The David Kaufer Podcast: The Lighter Side of the Spectrum

Beating the Odds: Zach’s Due Process Win Vs. Fairfax County Schools

David interviews advocate Elizabeth Zielinski and parent Jill Janson about Jill’s son Zach, a non-speaking speller, winning a due process hearing against Fairfax County Public Schools on every issue presented. After spelling was added to Zach’s IEP in middle school, the high school team delayed, obstructed, and failed to implement a trained, trusted communication partner, placing him in self-contained life-skills classes, denying electives and homework acceptance, and contributing to failing grades and school refusal. The family first prevailed in a Virginia Department of Education state complaint for failure to implement the IEP, but the district continued delaying corrective action and compensatory services. An IEE by an approved neuropsychologist using the letterboard documented exceptionally high abilities and supported placement in general education. After ESY registration and training commitments were mishandled, the family hired attorney Grace Kim and filed due process. Zach insisted on a public hearing to help other spellers, testified for hours, and the case became a public record emphasizing that non-speaking is not non-thinking and that communication access is essential. Tips include documenting early references to letterboards without branding demands, using FOIA, and careful written communication.   Topics 00:39 Case Victory Overview 03:28 What Went Wrong 05:45 IEP Language Strategy 07:12 Intimidation Tactics 14:14 State Complaint Win 18:56 Freshman Year Fallout 21:02 Homework Rejected 23:30 Communication Demo Drama 27:39 Sophomore Year Stalling 30:44 ASHA Position Debate 34:45 Education vs Medical Lines 35:49 Deflating Expert Power 36:52 Emotional Rollercoaster 37:28 IEE Reveals Potential 41:09 Testing Trauma Story 44:42 ESY Breakdown Sparks Legal 50:19 Due Process Timeline 51:32 Hearing Conditions Evidence 54:34 Legal Strategy Dysregulation 58:01 Zach Testimony Marathon 01:02:17 Takeaways Worth Fight 01:08:44 Tip of Week Advice 01:13:38 Final Thanks Closing

Mary Brown and the triumphs of her Non-Speaking Son

David interviews Mary Brown, mother and communication partner of non-speaking autistic writer Woody Brown, whose debut novel Upward Bound (Hogarth) gained national attention and was a Read With Jenna pick. Mary recounts Woody’s early diagnosis at age two, low expectations from doctors, and her shift to assuming competence after seeing Soma Mukhopadhyay and Tito, leading to years of letterboard-based learning at home alongside therapies and public school special education. She describes advocacy for a high school diploma, a post-high-school crisis, and Woody’s community college success, where she ultimately served as his in-class support and built strategies for tests, papers, scheduling, and independence. Woody studied abroad at Oxford, transferred to UCLA (starting on Zoom during COVID), and began creative writing under Mona Simpson, developing Upward Bound and winning honors and writing prizes. At Columbia MFA, novelist Paul Beatty connected him with agent Sarah Chalfant (Wylie Agency), resulting in a two-book deal, and Mary addresses skepticism around his communication and a Today Show B-roll controversy, emphasizing apraxia, regulation needs, and routines including daily reading and meditation.   Topics 00:00 Meet Mary and Woody 03:07 Early Diagnosis and Low Expectations 05:17 Soma and the Turning Point 09:05 Learning the Letterboard at Home 10:27 Fighting for Diploma Track 14:19 After Graduation Panic 16:29 Community College Breakthrough 19:42 Disability Office and Testing Battles 28:14 Oxford Moment and Transfer Dreams 31:24 UCLA Zoom and Creative Writing 32:55 Mona Simpson Mentorship 35:49 Columbia Acceptance Call 37:12 Assume Intelligence 39:17 Apraxia Not IQ 40:23 Building Inner Life 41:52 Writer Emerges 43:16 Facing Naysayers 44:32 B-Roll Controversy 48:02 How He Types 53:18 Columbia Book Deal 57:39 College Prep Tips 01:10:04 Routines After School 01:12:11 Closing Thanks

Kelley Colihan Robertson on Journalism, Unreliable Speaking & Text-Based Communication

