%20(Podcast).jpg)
THE SJ CHILDS SHOW
Looking for an inspiring podcast on education and parenting? Check out "The SJ Childs Show," ranked in the top 10% of podcasts globally. It covers diverse topics, including neurodiversity and inclusion, featuring interviews with experts and thought-provoking discussions. This show aims to challenge your beliefs and enhance your skills as a parent, educator, and global citizen. Tune in for unique insights and perspectives!
Go here to download training materials!
https://sjchilds.myshopify.com/
THE SJ CHILDS SHOW
Episode 265-From Diagnosis to Advocacy: Kadin McElwain's Inspiring Journey as an Autistic Trailblazer
Meet Kadin McElwain, a trailblazing autistic college student, whose story of transformation from diagnosis to advocacy is nothing short of extraordinary. As we chat with Kadin, he uncovers the realities of overcoming educational barriers, defying the odds, and how his struggles fueled his drive to become a vocal advocate for both the autism and LGBTQ communities. His narrative is a powerful testament to the resilience and potential that lies within each of us to make a meaningful impact on the world around us.
This episode is a journey through Kadin's multifaceted life, as we traverse from his early graduation triumphs to his aspirations of music PR and political leadership. The conversation touches upon the complexities of adapting to the ever-evolving digital age, with Kadin sharing his candid thoughts on AI and its societal implications. We also delve into his personal passions and the profound influence of music and advocacy work in his life. It's a heartfelt call to action, inviting listeners to join in the movement of empowering and uplifting the autism community—one where Kadin McElwain stands as a beacon of inspiration.
https://www.thesportscol.com/author/kadin-mcelwain/
https://theeverydayfan.com/author/kadin-mcelwain/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100083352067155&name=xhp_nt__fb__action__open_user
https://www.instagram.com/73postshere/
Welcome to the SJ Child Show, where a little bit of knowledge can turn fear into understanding. Enjoy the show. Music Hi. Thanks for joining the S3 Child Show today. I'm really looking forward to this conversation with Caden McElwain is that how you pronounce it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's exactly how you pronounce Love it, although I've had it pronounced many different ways.
Speaker 1:McLean McWain, I've had the whole spiel. Yeah well, I'm very phonetic, so I really hope that it sounds exactly like it looks when I look at it. So there you go. I was good to go on that one. It's so nice to meet you, caden. Where are you calling or where are you today in the world?
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me, sarah. I'm calling from Ohio Kent State University. Actually, I'm in the lounge area.
Speaker 1:Wonderful, it's so nice to have you. I'm in Salt Lake City, utah, so we're a few states apart, but definitely it's so nice to have you. I love to be able to do this and, you know, we wouldn't probably have ever met otherwise, unless these wonderful platforms available to us to make these connections. Tell us a little bit like an introduction to yourself, and then we'll get started on this conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I'm Caden McElwain. I'm an autistic college student, writer and activist, and I'm pretty much on a mission to go on various platforms and spread autism awareness throughout this country, because I personally feel like Congress doesn't pay enough attention to people with disabilities or autism. During my life I was told by various people I wouldn't amount to anything because I had autism, but I was able to prove those people wrong and look at where I'm at now.
Speaker 1:Wow, I love that and that's exactly why you're here on the show, Because that's exactly the people I love to showcase and highlight are the people that said they said that I like to call them the fortune tellers, the future tellers give these this advice to parents that their child will never succeed and never be anything. And this humbosh of whatever it's not, that was a made-up word, because it's a made-up event right like humans have abilities past a doctor's ability to see into the future for that person so I think that it's amazing that you're here and tell us about, kind of your journey and what that looked like. Um, what age were you diagnosed?
Speaker 2:I was diagnosed when I was two years old, coincidentally after getting the smallpox vaccination. Of course it wasn't caused by the vaccination, that was inherited. But I just find it funny that it was right after I got that vaccination. It's a conspiracy out there. In elementary school I started out doing special education school Well, if you know what I'm talking about like full of therapy, group work, individual class, that kind of thing. And then my dad decided to go ahead and mainstream me when I was six years old because he knew I was terrible at math there. My teachers there were 100% supportive of me in elementary school.
