from a great family, of course.
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Um, I just we fell in love with Gregory from day one.
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How can you not?
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He's just a sweet soul, and I he's slow town, blown away to learn everything that he does.
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I couldn't even begin to understand or comprehend or do any of the wood cutting, like how he does it.
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Um, he's just an exception.
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Yeah, we get great Christmas gifts.
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I love that.
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So, how old was Gregory when you guys first met him?
00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:54.719
I don't know how long has it been, Michelle, was but at least 10 years, right?
00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:56.239
2012.
00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:57.680
Yeah, when is that?
00:01:58.079 --> 00:01:58.799
2012, 14.
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14 years I'm going like this.
00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:03.840
Wow, so you you've seen a lot, you've seen a lot of the development.
00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:18.319
And so we we put this show together for Michelle to be able to share her experience with Gregory and to really to try to help parents because as you can imagine, when you get this diagnosis for your child, uh the amount of pressure and stress you might go through, and then you feel like you're a little lost.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:24.479
And so, what's what's fascinating about having you guys here is that you've seen sort of his whole adult progression.
00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:37.360
And I think when I think about sort of our core mission of message to parents, it must might be interesting to ask, sort of, like when you first met Gregory, had you did you have any any experience dealing with people with autism or or have any expectations?
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And then what you know, all of our messages are like what should parents be doing in that time that they have with a child to prepare them for sort of social interactions?
00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.759
Well, he's blessed to have a loving, supportive family.
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Um, you know, not that's number one, and not everyone, unfortunately, uh uh has that.
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But uh we uh we've had uh people in our lives um who have uh had autism in their children.
00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:06.000
One of my uh c cousins who are co close with two, I believe you actually met her Michelle too.
00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:08.639
Her son was diagnosed uh as well.
00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:12.639
And and um again, very loving, supporting family.
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:16.879
And um uh we of course love and support him as well.
00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:22.879
And and uh it's just one of those things that you kind of kind of rally around and as a family and and uh comes together.
00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:29.680
Um you you kind of want to be there and and and uh support as much as you can, but you're just kind of growing and everyone is everyone's sort of first time, right?
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So you're and as they get older, you're sort of evolving with them and learning um kind of how to adapt and what works.
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And I know there's I'm learning as far as there's different sort of degrees of the spectrum um and what that all entails.
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I think too it was a blessing to meet you guys because at the time when we met you, I didn't re we didn't know that we were gonna have Mario's cousin was gonna hold autism, and we had a baby with autism.
00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:17.680
So after meeting you and talking to you, Michelle, hearing your journey and your story and everything you did for Gregory, it allowed us to introduce you to people that needed you and needed your your um expertise in that area because you know nobody knows what to do when you're driving the bad.
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And um it's I I believe we met you for a reason to introduce other people in the world that yeah.
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I think I think that I think that's right.
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I think that's right as well.
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It's just been pretty cool because you guys seem you've just seen very go from like like 20 to 32 16 to 31, 16 to 31.
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And you gotten to see them regularly, like two, three times a year.
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Now these traditions, yeah, consistently, yeah, consistently, yeah.
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And I think these traditions, guys, are super valuable to us, and we appreciate you.
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We really appreciate what you've done for Gregory.
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But maybe tell the audience like what this what it's like to be friends with the Lopez family.
00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:04.319
What is Gregory up to these days with you guys?
00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:15.199
Well, you know, we again every time we get to um hang with him, we're always having a good time, whether it's at a theme park or he's visiting me, uh shooting the show.
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Um, and we're gonna be doing another show in Florida too.
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Maybe you guys can come and visit us over there too.
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Uh Michelle, we always like to kind of include you.
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I know we've gotten together in Austin when uh where where you live as well.
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So that's always good to go over there, honey.
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I know.
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I know we got our lunch just recently.
00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:33.279
Yeah, that's nice.
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Yeah, so whenever we're in town, your town, or you're in our town, um, we always try to make it a point to kind of get together.
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And and and Gregory's never in a bad mood, he's always a sweetheart, always just uh you know, uh a pleasure to be around.
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I wish more people had that demeanor and way about them.
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Uh I know we talk about we we talk about he's one of my favorite people to be around because he he is does seem to always have a such a positive outlook, and I think his own level of empathy, you know, is hurt hurts him a little bit because he feels everyone else's stress and feels every everyone's emotions so strongly.
