Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to Shining Through Inspiring Voices of Autism with show host Jennifer Dantzler. My name is Brennan, and I am on the autism spectrum. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the world of autism.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: If you enjoy what you hear today, don't forget to follow this podcast.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Hey, everyone, this is Jennifer Dantzler, and I'm the executive director and founder of Inspire nd, a nonprofit whose mission is to create truly inclusive communities through education and engagement. The goal of this podcast is to shine a light on real people and their stories in hopes of inspiring others who are on this journey of autism. Either themselves, their child, their loved one, their co worker. I truly believe ignorance is not bliss, and we cannot be inclusive communities if we do not understand the people in the community. With autism now affecting 1 in 31 people, we need to get louder about this topic. We recognize that autism is a spectrum. There are a lot of people with a lot of different needs, a lot of resources available or none available. And we know that in every episode, we can't meet everyone's needs for. For their specific interest.
However, we hope that in each episode you do gleam some kind of insight as to how you can help your child or yourself be a better advocate. And as we go through our podcasts, our goal really is to address the entire spectrum, the various needs, the various environments that we're going to be in. And we hope that there's something in every episode for each one of you. So let's get started.
Hello, everyone. We are here today with a very special guest, my friend Michael Rickley.
I've known him since 2019.
So thanks so much for being here, Michael.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you, Jennifer. It's so great to be here.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: Okay, so as we get started talking about you and all the exciting things you're doing, just give me a brief overview. How old are you and where are you working?
[00:01:49] Speaker B: So I am 24 years old right now, and I am currently working for Disney.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Okay, wonderful. And we're gonna talk more about that in a minute because I know you're very proud of Disney and we're so proud that you're there. How old are you? Were you when you were diagnosed, and what was the diagnosis?
[00:02:05] Speaker B: I was diagnosed as an autistic individual when I was about 5 years old. More specifically, Asperger's syndrome, prior to kind of what it's known now, which is like kind of the broad spectrum of autism spectrum disorder. However, I was initially diagnosed with a speech and language impairment when I was about two and a half or three years old.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Now the way they diagnose autism is level 1, 2, and 3.
And so you would be considered level 1 if you were probably diagnosed now. Right? Okay, yes. What were some of the things that you struggled with when you were a child?
[00:02:41] Speaker B: And I actually talked about this with my mom the other day, and I feel like one of the most common examples we discussed was basically me being such a mute kid all the time. Like, I could read any book out loud to anyone. But aside from that, I mean, I wouldn't say anything really. Another common challenge, which I still struggle with to this day, was dealing with change. And just whenever things got messed up or like plans changed, it's just like I would melt down. One example of that is that I used to arrange cars a lot by color or by size whenever I was a kid, just out of curiosity and fascination. And so when somebody kind of messed up that order or like they tried to play with them when I was in the middle of doing something, I would probably most likely throw a huge tantrum over it.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: How old do you think you were when you really started talking?
[00:03:31] Speaker B: More elementary school. Having to advocate a little bit more for myself.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. What did school look like for you? Were you in a typical public school?
[00:03:41] Speaker B: And I went to a couple different schools within the same school district. So initially I was in a self contained class for kindergarten because that's kind of what we thought was the best avenue. And we were thinking I was going to stay at that school, but it turns out it was only like kind of a one and done kind of deal. And so whenever I went to first grade, I basically was in a completely different elementary school. But that's kind of where I stayed throughout that elementary school, just for the rest of the time there.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: And were you in special needs classes or were you in the typical classrooms?
[00:04:17] Speaker B: I was in the typical classrooms.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: Okay, wonderful. And then what did high school look like for you? Were you still in public school?
[00:04:25] Speaker B: I was still in public school at the time, but I would have to say that for middle school, it was a little bit more challenging just to just before I get to high school. Like, middle school was a different experience for me. And because I had struggled with the English state exams, I was actually in a double English class.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: For sixth grade and seventh grade. Like, this was all before I moved. On top of that, I was also in speech therapy. I did have to get pulled out of class and I was like, so concerned about what I was missing and all that. Eventually I moved to Texas with my family for my eighth grade. Year. One of the reasons being to give me and my brothers a better chance at an education because it just felt more limiting where I was in New York. And so, yeah, in eighth grade, I surprisingly passed my first ever English state exam.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Congratulations. That's awesome.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: It is very awesome.