Speaker 2:Well, but middle school my services were completely cut off without my parents' consent my EP services, which I doubt they can do without parental consent. And when my parents asked my middle school why they did that, they said they couldn't tell I had autism Some because I was doing so well academically and that they should just put me in a robotics camp. And my parents weren't going to tolerate that. So they wrote to various autism organizations in Tennessee, which is where middle school was, and they wrote to a state senator. I mean, looking back at it, they probably should have sued the school for that or filed an Americans Disabilities Act violation claim. But that's never here, never there, as I say, and that lawsuit would have probably taken months and months of drama and court fees and lawyer fees and X, y and Z thing, and my parents didn't want to go through that. So eventually they handled it civilly and high school my services were back, but it was mainly just me having to go to a special education class for credit to help learn to make friends. But high school was a nightmare of bullying and teasing, as I'm sure it is for anyone, regardless of disability. But to be fair, I was sticking my nose in people's business back then, telling on people doing X, y and Z thing, so I kind of put myself in those situations and I didn't know exactly what bullying was.
Speaker 2:But then COVID happened and I had to go online, of course, and I found I could concentrate better online than in a traditional school setting. So senior year rolled around and I was back in in-person school for a little bit. But after I got exposed with COVID and they weren't willing to give me makeup work to do at home, so I didn't miss anything. And after an incident involving an LGBTQ student where a school just sat by and watched them get bullied and didn't do their job. I asked my parents to go fully online because, in addition to my advocacy work for autism awareness, I'm an advocate for LGBTQ issues. I'm bisexual myself and I know those with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ. I was able to graduate early from online high school after that coincidentally in Valentine's Day of 2022, so that was a nice gift.
Speaker 2:And then college rolled around.
Speaker 2:I went to Lake Erie College for my freshman year I'm a sophomore now and that's where my advocacy journey began and the assignment was for a class project.
Speaker 2:We had to come up with a way to help the community and act upon it.
Speaker 2:So my group and I planned a GoFundMe page for Autism Society of America and we actually raised over $1,000 for that. And what I found from my group was they only did the project to get the grade and to get the prize that we got for winning first place in competition, and I found that absurd and, quite frankly, offensive, because the problem in this generation is we talk and whine and complain and moan and groan about things, but we aren't willing to help those people, because it involves work and not being on TikTok all the time and not laying around doing nothing, and so I figured I could be a voice for that generation, be the one who takes action. So from that school project, the advocacy work grew into me giving speech, just going on shows like this, planning out fundraising and next verse at the time of this recording, I'm actually going to be getting a proclamation from Portis County, which is a part of Ken for Autism Awareness Month, and they invited me to speak there.
Speaker 1:Caden, that's fantastic. It sounds like you've really really put your passion into your daily life and took that dedication you have to autism advocacy, advocacy and you're really out there making a difference. And that is the most important part of your journey is how you're making such a difference and you're coming from a place of living experience saying I was here, I know what this is like, I know what these kids need. I was here, I know what this is like, I know what these kids need, I know what these young adults need, because you know exactly what you could have needed better yourself and know what supports you did get. That helped you.
Speaker 1:And I think that it's so important to share those things on these types of places so that we can really broaden the understanding on a global level, hopefully, of how important it is to be respectful of each person's journey and, like you said, how to create that space of learning, but not doing it just for a grade or just for a prize, but really taking it into consideration that these are your human counterparts in all areas. And when you go into the workplace, when you are at the shopping center, when you you do you have to be around other humans and if you don't try to even understand or learn how to respect life, then you're really short ending yourself, you know yeah, absolutely, and I nicknamed the logic that my generation has as doing tasks for brownie points and a piece of paper, which I find even more absurd.
Speaker 2:And I agree with you we're all humans, so we should learn to interact with each other with kindness, no matter the disability, race or sexuality. And, quite frankly, I feel like everything starts at home. Parents are responsible for teaching certain values to their kids and those kids will carry on those values into the real world. Rue they're going to be kind if they teach them to be negative and nasty and to say all these slurs like the R and the N and all that no-transcript.
Speaker 1:Hmm, absolutely, you know, and it is. I am a parent so I see firsthand how some of the things I mean I've taught my kids great values, but they still do have YouTube and TikTok and these other places they're learning to speak in other ways that I haven't taught them and I have to remind them. That's not really a useful way to use your communication. I think it's important that we put those guidelines in place because when they see other people doing it on these social media platforms, they think that it's real life and that that's really how people are talking to each other, acting with one another. But for the most part it's an act and it's like it's not real. I mean people, of course, are on there, speaking on with them, you know, by themselves and things. But for the things that are not real, it's really hard for our kids, our young kids, these days to see what those differences are in real and fake.
