Episode 23: Bringing Awareness to Autism w/ Jennifer Oglesby

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following is a paid commercial by Black Girls Sunscreen.
The views expressed our those of the sponsor and not
iHeartMedia or this station. Welcome to Shamelessly Chante with your
host Chante Lundy on Real ninety two to three.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning. You're listening to Shanelessie Chante and I'm your host,
Shantay Lundy. Happy Sunday, Francis, welcome back. Thank you, You're welcome.
I love it. I love it. Energy, all the energy smiles.
It's a okay, okay. So yeah, over the weekend I

(00:45):
did a treacherous hike all by myself and this was
the worst hike ever. Let me tell you why. Let's
hear it. Okay. So I had to crossover streams, make
decisions like do I wear shoes or no shoes. I

(01:05):
had to find a sturdy stick and that posed as
like my third leg to give me stability. I had
to wear a lot of sunscreen, a lot of bug spray,
climb under trees, have leaves and branches on my arms,
legs and face, and mud feet submerged in mud. So

(01:30):
it was a two hour hike to the waterfall, and folks,
I love chasing waterfalls and this is why I did
this hike. So it's called Mana Falls and tourists stay
on the path, but I always go off the beaten
path to find these waterfalls. So you have to go

(01:51):
deep into the rainforest, I mean deep two hours one way,
two hours one way, and if you get lost, you
are long. Someone will not find you into your family
tells you, tells them that we have a person missing.
Oh no, you scream, You're not gonna be heard. If
you fall down the cliff, you you may die. I'm

(02:12):
too scary, you are Huh, I'm too scary. Okay. And
so then two hours back. So that's a four four hour,
four hour hike to see a waterfall. So how long
do you stay at the waterfall? As long as you want?
But this water fall did not have any any like
a pool of water, which was just rocks. Okay, so

(02:33):
there was no swimming, gotcha. Yeah, But I was able
to get some jugga in and really taking all the nature.
Luckily I didn't see any wild animals. But in that space,
in that territory, it's only wilds okay, wars and birdots.
But by yourself much? Yeah? Why not? So So are
you comfortable taking a solo vocation. I have not done

(02:54):
it yet. I want to. Like I said, I'm scary,
but I do want to. Okay, more and are feeling
liberated when they do take vacations alone. The stigma of
traveling by yourself is is disappearing Francis, Yeah, it is. Okay,
So what would be your first destination Somewhere where I
can relax because I'm not doing that adventure stuff like you.

(03:17):
So i might hop over to Hawaii or go to
the islands, Jamaica, Barbados, that's where my peoples are something
like that. Okay, yeah, maybe you just go domestic, yeah right,
just to kind of like get your feet wet and
understand what it is. But you travel on the plane

(03:37):
by yourself, exactly right. You stay in a hotel by yourself.
So the only difference is is crossing the waters.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
Yea.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
My first solo trip was to South Africa. I went
real far and I felt far. Yeah, yes, I felt far.
I was the trip though it was cool, it was
it was cool. I was a little nervous. I put
suitcases against the hotel door. Okay, oh for sure, not
mad at that at all. So then I started going
to Hawaii very frequently alone. Maui was my is my

(04:07):
favorite destination. This time I did Honolulu, okay, and I
don't know. I encourage anyone that can do a trip
by themselves to explore it at least right tell you
folks where you're going and drop your pen and if
you feel like you're not going to have any service,
tell someone. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I'm definitely gonna do it

(04:28):
sooner rather than later for sure. Okay, I'm supporting you.
Thank you. Okay. Listening to shamelessly chante.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
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in twenty sixteen. Shout out to the owner, Shanta Lundy.
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(04:56):
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Speaker 2 (05:29):
Can I call your friend? No? She said no, She
said no with the hard face. No.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
No.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Okay. Well, Francis Ford, who do we have today? Okay?
Who we have today? Friends? Our guest today. Is the
proud founder of Community Service of America Developmental Program LLC.
She has an impressive legacy spanning more than twenty years