But that's answering your question about high school.
I would say it was definitely an experience over there. Unfortunately, it wasn't as crazy as, like, my middle school days. I was a part of theater arts. I was a part of the National Honor Society. Funny enough, it was in the middle of my junior year where I decided to graduate a year early because I saw there were other kids doing it, and I didn't know that was an option.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: Wow, Michael, I never knew that. That's awesome.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: I know, right? Like, plus, I also kind of just not feeling as satisfied with where I was in high school. Like, I knew a couple people, but it wasn't, like, where everyone kind of had their own cliques or had their own groups of people or they were hanging out with all the time. I felt like I was more of an outcast, if that makes sense.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So you just wanted to get done and get out of there?
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Basically. Yep.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: Okay. And so what happened after you graduated high school early?
[00:06:16] Speaker B: I went to Lone Star College, Kingwood, to finish out my associate's degree. I received it my associates, in 2019. And then I went to receive my bachelor's degree from the University of Houston in 2022.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: And what was your bachelor's degree in?
[00:06:33] Speaker B: It was Management Information Systems and Marketing. I like to call the former business technology in case management Information systems is too formal for some people.
[00:06:44] Speaker A: Yes. I probably wouldn't know what that was.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: Yeah. But funny enough, I was actually originally going to to school as an accounting major before I realized, yeah, this is a lot more difficult than I thought. I went with accounting because it was like, I thought it was numbers focused. I'm such a math kid. And I thought, oh, this would be easy. Turns out, not so much.
So I switched to Management information Systems.
And then I originally was going to minor in marketing, but after speaking with my counselor to confirm my graduation date and all that, they told me, hey, you're two classes away from receiving a double major. Would you like to just go ahead and double major in marketing? I'm like, all right, why not?
[00:07:26] Speaker A: Okay. Again, I don't think I knew that about you either. That's awesome.
[00:07:30] Speaker B: I know there might be a lot of facts about me.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: That's incredible. Okay, so you started working Part time while finishing your college degree, right?
[00:07:41] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: And that's how I met Michael. He came to work at Including Kids, doing everything under the sun that we asked him.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: No.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: I don't think you knew every single day when you came in what you were going to be asked to do. It was all over the place. Right. We're going to go back and talk about Disney, I guess. What did you think or what do you think now is your ideal job.
[00:08:03] Speaker B: Being a data analyst for Disney? Because one, I love Disney. And then second of all, I've always been fascinated with knowing the reasons why we do things. Like, I always ask questions all the time at my job. I'm like always curious about how we do things.
I feel like being a data analyst, especially because one of my favorite classes was actually a class in college that I did use SQL for kind of like one of those data codes like Java C.
Sorry, I have some of my books still over there.
And so, yeah, because I was so fascinated with SQL, I figured, hey, I think I might be able to do this. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity yet to work with some of the stuff that I'd love to work on, but I'm still working on stuff here and there.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: So what was transitioning to work like for you?
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Really liked keeping up with the inventory and just kind of learning about more how to work on the job, how to perform.
Just kind of understanding that because with In Kids being my first job experience, it was a fascinating role, honestly, being an administrative intern under you, Jennifer.
[00:09:17] Speaker A: Well, and of course that could go wrong there, right?
[00:09:20] Speaker B: I know, right. But like, but I believe I also received feedback of some kind from you guys. Like from one of my first reviews. It's like I kind of improved off of that and I just kind of continued from there.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: It is important to give feedback and to help you grow. You want that feedback. And if there's something you're not doing well, you want to know it and you want to grow. And I think sometimes employers are afraid maybe to hurt people's feelings or not make them feel bad, but just like they would any employee. You've gotta get feedback to grow, right?
[00:09:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: You transitioned from including kids to Disney as your next job?
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that was basically it.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Summarize what you do at Disney. What's your title?
