September 9, 2025 • 39 mins
Autism skilled trades programs are transforming careers. Danny Combs joins Andrew Brown to discuss TACT, electrician training, and workforce development.
Host Andrew Brown speaks with Danny Combs, founder of Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT), about how autism skilled trades programs create real opportunities for employment for autistic adults in trades. They break down how electrician training for autistic individuals, carpentry, HVAC, and welding are reshaping the trades industry—and why neurodiversity workforce development is vital for the future of skilled trades.
This episode delivers practical insights for contractors, educators, and industry experts who want to strengthen advocacy, build inclusive programs, and prepare the next generation of tradespeople.
IN THIS EPISODE
● (00:02) – The $2.2M cost families face and the gap in autism skilled trades programs.
● (07:15) – Danny Combs’ background, Nashville music career, and trades family roots.
● (15:40) – The start of Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT) and Temple Grandin’s advice.
● (26:10) – From a warehouse to a 19,000 sq ft facility with Subaru, Toyota, and more.
● (38:25) – Why employment for autistic adults in trades matters for the economy.
● (49:50) – Expansion, advocacy, and the future of neurodiversity workforce development.
Key Takeaways
● Autism skilled trades programs provide real career pathways beyond low-skill jobs.
● Employment for autistic adults in trades fills labor shortages in electricians, carpentry, plumbing, HVAC, and more.
● Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT) leads the way in neurodiversity workforce development.
● Electrician training for autistic individuals proves trades careers can be debt-free, high-paying, and fulfilling.
About the Guest
Danny Combs is the founder of Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT), a nonprofit equipping autistic youth and adults with skills in carpentry, HVAC, electrical, welding, and more. Drawing from his music background, trades family legacy, and fatherhood journey, Danny built TACT into a nationally recognized leader in autism skilled trades programs and neurodiversity workforce development, helping create meaningful careers and reshaping the skilled trades industry.
Keywords
Autism Skilled Trades Programs, Employment for Autistic Adults in Trades, Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT), Neurodiversity Workforce Development, Electrician Training for Autistic Individuals, Skilled Trades, Trades Industry, Trades Careers, Contractors, Education, Advocacy, Industry Experts, Skilled Trades Advisory Council, Carpentry, HVAC, Electricians, Plumbers, Millwrights, Construction, Tradespeople, Craftsmanship, Problem-Solving, Creativity
Resources
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-combs-m-a-bccs-cas-90987613a/
Website: https://www.buildwithtact.org/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It's costing parents accordingto Time Magazine, $2.2 million
(00:03):
to raise autistic individuals.
And then they're not getting accessto programs that lead to careers.
It's a giant elephant in the roomthat there is this huge demographic
of folks that want to work, that canwork, that can do amazing things that
aren't even given the opportunity.
And I think that's wheretact comes into play.
How valuable it's been in leading tokind of change that narrative, especially
(00:26):
in the skilled trades and create just awhole bunch of different opportunities.
Hi, I'm Andrew Brown.
You're listening to the Lost Starof the Skilled Trades Podcast,
a show that shines the spotlighton careers in the skilled trade.
That are high paying, honorable,rewarding, and fulfilling.
(00:46):
The trades are the backbone of theeconomy that keep us running, and without
them, our world would cease to exist.
Today we have a special guestsuper excited about this one.
Danny Combs, founder of Tactteaching the Autism Community trade.
(01:08):
Welcome, Danny to the show.
Hey, thanks so much for having me.
I appreciate it.
You know, Danny, I was, uh, thinking aboutmy time in Nashville last year, and I was
there with our foundation, the SkilledTrades Advisory Council, and one of our
members, Rob Alman, interviewed MikeRowe at the Conex National Conference.
(01:30):
And I want to get into the Mike Rowstory with you in a little bit, but
it's also the same time that MorganWallen country Singer threw its
share off a balcony from chiefs.
I remember walking downthe street on Broadway.
It's my first time and my buddy wholoves Nashville, he's like, you gotta
go to Robert's Western world and have afried bologna sandwich and a moon pie.
(01:54):
And it was unbelievable.
You know?
You started your career offas a singer, a country singer.
Can you tell us a littlebit about that background?
Not necessarily a singer.
If you heard me sing, you'd gorunning for the hills for sure.
But guitar player.
Yeah, I mean, I grew upin a family of the trades.
My great-grandfather, grandfather,and father were all tradesman.
Actually, when you're fourthgeneration, you spend every weekend
(02:15):
time after school, summer vacation,working out on a construction
site, and you're like, heck this.