00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:18.079
I think for those that of us that get to be around him, it's you know a little bit of that stress is off lured onto him, and he's he's always very attentive and understanding what you're doing.
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I think that's like the the gift side of autism is that is this extreme level of sensitivity and and empathy for the people around him.
00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:31.439
And I know that Michelle was telling me that when he's around a baby, he's gonna get super nervous because he's so worried about worried about the baby.
00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:38.800
No, I know, and one thing I love is when we go to horror nights because even though we've got it for a decade.
00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.519
Yeah, tell us what is this horror nights thing?
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This has become like a six or seven-year tradition, right?
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With you guys, I'm sure.
00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:49.600
So it's my favorite time of year.
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October is my favorite time of year, Halloween is my favorite holiday, and we just started coming here when you know it's right here.
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And I go, please, can we make it an annual thing?
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So so we did, and then Michelle and Gregory started to join one time, and it just became you know, they're they're a staple every year.
00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:27.839
Like we don't want to, we we so this is like schedule, but but just so you know what it is, they take the whole backlot of Universal Studios and they work on it all year, and they create these huge haunted houses, elaborate, very expensive, just wild haunted houses, and every year they change them up, and it's usually tied into like a movie theme.
00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:36.879
Um, and they come and scare the you know the crap out of you basically, um with chainsaws, and it's just uh uh it sounds frightening.
00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:43.759
So and Gregory, like with his because he's got you know a lot of senses coming into him, he's super sensitive, he's aware of all these surroundings.
00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:46.560
It seems like not the environment I would expect him to thrive in.
00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:49.439
He leads the charge.
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They let him take over, Sean.
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I'm in the back of the bus, he's in the front with Mario and Courtney.
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I'm nobody, I'm just like his Sherpa, and it is the most unbelievable thing that you've ever seen.
00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:05.519
He eats the meal with them.
00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.639
I mean, truly, yeah, I'm it's like I'm not even there.
00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:14.160
He hangs with them, he sits with them, he hangs with them, and they let him lead the whole path.
00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:15.519
They spoil him brought me.
00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:25.439
I love watching him go through the mazes because they're different every year, but it's just every year you just it's like there's an innocence there.
00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:34.960
There's just there's something there that you know you want every child, your child to have forever, you know, and never grow out of.
00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:36.879
And it's just an amazing thing to see.
00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.399
And he's just always in the moment and loves it so much.
00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.960
And yeah, he he leads us and takes some of the scares.
00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:47.919
Yeah, it's a good time.
00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:54.639
They've given him way more independence than they even realize what they've done.
00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:01.600
And then we meet him in Orlando almost annually, and they do this Mardi Gray Mardi Gras parade.
00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:06.000
And this year, Mario just booked Gregory and not his mom.
00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:11.919
And I'm like, he's like, Michelle, Michelle, it's gonna be fun.
00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:17.039
I'm like, Mario, he's gonna be on this float by himself, and he just looks at me like okay.
00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.200
So Gregory gets to go with the parade with you, everybody.
00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:26.879
Yeah, so he just gets on the float with everybody, and of course, I'm trying to find guys I know.
00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:33.600
I'm making Tootie and Blake with him, and Mario and Courtney are like, whatever, see you later, mom, and take him away.
00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:36.879
And he's on this float going through the park.
00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:38.080
It's unbelievable.
00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:38.879
It really is.
00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.519
It's it's it's a good time.
00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:42.879
Yeah, it's a good time.
00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:48.159
They give him a lot more independence than they even realize, and they do way more for him than they realize, too.
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:49.600
It's it's really fun.
00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.519
He looks forward to it every year.
00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.320
Man, that's that is that is pretty amazing.
00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:13.120
And I think that sense of normalcy, that sense of treating him like everybody else is such a huge gift to him because you know, I it from my perspective, when someone has autism, there's always a risk that people kind of over over-index a little bit and and start to not treat them, you know, uh as an adult and and to the full extent of their capabilities.
00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:26.559
And I think Michelle's message has been pretty solid here that the capabilities are significant, and and it's it's there's a danger to there's always a danger to expect too much, but there's almost as big a danger to not expect enough from a child with autism.