[00:10:03] Speaker B: So I'm currently a costuming host.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: On your LinkedIn profile, you talk about the part of your job at Disney which is ensuring the 5k keys are implemented. Can you tell us about the 5 keys and how you successfully accomplish that.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: Safety, which is I think very self explanatory. Like how do we keep people safe? How do we keep people from getting hurt from the job? Essentially courtesy. It's about being kind to others and providing as much support and direction as we can. Like being as courteous as possible. Then we have inclusion, which is the newest key, I believe that was introduced in 2021, just before I joined. How are we including others? Essentially love it.
One of those things is like, I'm very surprised to see how many other autistic individuals are also working for Disney, especially where I work. Essentially, it's like, it's very fascinating to see that and just seeing like the different stories that we all have, that.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Means Disney's doing something right to support you all because you want to work there.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: Yes, essentially. And so then we have show, which is basically how I like to say, show.
Every Disney role is similar to kind of a theatrical production, if that makes sense. Everyone has a different role in that production to keep the show running and just kind of keep it flowing.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: You know, it doesn't matter whether you're in front of the camera, on the stage or behind the screen. You're all in chill.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Yes, everyone has a role. Lastly, for efficiency, again, I think this is another self explanatory one. It's like keeping efficiency, making sure that we're performing as efficiently and as important.
[00:11:54] Speaker A: Next question, though. We're going to shift a little bit. You've also listed your passions, as you've said, to be data analytics, SQL and learning new programs such as Tableau.
You've also earned quite a few certificates in Excel and Canva and Adobe. Right. What do you enjoy about technology and learning about these new platforms?
[00:12:15] Speaker B: I'm expanding my horizons a bit and it's kind of learning more about why those programs play a key role in our job.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Okay. What makes the world go round, what makes it tick, so to speak.
[00:12:28] Speaker B: Pretty much. And then I'm partially inspired to learn by these programs such as Adobe and Excel, because they're very common in the workplace. Like, and it's not just Disney, it's just anywhere I would say they kind of use programs like Adobe and Excel. I just think it's very fascinating to see that even though there's all these different companies, it's like we use a lot of the same programs, if that makes sense.
[00:12:52] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And it sounds like you want to be sure you're well rounded so you're not just doing what's on the job description, but that you're understanding the why and how the other parts are so that you can all work together?
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Yeah, pretty much.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: Okay, great. Can you tell me a little bit about the Disney College program journey? Like, you first left, including kids, and you went down to Disney and you were in the. Your first. Was it like an internship role? I don't know what the exact title was. So tell me a little bit about why you went there and, like, what that looked like.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: I first found out about the Disney College program. I think it was either 2018 or 2019, and I learned about it from a Lone Star college advisor who did the college program. And I was just kind of curious about it overall. And then even though I was focused on finishing my degree and getting all that done, I had thought about doing a college program at some point. I mean, Covid happened. So, like. Right.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: That happened in the middle of there. Yes, yes.
[00:13:52] Speaker B: So, like, I was in the middle school for all that. Eventually, in January 2022, I did apply for my Disney College program, and then I got accepted a few weeks later. And saying, yeah, you. We have an offer for you.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: So exciting. I know other people where it took several applications to get accepted. And so you got accepted on your first attempt.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: So congratulations to you on that one.
[00:14:18] Speaker B: Yes, thank you. And, yeah, my process was a little bit different from maybe how the process is now. May also, because it was probably because we were slowly starting to get back, like, from Pandemic, because I know that every college program person's program ended because of Pandemic originally.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: I didn't know that. Okay.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
So it was just kind of. Because Disney, like the rest of the world, unfortunately, had to just temporarily halt for a minute there.
[00:14:49] Speaker A: Yep. So they had to adjust some of that. Okay. Yeah, I didn't realize that. Okay.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: Okay, so now onto the really, really, really important information on this podcast.
I need to know who your favorite Disney character is.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: I have to say Sorcerer Mickey is the first one that comes to mind. You know, Phantasmic and Fantasia singing the show at first.
And so, yeah, I just love kind of the Sorcerer's vibe with it. It's kind of learning the magic, being a part of the magic and just overall being a part of it, you know?
[00:15:24] Speaker A: And who's your second?