Speaker 2:I agree, and it's going to get even harder with AI and digital deep fakes and all that.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, You're right about that. That is a really good point too. How do you feel like AI is going to impact your future and what? What are you studying to do there at the university, by the way?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm studying to be a PR major, but I am a high critic of AI. For a class project, he asked an essay. To be exact, I interviewed Noam Chomsky, who's a really huge professor and activist, and he put it simply AI is modern-day plagiarism and more advanced plagiarism, and I agree. I think in the next five years we aren't going to have platforms like this anymore. Everything's going to be run with computers and laziness. We're already seeing it with QR code, where people can just scan and they can do whatever they like. I find those even more absurd than AI. Quite frankly, whenever I see a QR code, I ask do you have a paper officer, sir or ma'am, or they or them? I really despise QR codes. I think they make this generation lazy. Yeah, I truly do. Occasionally I'm met with one dirty look, but I don't care, care, hub, care. Human stuff is better, better, but unfortunately I gotta get with times.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry we do you're, and you're right about that. It's like we we have to. It's a double-edged sword, because we have to use what the newer generation is doing to be able to stay in connection with them and to be able to guide them in, even in the places they know more about than we do. Um, we still have to to try to understand those things, and that takes some patience and some um open-mindedness to not shut everything down that you don't believe in right away. And I think that, on the other hand, it's like it can be so harmful and so uncontrolled and so predatory. There's just so much out there you can't protect them from as well. That's it's really tricky. What was it like for you and how now? Like, how is it in college? Have you made more friends? Is it, has it become more natural for you to you know, to have that space for yourself?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, it truly has. There are a few things I don't get about college, but overall I'm loving it. I'm making lots of friends. I have a couple of friends. I'm thriving academically I actually have straight A's right now and this past semester, even though I got an F in math, I still got my third consecutive dean's list.
Speaker 1:Wow, congratulations, keith.
Speaker 2:Thanks, thanks. The key is to balance everything and put in the work. That's what my dad always says In school to learn not to fool around and go for graphs and do X, y and Z thing. And in four years, technically two, yeah two I'm a sophomore right now. In two years I'm going to have a big bill coming full of student loan debt that I'm going to have to pay back. So if I arrive in my studies now, I won't have to worry about that as much month.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely. I'm excited for you in your you know college career, if you will, and going forward to experience all those experiences. What are your plans right now? What are you doing? You said you're doing something on Thursday. What else, what other kind of events or things do you have?
Speaker 2:coming up in the future? That's a good question. As I said, on Thursday at the time of this recording, I'm going to be getting a proclamation for Autism Awareness Month from Portage County, which is what Kent is a part of, and currently from my own county, which is Lake County, also in Ohio. I got an Autism Awareness Month Basket Raffle plan for this amazing organization called Lake County Special Needs Birthday Club which throws Make-A-Wish-style birthday parties for those who are on spectrum or have Down syndrome, adhd all those they do from ages six months to 100 years old. And in June I'm planning a voting event to help encourage my generation to go out and vote in the election. There's going to be a bunch of different speakers there, which reminds me I got to plan out when to record the virtual speech for another one of my speakers. I got an email from them and then in the near future I'm planning on going into music PR.
Speaker 2:I've always been passionate about music as a career. I'm actually working as an assistant for a musician right now, stephen Marks Marks. He has a Beatles album called Beatles Haunting Melody. He's out on all platforms and I definitely want to continue that because he will work absolutely and eventually. I want to see it for the presidency Once. I'm 50 years old and I've had my fun and I have a lot of money, without a care in the world, I definitely wouldn't throw my hat in the ring for that election. I think this country needs the first autistic president in American history.
Speaker 1:Okay, then, that is the most beautiful goal and thing I've heard in so long, and I'm really, really proud of you. I believe in you, and I think that you can really set your mind to it and make some changes in the world. Your passion is just so visual, and I can see just how passionate you are in all of it, and so that's so exciting to hear that that's exactly what we need. We need people who see the world differently than they have in the last 300 years and make real changes. Yeah right, we need to reboot a whole bunch of things. Let's talk about your personal interests. Tell us about some interests that you might have, like music, or talk to us about that interests that you might have like music or talk to us about that a little bit more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I'm interested in music, pretty much any genre. Technology Initially I was a computer major, actually because my dad works as an IT person the IT head of the bat department for IBM so I come from a family of IT professionals. But technology and IT wasn't something I was passionate about, hence why I switched to PR. I'm interested in writing I've been writing since I was 11 years old and I have some articles published which I'll send you once we're done, recording or I'll put in the chat once we're done and politics and celebrity culture.