00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:35.759
And I think that that that ends up kind of taken away from the child's uh life experiences and their development if yet that expectation level isn't right and isn't really high enough.
00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:37.039
No, you're exactly right.
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:40.720
And I think that's an important message just to get out to people in general.
00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:52.960
At the end of the day, you want to just get treated like like everyone else with respect and be able to kind of have a good time and participate in you know activities, um, just like anyone else would.
00:10:53.120 --> 00:11:08.000
And and uh uh I think once you sort of because I think it's just there's just an unknown, and you people that are lawyer or have anyone in their family or circle that uh is experiencing autism, uh you don't know exactly how you're supposed to act.
00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:17.360
And I think the best message is you just treat them like people and like you would anyone else, you know, with respect and dignity, and and um um and it's really as simple as that.
00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:30.240
And you know, again, I'm fascinated by uh like his talent and stuff too, the the way he's able to sort of lock in and do all the woodwork and all that and create a business and and uh generate that for himself.
00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:31.600
That's uh you know, really impressive.
00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:33.039
So they're not limited either.
00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:37.440
That's another thing people are thinking about it.
00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:52.960
Yeah, but Michelle I said before he's so lucky to have a family that supports him the way that you guys do, because I mean you quit your job, you you everything everything's got for you, but it looked at what you've done for him.
00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:58.480
Yeah, that's what's so important to get the message out because not everyone's gonna be able to do that.
00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:12.080
And and I think that that you know the the mom part of this thing is so big, like like Courtney, you're a mom, you know what it's like to be a mom uh when the children don't have uh his sort of development disability and that how taxing and and all developing it is.
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:18.879
And so when a mom has a child that just needs that much more um support, then it can feel overwhelming.
00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:29.039
And so we're hoping that more people hear Michelle's story and not only understand how how she sort of you really beat expectations, but like how do they pull from that and how do they how do they start with tomorrow, right?
00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:42.879
And I think that having having your child who's a teenager start to have adult friends and be able to experience you know the same thing that everyone else gets to do is kind of the that's kind of the a huge measure of success.
00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:50.879
And so, Michelle, did you at some point did you think, man, this might not ever happen, that Gregory might be living in the house all day and not have friends and not have relationships?
00:12:51.440 --> 00:13:01.440
Absolutely, absolutely, because he wasn't invited to parties, he wasn't if you think about normalcy, that didn't really happen for him, and so you do you panic.
00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:03.039
You're you know, will he have friends?
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:04.240
Will he be able to go places?
00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:05.279
Will he do things?
00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:13.120
So and how did you sort of turn the tide to where where now he's got he gets invited to places you're not invited?
00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:21.279
That's Mario, like on the shape, but that's but that's a but that's a huge accomplishment, right?
00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:24.639
Mario knew he could fly by himself, I wouldn't even get to kill him.
00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:28.960
That's right, that's right.
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:50.879
It's just it's fun watching him, especially in these environments, because not only do they give him independence, but they have, I mean, he is around major crowds, major groups, and it's really funny what he does because if we sit down in the group, he sits right between them, which I was like panicked in the beginning, and Courtney's like, stop.
00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.879
You see, he wants to be right beside both of them and they could care less.
00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:59.360
But um just watching him, because it's huge, guys.
00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:03.200
You have no idea because when we travel, we're together, right?
00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.120
Totally together the whole time.
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:10.799
And from the time I see you at Universal until the end, where's Gregory?
00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.159
He's with y'all, yeah.
00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:14.879
He's with y'all.
00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.279
And he's and he's you know, appropriate.
00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:20.240
I mean, he's doing everything, but it's just it's really fun to watch.
00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:24.720
But I was gonna ask you, Courtney, when the the kids met him, they were young.
00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:33.919
Did they have they ever asked or wondered or because I know they go to private schools, which is great, but they're really not exposed.
00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.440
Usually in private schools, you're not exposed to a lot of disabilities.
00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:42.240
Yeah, so has that helped or hindered, or have they wondered, or have they asked you anything?
00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:51.840
They you know, before they met him, we we told them a little bit just because they were so young and just trying to get it.
00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:55.919
Um, and after that, they he's just Gregory.
00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:58.480
They say nothing, they say nothing.
00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:00.559
I mean, he's Gregory to them.
