It's time for Let's Talk Autism with Shannon and Nancy! In this episode, our hosts discuss Autism News about a celebrity coming out about their autism diagnosis, the shameful act of a mother in Indiana and autism research done by Washington University before talking with special guest Kirk Herbertson, an autism advocate and photographer and then Kerrie Mallory Thompson for our Autism Family Portrait segment!   3:36 Autism News: ‘Bachelor’ alum Demi Burnett reveals she’s been diagnosed with autism https://pagesix.com/2022/02/20/bachel... 8:22 Autism News: Police: Indiana mom abandons 5-year-old son with autism in Ohio https://wgntv.com/news/police-indiana... 13:11 Autism News: Researchers use a unique approach to help unlock the mystery of autism https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/was... 17:08 Autism Advocate & Photographer - Kirk Herbertson An eloquent self-advocate. He is a volunteer contributor of photos for the The Lincoln Herald, in 2017 he decided to run for the local school board and won. Kirk served 4 years working to help improve education for students in his county. 18:39 You were 37 when you got a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, what led you to get the diagnosis at that age? 20:46 What made you decide to run for the local school board? 21:36 What was it like working on the school board? 22:15 Tell us a little bit about your life, you are a very busy person (musician, clown, plays the organ for church, acts in local theater, etc.) 23:30 You have received a lot of attention for being a noted figure in your community and you were asked to deliver the keynote address for the Autism Society of North Carolina – what do you want parents of individuals on the spectrum to know? https://youtu.be/4p-TOD8CIUc 24:00 What words of advice do you want to share with individuals who also have a diagnosis? 28:55 Autism Family Portrait: Kerrie Mallory-Thompson 33:45 About ThelmaLou Creations 35:10 How did you Autism come to be a part of your family’s journey? 38:42 How did “Autism Will Not Define My Son” start? How can people follow? https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q... 40:20 We love to watch Conor cooking, when can we see him doing more cooking shows? 43:22 Talk to us about your son’s progress changing from NonVerbal to Verbal. 43:55 What advice to you have for parents who have been told their children won’t speak? 48:28 What kinds of interventions have you used? What has helped? 50:50 What advice do you have for single parent who are trying to help their children? 54:48 In Hindsight is there anything that you would have done differently on this journey? 56:14 What has been the hardest? What has been the best? 57:43 Where can people follow you? 1:00:20 Watch CODA!