Speaker 1:That's really interesting. I love that for you and those are some really great hobbies and diverse interests to be able to go and to do different things. I love music as well, and so do my kids, who are both autistic, so I see the connection of how music can just like. It's so universal and it can be enjoyed, you know, by so many, by so many people. What type of work do you think we need to be doing as a society to be better autism advocates?
Speaker 2:Man pretty much everything.
Speaker 2:We need a complete reboot.
Speaker 2:Like I said, the schools need to do their jobs and not cut off someone with autism services without parental consent and not do the bare minimum to meet federal requirements for complying with the Title IX Act, which prevents discrimination against those who are LGBTQ, disability and race.
Speaker 2:I think for people, they need to realize that we're all equal and we all have the same goal and we need to come together and treat each other with respect. For governments, they need to introduce several bills for political positivism, mainly in special education funding, and for making it illegal 10 times more illegal than it is now to rob, assault or murder someone who fought it or take advantage of it. One proposal I have for a sentence would be 25 to life, 10 times more than what you would get if someone were to assault a quote-unquote normal person, because those with autism don't know what's going on. They don't know what X, y and Z thing is and I feel like people use that against them. So I think 25 to life for those who commit crimes against those with autism actually would be a good, fitting sentence.
Speaker 1:Absolutely dressed, and I'm thankful for you, for being someone who is stepping into those footsteps to to take on those battles, and it's really, it's really great. Do you personally have any mentors that you look up to?
Speaker 2:mainly my parents, my parents. They've been in my corner since day one of my life and they are always there. If I need advice, even now, they're there for me. And another mentor I have who's helped me out with the fundraiser is my treasurer, michael Zorin, and he's always promoting them and reaching out to people to help me make these fundraisers work. And for those who aren't my mentor, my influences are people like Temple Grandin, mlk, malcolm X, nietzsche, who was actually on the spectrum, believe it or not, frederick Nietzsche, isaac Newton, who was also on the spectrum, einstein, who was also on the spectrum. Einstein, who was also on the spectrum. Honestly, I could go on and on about mentors and influences.
Speaker 1:I love that. I agree, those are amazing people who have all brought their own piece of uniqueness and genius to the world in their own way. So I think that that's fantastic. And you do join the ranks of those amazing people and all the work you're doing and everything, especially in your own community, where they're obviously showing you that they're so grateful for you and your work that you're doing by getting a proclamation for your county that's just so fantastic and goes to show all the hard work you're putting in from your own passion and experience. And thank you to your parents, who sound like amazing people. But yeah, I think that that's fantastic. Do you have siblings?
Speaker 2:but yeah, I think that that's fantastic. Do you have siblings? Yeah, I have one older sibling and four younger.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, you mentioned that right Four, four youngers. How is that? How's your?
Speaker 2:relationship with your siblings. Well, with older sister it's a bit complicated Then I can't go into that just because but I'm super protective of my younger siblings and we're super close.
Speaker 1:That's great. I grew up as an only child, so for me it's such a different experience, but I have two children that they have each other. I don't know what that's like, but, yeah, it's, that's amazing. Oh, canada, it's been so nice to get to know you. Um, do you have a website or anywhere we could uh follow you? Or social medias you want people to follow you on?
Speaker 2:absolutely. You can follow me on facebook k-a-d-i-n. Ronald, and you can follow me on Facebook K-A-D-I-N. Ronald.
Speaker 1:And you can follow me on Instagram at 73posts here have an easy time going to support you and especially those in Ohio who can make it to any of these events and go support Caden on this journey. That would be highly recommended from the SJ Childhood Show. So please go and do that as soon as you can. Thank you so much, caden. Any last advice you want to give anyone? Everyone out there?
Speaker 2:Keep kicking butt.
Speaker 1:I love it, Just like you follow your footsteps. If you want to know what to do next, look what Caden's doing. Try to do that. I love it. So nice to get to know you and to meet you. Thank you for your time and doing it at your school. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me, Sarah.
Speaker 1:It was really great and I really hope we can stay in touch.
Speaker 2:Same.
Speaker 1:I'd like that. I'll talk to you soon.