(05:58):
of leadership positions servicing individuals with intellectual disabilities. She is
a proud owner of two adult residential facilities and one
specialized facilities servicing individuals that suffer with substance abuse. Holding
a Master of Arts and Education from Loyola maryor Mount
University and a Bachelor of Arts and Behavior of Science

(06:19):
from Mount Saint Mary's University, she furthered her education to
become a Board certified behavior analyst. Her knowledge and expertise
allow her to develop programs and address the needs of
adults and children that are diagnosed with various disabilities, including autism.
Please welcome the incredible Jennifer Oglesby to the show. Hi Jennifer, Hi,

(06:41):
how are you feeling good? How about you? I'm doing good. Okay.
So the last time I saw you was twenty twenty
or something like that, right, yeah, it was a long
time ago. It was a minute. We were at an event.
Uh huh. I'm trying to remember which one. It a
woman's event. It was a woman's event. But you know what,

(07:02):
how how I even remember that we met? And forgive me? Okay,
I was going through your Instagram yesterday and I knew
that we followed one another on social but I couldn't
really remember how we started following. So I scrolled down
on your feet and I was like, oh, I'm met
this woman already, that me And back then I was

(07:27):
wearing my hair straight with a gray streak. I remember that. Yeah, yeah,
so it was like, right, I feel like it was
right before the pandemic, right right before the pandemic. Okay,
So you've been up to a lot since then, A lot,
a lot, a lot, yes, Okay, over over the years. Though,

(07:47):
your son, your sweet son made me a T shirt
and sent me a card. I thought it was so beautiful.
Did you bring him today? I did not. I should
should have would be right. Yeah, And I was so
touched by this T shirt because you know, he signed it,
and he sent me a picture of himself and his

(08:08):
name is starts with a B. No, I know that.
I know it was Bryce, but you have some other
kids too, and I was wondering their names start with
the bee. They do as well, So it is a scene. Yes,
all boys. And then we adopted our daughter, Chloe, so
I threw it off a little. Okay, So how many
kids you have? Five?

Speaker 1 (08:28):
Five?

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Congratulations? I want a big family. Do you come from
a big family? Family of three? I'm not. I'm the baby,
but I wanted a girl so bad that we kept trying,
and then we tried boys, and then we tried again,
and after four we were like, okay, I'm done, like I'll
DiPT okay, and that's what we did. How old is she?

(08:50):
She's seven? Yes, okay, Chloe probably terrorizing the house owns.
These owns. The house absolutely runs. So so you are
true Angelina right, living in the Inland Empire? Do you
call it the I E? I? Do you do? Yes?
I just learned about the I E like for example,

(09:11):
for example, like for example, okay, so so you call
it the I E. I do. Okay, are there other
like areas in Los Angeles that you have a nickname for?
So if you're from like Palmdale or what is that
place called by Palm Palm sil Me?

Speaker 1 (09:33):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yes, Santa Carita or Tadworth, is that called an area
besides the Valley? I just call it the valley? Okay.
I was born and raised in la so it's a
little different. I just say l A. Oh wait, so
you were born in l A, not the I E
for example? Right, okay, example? So so what was that like?
You know what? Bright being born and raised in l A.

(09:55):
It was great being the youngest girl. It was a
little tough growing up, you know, having two older brothers.
And I was born and raised in South Central so
my parents are always like, you have to stay here,
you have to you know, be close to home. So
they wanted me to do all these different things. And
I had to go to an all girl high school
in an all girl college. Right. But in high school,

(10:17):
one of the things I remember about my childhood that
I loved so much. We had to do volunteer hours
and there was a school up the street from us.
I didn't have a car to drive and I went
there and it was a school for adults with disabilities,
and so I had to volunteer. And once I volunteered
there as a freshman, I was sold. You know. They
they loved me, and I loved them just as much.

(10:38):
And so I just kept volunteering and my passion just
kind of grew in this area growing up. And I
remember my dad I wanted to I kind of find
out found out about the adult residential facility life. And
I couldn't afford to open one at that time because
I was only eighteen and you know, twenty twenty one.