I'm gonna go be a musician.
So that's exactly what I did,and I ran away to Nashville.
It worked out really well.
I was very fortunate and got a musicdegree and went there and I ended up
getting to work with country artists,Christian artists, did recording,
touring, editing, publishing, management.
Teaching a whole gamutof different things.
(02:37):
That was pretty amazing.
And I think like the culture and thephilosophy of a lot of the people that
I met there really became like thefoundation and guiding principles of
how I work and interact with people.
Where I learned that like if you weregenuinely good at something, you didn't
need to tell everybody how good you were.
Like the people that were really good werethe most humble, down to earth, honest
(02:58):
people you'd ever meet and you could meetsomebody that had played on every record.
And they were just sitting havinga, you know, beer or a cup of coffee
at some diner and probably holyblue jeans and a ratty t-shirt.
You'd have no idea that theywere like this incredible talent.
And the ones that you know,like to boast were obviously way
better than me, no doubt about it.
But nobody wanted to workwith people like that.
(03:18):
And so it was such a great lesson tolearn that your attitude now you show up
to the game really influences what kindof work you end up getting in the future.
I wanna roll back 'cause you had mentionedthat your family was in the trades.
What trade or trades were Ann?
My great-grandfather was very fortunate.
He happened to be neighbors with aman named Mr. Grumman that started
a company called Grumman that becamenorth of Grumman back in Long Island.
(03:41):
So you're in Connecticut, soyou're, you're pretty close.
You know, they did everything fromthe lunar module, DSP satellites, to
drones, to aerospace, grumman's, massive.
And my grandfather was Air Force.
Um, after Korea, he went and joined andhe started as an electoral engineer,
trained in the Air Force, worked hisway up into an executive at Grumman.
I mean, he did have my great-grandfatherthat kind of, you know, soft
(04:03):
little push there into Grumman.
And then my dad, same thing,became a general contractor and
would build one house at a time.
He taught me everything.
I mean, we would dig the foundations,we'd lay the brick, we'd do the
wiring, frame it shingle it.
I thought everybody did that.
And so, you know, it wasn't until collegewhen your toilet broke in your dorm room
and people were like, how do we fix it?
And you're like, what do you mean?
(04:23):
How do you fix your toilet?
I was so ignorant.
I thought everybody knew how to dothat, or your car needed a new breaks.
And they're like, oh, I'm gonnatake it to the break shop.
And it's like, that's a job.
Like people don't just do that themselves.
That was just my upbringing.
You know what's funny?
'cause my friends, nobodyknows how to do anything.
Right.
Let us screw in a lipo.
You know, my father, I cameup in industrial distribution.
(04:45):
So my great-grandfather started ahardware store and then my grandfather
turned it into more of a steel businessand then my father turned it into more
upper brick and mortar store sellingto iron workers products and services.
And it has an impact on you, butit's interesting that in your journey
you just know to like work with yourhands like you're gonna get in there.
(05:07):
And it's funny that.
You had that experience that people arelike, I don't fix a toilet, but you can.
It's interesting 'cause Ialways viewed, you know, playing
guitars the same kind of thing.
I mean, I still felt, always feltlike I was still working with my hands
because I was, and like very, very muchviewed it as just a different trade.
And it wasn't until my son, Dylanwas born and diagnosed with autism.
(05:28):
He was naturally good atmaking and fixing things.
And even before we learned whatautism was, I thought it was just,
okay, this is my family upbringing.
That's what we all do.
You know, like this is how wewere like, he just somehow got
this gene and he's, even before hecould say, hello, dad, I love you.
I mean, he was six, six and ahalf before he could say that I
let my son play with scissors.
(05:48):
I was that dad.
And he would cut things outtacardboard and he would build
Legos without instructions.
I mean, he was just able to seehow it worked and do it, and now
I know a lot more than I did then.
That was kind of the start.
Yeah.
But working with your hands and playingguitar or fixing a toilet, but it had an
imprint on, you didn't go that direction,but you came around in a sort of way.
(06:10):
For the audience that doesn'tknow what autism is, can
you describe what autism is?
You?
The CDC just came out and said it'snow one in 31 individuals here in
America are diagnosed with autism.
They only take that fromeight year olds by the way.
So, I mean, you're talking justshy of 3% of the population now
is being diagnosed with autism.
Actually, a number of individualswith autism is probably much
(06:32):
higher, um, as they've gone aboutsome different diagnoses processes
than when you and I were probablyyounger, but according to the medical
journalism, the DSM five, that'sconsidered a communication disorder.
