Breanna Kelly, a licensed social worker and BCBA, shares her journey into the field of autism and her passion for supporting individuals with co-occurring conditions. She emphasizes the importance of understanding and acknowledging the experiences and needs of individuals with disabilities, as well as the significance of cultural competence in providing effective care. Breanna discusses the challenges within the medical system and the need for collaboration and holistic approaches to support individuals with autism and mental health needs. She also highlights the importance of caregiver training and empowerment. Overall, Breanna advocates for systemic changes and increased resources to improve the lives of individuals with autism and co-occurring conditions.
Takeaways
Understanding and acknowledging the experiences and needs of individuals with disabilities is crucial in providing effective care.
Cultural competence and relevance are important in supporting individuals from diverse backgrounds.
The medical system needs reform to better support individuals with co-occurring conditions.
Caregiver training and empowerment are essential in helping families navigate the challenges of raising a child with autism.
Collaboration and holistic approaches are needed to provide comprehensive care for individuals with autism and mental health needs.
Increased resources and systemic changes are necessary to improve the lives of individuals with autism and co-occurring conditions.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:01 Personal Connection and Early Experiences
08:49 Challenges within the Medical System
12:02 Cultural Competence and Trauma-Informed Care
19:00 Empowering Caregivers through Training
23:33 Meeting Caregivers Where They Are
30:16 Supporting Families and Building Relationships
34:05 Reforming the Medical System
41:38 Connecting with Others and Finding Resources
Transcript
Lola Dada-Olley (00:02)
Brianna Kelly, thank you. Thank you so much for visiting us today on the Not Your Mama's Autism Podcast.
Breanna (00:11)
Thank you for having me. I'm excited.
Lola Dada-Olley (00:16)
Me too, me too. I just know you're going to drop the nuggets. The nuggets shall have nuggets. So with that in mind, let's learn a little bit more about you. So you are a true multi -hyphenate. You are a licensed social worker. You're a BCBA. Those not familiar with the term, board certified behavior analyst, and the owner in your spare time of synergy behavioral consulting.
Synergy behavioral consulting. But before we get to all these wonderful things, like what you're currently doing now, let's start, let's go back a little bit. Let's start from the beginning. What made you enter this field? Like, do you have a personal connection?
Breanna (00:46)
Yeah.
So it goes back to the early 2000s. And so I was in high school and a freshman in high school actually, and I got invited over to this party that this Christian club was having at my school. And it was at an attached school, which I now know was an alternative school. And it had kids with severely profound, severe and profound disabilities, quote unquote behaviors. There were
pregnant girls. at that time, this was scary to me because we would only see these individuals like in between classes. And I went over there and the cha -cha slide, I think was out around that time. And we had the best time ever. Like doing the cha -cha slide, doing all the dances. And I will never forget, cause I was so fearful going over there. Like I just, didn't, I didn't know what to expect.
wow, these people are just like me. And it was the bond within the cha -cha slides and all the dances. I was like, these people are just like me. Why was I scared? And that was the catalyst for me. And so I then joined an organization called Best Buddies, which is an international organization that partners at all levels, middle school, high school, college.
individuals with intellectual disabilities with peers and we do all these activities. And so I joined that organization. I did that all through high school, went to college. didn't have a chat where we had a chapter, but it wasn't active and I lived it. I was like a college nonprofit person. had, we par