(10:59):
But one thing that he did to kind of sow
that seed into me, he would take me. I remember
it was on three hundred East Spring Street in Los Angeles,
and he would take me to all the orientations. I
had to pay I think seventy five dollars, but I
got the knowledge and he would take me. And it
just kept going and going and growing, and you know,
years later I opened up facilities gratulations again. Congratulations, So

(11:23):
I can guess we can guess that that kind of
drove your passion. It did, yes, starting off in high
school volunteering, it opened everything up for me and just
sort of drew the passion in that lane. So that
way I was able to figure out what can I
do to change what I was seeing? And then I
started meeting people along the way and I said, I

(11:46):
wanted to make a difference and do more. Okay. So,
uh so your son Bryce, Yeah, he has autism, he
does okay. So personal experience with him was that part
of the catalyst for your work? Also? One thousand percent.

(12:07):
I always say Bryce's the CEO of my company because
everything that I had to go through with him, that
drove me in a different direction all the way down
to now becoming a BCBA. And it was a few
years back because you know, through after his disability, you
kind of go through different motions. And so when he
was diagnosed, he was diagnosed with Aspergers, and with Aspergers

(12:30):
through regional center at that time, you didn't get services.
So it was one of those things of like here
you go go off, go find something. And I left
and I was like bawling, you know, I'm crying, and
I'm like, well what do I do? And I explored
all these different options and different things, and I was
driving to Orange County, you know, paying all sorts of

(12:53):
money for different things. And from there I was like, Okay,
this is not really helping. I have to step up
and do something different. And so that's when I started
kind of diving in trying to figure out what can
I do to actually help my child and what can
I do to actually make a difference for his growth,
you know, in order to become a successful adolpe. So
what were the signs to get him tested and to

(13:17):
go through the depths. Yeah, he would parallel play. So
that was one of the things that I know, so
instead of us like we have barbiees, I have a Barbie,
you have a Barbie and we're playing, you know, he
would just sit next to the kid and another kid
was here and he was just kind of focused in
his own world. So back then I would say, oh,
Bryce is just in Bryce's world. You know. That was

(13:37):
like my thing for it. And so I noticed little
things and he wasn't making friends the same way. He
just struggled, you know, communicating and doing different things. And
so those were all red flags and so that's what
made me get up, go to the doctor, go to
regional center and get him diagnosed. And what age was this?
It was late so it was he was six years old,

(13:59):
so back then I didn't even know that there was
a thing, you know, what is autism or I didn't
know that at the time, and so it was like
I went back to school to learn about his you know,
disability and just to help him and what can I
do as a mom, what services are out here, and
so that just kind of just like I don't know,
going into like a foreign classroom for the first time.

(14:21):
That's how I felt. Well, I can't imagine, but what
I am hearing is a lot more conversation around being
on the spectrum as adults, right, you know, what are
your thoughts about that? So being on the spectrum as
an adult, if kids have as a child, I guess
if they have like the proper I don't want to

(14:44):
say care, but if they can get the proper services,
and if just informing the families and informing the parents
about different options that are out there, that all helps
them to grow into becoming like the successful adults. So
for example, with Bryce, we had him in services after
you know, well, there was a period of no services

(15:05):
and then I found services and from there we started
working on all the things that he struggled with. For example,
he didn't want to wear different shoes. He wanted to
wear the same ones. He didn't want to go anywhere
different after school. He just wanted to go from school
to home. So every day, before I even knew about
Aba and all of this, I would get him in

(15:25):
the car after school and I would say, Okay, today
we're driving to Sprouts. So we're going here, We're going there.
So he's having a tantrum in the back. I'm in
the front like, okay, coffee drive, you know, and I'm
driving him different places. But it all helped. And so
now because of all that, I guess work that I
put into it then and the services, now Bryce is able.
He's like, I want my room painted blue, I want