It's the way that somebody wouldprocess and view information and
then communicate that information.
There's no quantifiable.
Gene, there's no like scientific test.
You can go and get blood drawn.
(06:53):
You're like, Hey, you're autistic.
It's very qualitative from a, a group ofdoctors and psychologists and therapists
as they assess it, but has to do withthe way that you communicate, perceive,
and think and you kind of that kind ofbiodiversity of cognitive diversity.
And so I'm going to bet you knewautistic individuals growing up.
I know I did.
And you know, so it could be anythingfrom that nerdy kid in the classroom
(07:15):
that was super hyper-focused on somethingor maybe didn't make great eye contact.
Was socially awkward to struggled,communicating verbally what they
were thinking and understanding atthe same time, 3% of the population.
And when you look at that and thefact that it's the largest unemployed
demographic of any point to thatpoint, I mean, when you're talking
(07:36):
roughly 3% of the population, roughly8 million individuals, you look at how
many job openings there are right now.
I mean, it wouldn't bea perfect one-to-one.
When you've got a demographic that's90% unemployed, it's causing parents,
according to Time Magazine, $2.2million to raise autistic individuals.
And then they're not getting accessto programs that lead to careers.
(07:58):
It's a giant elephant in the roomthat there is this huge demographic
of folks that want to work, that canwork, that can do amazing things that
aren't even given the opportunity.
And I think that's wheretact comes into play.
How valuable it's been in leading tokind of change that narrative, especially
in the skilled trades and create just awhole bunch of different opportunities.
And I wanna go talk about tact in, injust a minute, but how did that change you
(08:22):
when you found out about his diagnosis?
Was that, did you stop atthat point playing guitar and.
Focus, you know, on family,like what happened there?
If you don't mind sharing.
I mean, no, not at all.
You know, I would love to tell youI took it well and you know, it
was like, yes, my son's autistic.
This is awesome.
I did not, you know, I madethe folks cry the time.
(08:43):
I was proud of it.
In retrospect, I regret that thatwasn't way in a lot of selfish
thoughts went through my mind.
You know, when you hear autism,especially a long time ago.
It was like this, youknow, bad news, right?
The doctors still to this day, theygive you a book, which is a three ring
binder with flyers and say, good luck.
They don't know what to tellyou where to go, anything.
(09:03):
And I started doing research andthe selfish thoughts of like,
you know, am I gonna take care ofmy son for the rest of my life?
Is my last name gonna carry on?
Is, you know, what does thislook like for me going forward?
It was all about me, me, me.
It was very selfish.
And then when I started seeing allthe things that my son was able to do
despite, you know, the language barriers.
It kind of started changing myperception and in the sense of like,
(09:25):
wow, he can do these amazing things.
And I would go to these therapist'soffice and thankfully music paid the
bills and it paid the bills well.
So I was able to afford these therapyoffices that were quite expensive.
By the way.
I sat in these, these waiting roomsand therapists would come out and
all they would talk about werethe negative things about my son.
They never recognized all the good things.
It was constantly whathe needed to change.
I recognized all the thingsthat he could do, and so.
(09:47):
He was able to, you know,do all these amazing things.
So I started looking fora strengths-based program.
Again, kind of selfish, likehe's good at fixing things.
Clearly somebody is using this as a vesselto like, demonstrate kids skills and like
build them up and give them opportunity.
And I couldn't find anybodythat was doing it all.
And I had the chance to meetDr. Temple Grandin, and she is
(10:08):
one of the coolest people you'reever gonna meet in your life.
So she just made USA,today's top 100 individuals.
She's been in time magazine's,100 most influential folks.
Women's Hall of Fame.
She's autistic.
She's a professor.
They made an HBO movie about her.
They've made several movies about her.
She's written a whole bunch of books.
She designed the machines thatturns cows into hamburgers.
(10:29):
She's awesome.
And so I had the chance to meet her,and if you haven't looked her up, my
gosh, Google her right now and likeyou're gonna get down this rabbit hole
of all these things that she's done.
She's incredible.
And so I had the chance to meet herand said, Hey, I've got this idea
for teaching trades to autistic kids.
What do you think?
And she was like, you need to put downyour guitar right now and go do it.
And for whatever reason, that wasthe straw that broke the camel's
(10:52):
back and had good lawyers for musicin Manhattan and contacted them and
said, has anybody ever done this?
They said, no.
We started it right away and as a carguy, 'cause I grew up in, you know,
loving cars and working on cars.
We put it started at a 58 Chevy.