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.759
That's such a big such a big success to have it be nothing.
00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:19.279
Yeah, but we get a they they know you know, I've had to take them to children's hospital for different reasons, and they get to see, you know, some of the kids that are in there, and and they they get you know, they they get to see stuff like that.
00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:26.320
So yeah, I'm not happy they do, but I am happy that they get to see that because they you know they understand.
00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:41.759
I think it's important for other parents out there too to have those conversations with um their kids and just kind of expose that, hey, you know, there's there's there's special people out in this world, and and some have certain challenges that uh you know you may not doesn't make them uh uh any different, any less than.
00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:53.840
It's just they're just or it makes them you know just a little different, but not any less than, and and uh they're special and they're all God's kids, and um, we treat them like everyone else, and we um maybe show them a little extra love too.
00:15:53.919 --> 00:16:06.639
So I think it's important for other parents to kind of have their conversations with their kids because um you need to you know you need to lead with kindness with everyone really, but especially you know we all have our own superpowers, you know.
00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:17.039
Right every like we all have different things that we do great and things that we don't do as well, and uh so and I think and they're cool.
00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:22.559
You you mentioned they go to the private school, yeah, they go to Catholic school, and I think faith-based schools are really good about that, actually.
00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:30.799
They're really good about um sort of kind of making points and uh treating all people uh with respect and coming from a place of love.
00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:32.399
That's great, that's great.
00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:37.679
I did I didn't mean anything about it, I was just like sometimes when they're not exposed around it, yeah, you know what I mean.
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:38.720
Right, right, right.
00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:40.159
Yeah, totally.
00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:47.600
Yeah, yeah, hottie tottie one, it's a faith-based one, so they usually have one, yeah.
00:16:47.919 --> 00:17:14.319
I didn't mean that we're in a bubble, but I just yeah, we've done this, we've done several shows about the education system, and it's kind of wild because there's like the federal government has done a lot to create standards and and to create access for kids with special needs, but at the same time, at the every school already has their own strategy, and some of the schools on the public side, it seems like the strategy is to is to kind of avoid the situation and move the kids off to another soul.
00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:23.119
That's that's been something Michelle's been leading to charge on is arming parents with the knowledge to sort of advocate for their kids in the school system, which is super complicated.
00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:33.359
But I think the example, the example you guys are given, I think that it's hard to tease it out, but like the parents that you guys have, someone in your family now who has a child with autism.
00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:45.680
That like this this friend thing that you guys have done is so important that we hope that people get get the concept to kind of reach out to their friends and say, guess what?
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:59.039
Like the development of our child is going to really benefit from having people come in and be that kind of aunt-uncle figure and be that adult that's not a relative, which is sometimes you know, super additive.
00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:03.279
Um, but people might be nervous to kind of start because, like you said, there are some unknowns.
00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:10.559
You're like, you don't know like what uh what to expect in terms of behavior, and you feel like you gotta be trained, but you guys seem to just dive off into it, yeah.
00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:21.200
My my grandmother, who my mom's mom, both my grandmothers had a bunch of kids, but my mom's mom had 10 kids, right?
00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:23.200
My my mom had five brothers, five sisters.
00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:28.319
Wow, and after raising all those kids, she took care of special needs kids.
00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:30.319
Wow, all growing up.
00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:38.480
So I grew up going to my grandmother's house since I can remember as a little kid, and there were uh kids with special needs the whole time.
00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:40.400
So I grew up with it since I was a kid.
00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:41.440
Oh, I didn't know that.
00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:42.079
That's amazing.
00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:59.680
Oh, yeah, ever since uh uh my grandmother lived there, my great grandmother lived there, and uh and she yeah, she took at least three, four at a time, mind you, and all the and it was it was interesting to see because um some worked, some would go by themselves, you know, others would uh uh stay more at home and stuff.
00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:06.079
But my mom always, you know, we always just kind of treated them like everyone else, and uh like kind of just part of the family.
00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:13.920
So I was always exposed to it, and I just always looked at it like they were God's kids and uh special, um, and nothing but full of love.
00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:21.759
And so I was sort of like immersed in that at a young age, which it was and it was great.
00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:24.160
So it didn't even, yeah, it doesn't even phase me like at all.
00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:26.160
You know, that's that's awesome.
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:27.759
That's a great good for her.