[00:15:25] Speaker B: It's Duffy, the Disney bear. I think I have, like, two teddy bears since I was, like, a baby. He's only been around just a few years after I was born. Yeah, it's just very special. I also had another teddy bear at the time, a different one that I hold very special to My heart. But, yeah, as I've grown older, I have, like, kind of this fond appreciation for Duffy and, like, he's got a whole bunch of friends as well.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: Okay, well, I honestly don't know a lot about Duffy, so I'm gonna have to go now, watch some Disney tonight and get all educated about it. Okay. Has your favorite character changed after working there, or has it always been these two?
[00:16:09] Speaker B: I wouldn't say change, per se, because I don't exactly remember if I had a favorite Disney character prior.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Another important question, Michael. If I was planning a Disney vacation, what's the one theme park you think I should definitely visit?
[00:16:26] Speaker B: I think it really depends on what you're looking for on your trip. Like, are you, for example, are you, like, more of a thrill seeker, or are you, like, more kind of someone who likes to kind of be chill with it? Like you're not?
[00:16:41] Speaker A: Good question.
I think I'm a thrill seeker.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: Okay, so we'll go with that then.
I have to say that Hollywood Studios would be the way to go then, because, yeah, there are a lot of great thrill rides over there.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Okay. But I'm also about the show, Magic Kingdom. Like, talk about the show. I mean, you got it. The fireworks, right? At Magic Kingdom.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to say, like, because if you weren't a thrill seeker, I'd definitely say Magic Kingdom. It's such a nostalgic place.
[00:17:07] Speaker A: You know, of all the parks you've been to and all the things you've done, what's your one favorite attraction or ride?
[00:17:14] Speaker B: Yep. I'm gonna have to go with Rock and Roller Coaster.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: Which park that at Hollywood Studios.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: Okay, well, just so you know, it's currently Aerosmith themed right now, but it will be Muppet themed hopefully by next year.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: Holy cow. I love it. I love it, I love it. Priscilla's over here listening too, and she's very excited, I think. Oh, yeah, no, we can't plan an inspired, you know, Christmas trip down to Disney. Sorry, Priscilla.
[00:17:40] Speaker B: Maybe one day.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: That's right. That's right. Okay. And then the last thing, which goes a little bit back to the theme of the podcast. If you had one piece of advice to give parents of a newly diagnosed child with autism, what would it be?
[00:17:54] Speaker B: I would have to say listen is probably the first piece of advice, like, listen to them and be open minded. Second off to please be patient and support them. Autism is different for everyone in a sense. Like, some may have more needs than others, but, like, we all deserve kind of the same opportunities and privileges as anyone else. Would. I would say it may be a different experience from a neurotypical child, like, versus an autistic or even a neurodivergent child. But it's like how you work with them is going to make a huge difference. If it weren't for my mom, who also was very early on in supporting me, I don't know if I would be where I am today. And the fact she still supports my personal and professional aspirations is so huge. And I'm so grateful for her, honestly.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Oh, Michael, that is so great. And shout out to your mom because. Yes. I mean, I don't know her, but I know. Yes, she's. She's helped create you as an incredible kid and you are doing incredible things for the world of autism and for the world of Disney. Michael, we appreciate you being on this. I know this is kind of awkward. You know, you're down at Disney, I'm here, we're on a computer. But I want to say you've done an incredible job. I really appreciate you sharing your insight. I know our listeners will always reach out to me and say, I just love hearing from people with autism themselves. Because like you said, moms can say it, professionals can say it, right? But it's, you're the one who knows how you feel. You're the one who knows what you need in life.
So we wish you nothing but the best. And if we do come down to Disney, we'll certainly look you up. And we thank you so much for being here.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you again, Jennifer, for having me. I definitely miss you. I miss the entire team. You guys are such a phenomenal team and I really appreciate you guys inviting me to be on your podcast today.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: Well, thank you, Michael. If you need help or resources, whether you're parent, someone on the spectrum, a business or a community organization who want to know more or need help or want to share resources, please reach out to us at info.
Thanks for joining us on Shining through.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: Inspiring voices of Autism.
[00:20:14] Speaker A: If you enjoyed this episode, please be.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: Sure to follow us, leave a review.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: And share it with others who want to celebrate neurodiversity.
Until next time, keep shining.