(15:46):
to make T shirts. I want to do this, I
want to do that. And now he's you know, fully
into his own world and what he wants. Oh my goodness,
that is exciting, exciting. It sounds like he is developing
right and functioning big time.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
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Speaker 2 (16:23):
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Speaker 3 (16:25):
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(16:47):
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Speaker 2 (16:49):
On the show. If you want to.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
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girl sign screen black girl, you're on guvnan dogem sign
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Speaker 2 (17:02):
In twenty twenty three, the CDC reported that there are
around one in thirty six children in the US that
are diagnosed with autism. And you are doing some phenomenal
work with your facilities. Do you think there are enough
Jennifers out there? I think there are enough Jennifers out there,

(17:23):
and I think that's why I want people. I'm like, come,
you know, call me, I'll help you open up. I
just think that there needs to be more facilities opened
with a family like environment to where they can go
into these facilities feel as though they belong there. You know,
you're a part of this house and not make it

(17:43):
seem like a facility. So if you walk into one
of my residential facilities and you guys are welcome to
come on another day. Were they located. I have two
in Covina, I have one in Phillips Ranch, Pomona, and
then I just got awarded another facility and I'll tell
you guys about them in Claremont, California. So I'm now
on my fourth facility. Thank you, thank you so much.

(18:04):
And so you know, it's just it's it's a lot.
But my goal and my passion is to open up
as many as I can, so that way all the
parents that started like me and struggled in the beginning.
I want these facilities to be home for every individual
that comes inside. And so you know, and we love

(18:27):
our clients, they love us back, and I think that's
like a huge difference. Can you take us inside of
one of your facilities, like give us a visual okay,
so like you want to know what it looks like, Okay,
So I like farmhouse theme, so for example, Rising Hill three,
my third facility. You walk in, all the walls are white.

(18:48):
It's great cabinets, you know, we have farmhouse tables. We
have decorations on the walls. Every individual has their own
room decorated the way that they want. And I've decorated
the front really cute. I have pictures of them on
the wall, different events that we do. We take pictures,
we put them up so it looks like our homes.
They have blankets if they sit on the counch to

(19:09):
watch movies, and everything's just like home. So do they
get to stay the night? They live there? They live permanently, Okay, permanently.
So many residents, so there's four residents per home. Okay, yeah,
so they can bring their friends over. We cook, We
have staff twenty four hours a day. It's amazing. That
sounds amazing.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
It is.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
How owe this Bryce? Now? So Bryce is twenty he'll
be twenty one in November. Okay, So although he's not
asking I want to go to Vegas. I, Oh he's not,
but I'm like, you know what, he's twenty one. I'm
going to take him because he's not my other kids. Brian,
He'll be like, oh I want to go here there,
and Bryce doesn't. So I try to gear him a

(19:49):
little bit and I'm like, it's your twenty first, so
I want to make it big for him because he
doesn't really know how to ask for that, you know, yes,
So why are you choosing Vegas for him? Just because
I'm so, you know, with autism, sometimes they read things,
they know things. So he's read stories and seen movies
that when you turn twenty one you go to Vegas
because he's mentioned it to me before. So because that's

(20:11):
his you know, visual of what happens at twenty one,
that's what you have to don Okay, okay, Although we'll
be eating ice cream and cake and so that's what
you do because he loves eat all day. So he's
gonna love it. He's definitely gonna love it for sure.
And I'll wear the sign that my son's twenty one.

(20:32):
He won't but you know the crazy, yeah crazy. That's
a proud mom. You got, proud mom, Jennifer. You are
so inspiring. The work you have done and are currently
doing is so inspiring. Thank you for introducing me to
Vice up right, Rice, Rice, Yes, virtually, I would have
loved to meet him today so we heard you say

(20:54):
that you want to open up more facilities. Beyond that,
what's next for you? So beyond the facilities, I want
to just consult with others that are out there to
open up more because I'm getting to that age in
my life to where I'm like, I don't know if
I can do it forever, but I want to help
them open up. But my dream before I end all

(21:17):
is I want to open up a center where they
can individuals can come in the families. They can get OTPT,
speech and ABA therapy in one spot, so OTPT OH
occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech ABA therapy because it's really
difficult sometimes as a mom. I remember going to speech therapy,