David welcomes guest Kelley Colihan Robertson, a former CNN journalist and documentary producer turned autism mom and communication rights advocate. Kelly shares her son Vance’s early signs, later autism diagnosis at age five, therapies, and difficult public-school experiences amid family stress after divorce. She describes newsroom life at CNN, how journalism shifted toward doing more with less and more punditry, and how autism coverage often reinforced assumptions about non-speaking people. Kelley recounts discovering text-based communication through Spelling to Communicate in Atlanta and her slow realization of unreliable speaking, anxiety and regulation during early practice, and the non-linear progress of communication. They discuss media skepticism and controversies around Woody Brown and an Amy Lutz New York Times op-ed, emphasizing the need to listen to nonspeakers. Kelly offers tips to slow down and presume competence, and they plan a future part two and possible autism news roundup.   Topics 00:40 Meet Kelley 03:28 Autism Journey Begins 05:10 Late Diagnosis Signs 08:29 School Struggles 10:28 Co Parenting Reality 13:44 Inside CNN Newsroom 18:40 Journalism Then Now 24:25 Autism Media Coverage 27:11 Discovering Letterboards 27:35 Writing the Book 32:50 Text Based Communication 34:01 Spelling vs Communication 35:00 Correcting and Letting Go 35:41 Parent Anxiety and Coaching 37:02 Regulation and Steady Support 38:38 Fluency Takes Time 40:04 Woody Brown Media Controversy 46:12 New York Times Op-Ed Critique 52:04 Centering Nonspeakers Voices 54:12 Schooling and Presuming Competence 57:26 Tip and Fact or Fiction 01:01:42 Wrap Up and Book Plans

Scott Sherwood on Lily’s Voice, Spelling & the Exhaustion of Being Doubted

David welcomes radiologist and author Scott Sherwood to discuss the exhaustion families feel when non-speaking autistic people’s intelligence, competence, and authorship are constantly questioned. Scott shares Lily’s early autism diagnosis, years of intensive therapies (including ABA and speech methods), and how flawed assumptions and motor demands in testing can misrepresent cognition, especially with apraxia/dyspraxia. He describes discovering RPM at age 12, later pursuing spelling-based communication supports, moving to Atlanta for a larger speller community, and using strategies focused on regulation and motor coaching. They critique skepticism around spelling/FC, shifting goalposts such as message-passing tests, underrepresentation of non-speakers in research, and systemic funding gatekeeping tied to ABA and professional organizations. In “Autism Fact or Fiction,” Scott challenges stereotypes about non-speakers lacking nuance, emphasizing their strong grasp of sarcasm and metaphor. Both end on hope: “sheer numbers” of spellers increasingly sharing their voices.   Topics 00:37 Meet Scott and Lily 04:26 Early Diagnosis and Therapies 06:44 ABA Doubts and Data 09:32 Apraxia and Research Gaps 13:33 Ten Years of ABA 16:54 Listening Without Looking 21:16 Discovering RPM Spelling 25:57 Training and Motor Loops 28:13 Moving to Atlanta for Support 29:37 Hand Over Hand vs FC 30:57 Fading Supports to Keyboard 31:17 Spelling Proof Double Standards 32:17 Autism Fact or Fiction 32:59 Non Speakers Get Sarcasm 34:13 Media Bias and Authorship Claims 37:49 ABA Power and Funding Gatekeepers 41:58 Seeing Spelling in Real Life 43:45 Testing Traps and Goalposts 50:24 Dyspraxia and Regulation Partners 52:34 Autistic Brain Wiring Explained 55:11 Hope Through Sheer Numbers 57:07 Final Takeaways and Wrap

Autism News Update: the ‘Profound’ Label &, Communication Rights

David and producer/co-host David Yas recap recent autism-community developments after Autism Acceptance Month, focusing on the new Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) meeting under HHS Secretary RFK Jr., who replaced prior members and appointed fewer autistic members overall, including non-speaking advocates Elizabeth Bonker and Caden Larson. The IACC discussed and passed a recommendation to recognize the term “profound autism” for high-support-needs autistic people, despite objections from Bonker and Larson and concerns that the label could reduce expectations, opportunities, and access to communication supports, especially given apraxia and evolving abilities. They question whether the term mainly redirects federal research funding toward causation rather than services and rights. The episode also highlights the New York State Communication Rights bill fight, featuring non-speaking advocates lobbying to remove amendments, and references a Nature survey showing widespread belief in unproven health claims, connecting misinformation to current political rhetoric around autism.   Topics 01:02 Monthly Recap Setup 02:18 IACC Meeting Explained 04:25 What Is Profound Autism 09:05 Label Risks and Timing 13:29 Apraxia and Support Needs 14:59 Vote and Advocate Pushback 18:27 Services vs Research Motives 20:32 Spectrum Labels and Levels 25:14 MAHA Influence and MAPS 26:55 Why RFK Focuses Here 27:10 Holistic Fix Narrative 28:23 RFK and MAHA Branding 30:14 Services Over Labels 31:03 Communication Rights Fight 34:30 Spelling Advocacy Momentum 39:46 Misinformation Survey Shock 42:26 Cult of Alternative Facts 45:36 RFK Autism Grift 48:45 Neurodiversity and Acceptance 51:15 Wrap Up and Next Steps