00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.880
Wow, yeah, I couldn't believe after all those kids she ended up raising more kids.
00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:35.119
That's man, it's super super that's a superpower.
00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.160
That is a superpower, that's super patience.
00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.559
Oh my goodness, that's that's that's fantastic.
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:55.839
So, um Mario Courtney, you guys may not know this, but something we're um we're fairly large supporters, have been large supporters of the University of Texas School of Social Work for the last 10 to 15 years, and we've gotten to learn a lot about what social workers do, and there's a whole track for special needs.
00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:04.880
And what we what we learned from the former Dean in School of Social Reverse Texas is that the Latin American community is way behind on diagnosis.
00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.119
You know, you ever you ever heard this?
00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:12.640
I have not that there's a that there is uh uh this is a study that that the dean did.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:16.559
He was the dean from uh New York and then he then he went to Texas.
00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:33.680
Um, but his part of his mission, and something something and not that you need anything else to do, but part of his mission was to really focus on the Latin American community because there became kind of a con a cultural phenomenon to kind of kind of uh almost sort of willfully ignore the symptoms.
00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:50.960
And it's uh it's a a big problem because as Michelle's pointed out and and several times in her podcast, she said, like we came home to the diagnosis and we set up a school and we started training and we started this, and so Gregory benefited from like quick action that started when he was very young.
00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:57.279
Um and we and as I understand it, if the intervention starts older, it just becomes less and less effective.
00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:01.200
So that early adoption, the early recognition is something that's super important.
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:17.119
So I think we gotta also try to work on trying to get the message out that uh that the diagnosis is not something to be ashamed of, afraid of, certainly not something to ignore because, like a lot of things, the sooner you get on it, the better chance you have to have an outcome like like you have, like we have with Gregory.
00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:18.400
No, you're absolutely right.
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:26.799
And you know, I think culturally, um Latinos in in general may just not be aware or a little confused by all of it.
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:36.240
But I think once you raise raise the awareness level, um again, that can only uh benefit uh the child, the family, everyone can uh benefit from that.
00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.559
But uh yeah, anything I can do, let me know.
00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.160
Yeah, we gotta we gotta work on that.
00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:47.359
Uh the dean was super passionate about it, and uh he was Latino, he's from he was uh his parents were from Puerto Rico.
00:21:47.440 --> 00:22:02.480
Um, but he made a big effort of it, and he just felt he said there was a condition in Spanish, they called it Nerovicio, but it was almost like their own sort of um, you know, kind of an explanation of something that wasn't clear, and so it didn't get it didn't get the kind of uh the kind of attention that it gets.
00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:07.119
And so we're you know, we're we're now at a diagnosis rate in the US that's very high.
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:25.519
And and part of the benefit what Michelle's doing here is that there's a there's this um growing population of of adults that can contribute, and as Gregory points out to us, wants to create they want to contribute, and so we just need more people to accept them and more people to kind of be willing to build that infrastructure around the way the way Michelle has.
00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:29.039
Yeah, we're talking about millions of millions of people now, right?
00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.160
No, you're exactly right.
00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:30.960
There is millions.
00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.480
We need more Michelle, yeah.
00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:41.519
All right, well, trying to get Michelle leverage across the millions, so we'll we'll we need your help to get the word out, all right.
00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:44.319
And you will, this has been great, guys.
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:49.119
I know you've got to run to another show, and we'll just oh, I appreciate this time so much.
00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.960
You got it trusting us for everybody uh you know listening.
00:22:53.039 --> 00:23:07.759
You guys are like the the epitome of how one should uh sort of if they're find themselves in the situation, sort of kind of handle it and uh to educate these people, and uh just as your friends, you know, we're proud to call you friends, and and uh we love Gregory and you guys.
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:16.240
Anything we can do to either help raise the awareness level or to kind of flip with the conversation with other families out there that might be going through it, please don't uh hesitate to ask.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.279
You guys have done so much.
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:20.000
We really appreciate it.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:22.079
Yeah, you got it, guys.
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:22.960
Hey, nice talking.
00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:25.039
Uh see you soon.
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:26.000
Okay, see you soon.
00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:26.400
Bye bye.
00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:27.680
That's a good one, Sean.
00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.200
We're trying.
00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:29.920
All right.