(21:41):
having to go over here for therapy, doing all these
different things. You're driving all over town, and some families
have multiple kids. And if you can have all of
that in one one facility, have a daycare area. That
way the parents can actually bring their kids, actually get
the support because a lot of times they're like, we're
not going to go today because their other child is sick,

(22:02):
or this is happening, that's happening. I have no one
to watch my kids. And it's a small center so
that's my dream is to open this up. And once
I do that, I feel like, in my opinion, like
I've done god God's work. I'm like, Okay, it's here
for the families and they don't have to suffer the
way that I did. Do you want do you envision
just staying in California or do you want to expand?

(22:23):
I want to expand. Yeah, I was thinking moving it
after this, going out to Texas, and I want that
center to sort of I guess, like in a franchise
now because it's needed everywhere. Yeah, it is. So I
wanted to open up around the world and it would
make things so much easier. Jennifer, let us know when
when you get that facility open, so we can be

(22:44):
there for the rent for the ribbon cuning. Okay, yes,
for sure. All right, we're gonna play a little game. Okay, Okay,
it just has a first question, right, So this game
is called this or that? Okay, okay, fine, little game.
First question beach weekend or weekend in the mountains? Beach weekend? Okay,

(23:06):
to the beach. Are you gonna wear heels or flats?
Flat the beach? Okay? Lipstick of gloss gloss. Okay on
the beach, are you going to drink iced coffee or
hot coffee? I'm amosa, oh she said, she said, neither.

(23:29):
Okay on the beach, toe socks or toe rings? What's
a toe ring? Oh? Yeah? Okay, okay. Now on the beach,
are you gonna roller set your hair or you're wearing

(23:50):
your hair straight? I'm a roller set it on the beach.
This is hilarious. Are you cooking? Are you being cooked
for being cooked for? Okay? So you got a chef
on the beach, okay, with mimosa with her mimosa curly
here with a to ring, yes, and lips lip gloss

(24:13):
flat and flat? Okay, all right, So on the beach, okay,
you're gonna have a tablet. Are you watching reality shows
or a doc reality show? What's your favorite? So funny story,
I'm like, I'll watch reality show. I never really watched TV.
Oh yeah, I'm like, I never really watched TV, but

(24:36):
I'm like it's more entertaining to look at reality TV.
All right, So at this beach, are you taking a
friend with you or are you joining a friend? I
am okay, yeah, I'm taking my friend. That's nice. Yeah,
good for you now as you're being cooked for or

(25:00):
the chef uses a lot of condiments. Do you like
them on the side or on top? On top? It's hilarious.
I hate condiments. Okay. So at the beach, a store
where every item is for what?

Speaker 1 (25:23):
What?

Speaker 2 (25:23):
Wh okay? On the beach? On the beach, would you
prefer someone that is loud and rowdy or just staring
at you loud and rowdy the whole time? Okay? Last one?

(25:47):
At the beach? Are you scrolling social media on your tablet?
Or are you reading books scrolling social media? Okay? Okay,
and yes this was the last one. But what beach
are you going to? Oh? I would probably go to

(26:07):
a beach in another country, not here in California. I
don't know. Maybe I'm in Jamaica or somewhere else. Always
going with the mouth. Let's do that, Yeah, let's do it.
I'm there. We're going to the mountains, y'all? Yeah, y'all
going that twenty hours? Like, I'll go. I'll join some friends,

(26:29):
you guys, girls trip Jennifer, it's been a pleasure. Thank you.
This was so fun. Thank you guys so much for
having me too. You're very welcome and so good to
see you again. Nice seeing you too. Thanks. You're listening
to seamous Chante on Red ninety two three and Francis,
what's happening in that Black Girl sunscreen? So, y'all, we

(26:52):
finally have our YouTube page. Hallo for a dollar, Hallo
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(27:16):
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(27:36):
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(27:58):
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bye bye yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Speaker 1 (28:21):
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