Put on a police car frame on twentiesand a three 50 engine and because if
you're gonna do it, you do it right.
Right.
I didn't want the kids to belike, okay, here comes, you know,
the quote unquote short bus.
(11:13):
I wanted it to be fun.
It needed to be like, thisis exciting and engaging.
And then I loaded up the back of thetruck with the tools, you know that, with
the skills that my parents taught me.
And so, I mean, all the trades westarted with automotive, carpentry,
electrical, woodworking, this was all.
Welding.
This was things that my parents,my dad, my grandfather, and
(11:34):
great-grandfather taught me.
And it was very much just like,okay, let's give this a shot.
And so I would drive to churchesand rec centers and libraries,
and anywhere people would gimmea chance and it grew from there.
So now it's, we had a law change to createan entire new public school designation.
We have a 19,000 square foot facility,a staff of almost 30, it's now
multimillion dollar nonprofit that hassponsorships from Subaru and Toyota
(11:57):
and Miller Electric and Mitsubishi.
And.
All of these big companies thatsee the value proposition and the
return on investment for what theautism community is able to do.
It's pretty cool.
We get, you know, hundredsof kids jobs every year, and
not just jobs, but careers.
We always like to differentiate.
I mean, that's something that thetrades offer and what's traditionally
happened for autistic individualsor any neurodivergent person.
(12:19):
Is they're not given necessarilythat a quality of opportunity.
It's always like, do you wantto go work at the coffee house?
Do you wanna roll napkinsat the restaurant?
Do you wanna push, youknow, grocery carts?
Like what is it that you wantto do that isn't a full career?
And we're changing that.
That is unbelievable.
But just, you know, kind of going throughsort of your background of the trades and
(12:40):
that you didn't want to go that direction.
Going to Nashville and being guitaristto working with your son and, and
having to go through that, comingout of this and starting sort of a
foundation that gives back, I guess,what was the initial feeling when
you wanted to start this foundation?
Was it when she gave you the greenlight and she's like, go do it?
(13:03):
Was it just like, okay.
Where do I go first?
What do I do?
Who do I, yeah.
It was terrifying.
You know, I mean, thankfully good lawyersand my wife Becky, she's been amazing.
The two of us together I think iswhat's really made it possible because
we just compliment each other so well.
But I mean, it's very fearfulwhen you've got a family and
you're, you know, music was good.
It was worked out the way that a lotof people would hope it would work out.
(13:25):
I was very fortunate totake that leap of faith.
The big, you know.
Driver and feeling a little bit ofcomfort in it was we had won a half
a million dollar grant as a nest egg.
So I didn't think anytime you wanta half a million dollar grant that
makes you feel a little bit better.
And we moved from the back of thetruck to this horrible, just terrible
(13:46):
falling apart warehouse where the agentleman that his grandfather had
invented a cochlear implant for peoplethat are deaf or hard of hearing.
To here.
He had this old warehouse andhe's like, heard what we doing?
His son was autistic and he islike, you can use this space.
I mean, it was terrible.
I mean, it was like literally thisthin metal, you know, no heat, no
air conditioning, rust everywhere.
(14:08):
It was the old factory where theymade those red shop rags that you go,
if you go to advanced auto parts orsomething, you buy like the Red Rocks.
Yeah, that's where they used to make them.
So it was covered withthis dust everywhere.
And that was our start.
We would bring out little propane heaters.
It got robbed all the time, orburglar all the time because people
would break into the building.
You know, if you think Denver, anold warehouse, this was the same
(14:28):
time marijuana was becoming legal.
People were breaking and theyweren't looking for tools,
they were looking for weed.
And so we would get robbed all the time.
And so, but at the same token, becauseit was just so exciting and so.
Powerful to see what was happening.
That warehouse has so many great memories.
Then it got knocked down and somebodypaid like $40 million for the land
(14:49):
to build a new duplex or something.
So, but that's where it's your roots.
That's where you started.
And at that point, how many students, orhow many kids did you have at that point
when you first kind of started this hole?
It was, you know, never beenmore than six kids per class.
And then we started the firstpartnership with schools one
year after we got started.
And it was 20 kids at first, just acouple different classes, me teaching
(15:11):
all the classes and Becky and like we'drun into classes, then we'd meet with
donors and then we'd write grant reports.
And I mean, it was just verymuch trying to do it all.
And then we hired our first support staffand our first teacher, other than me.
Then it grew, and I mean now it's,you know, over a thousand kids came
through the program this past year.
So I mean, it's grown to a prettysubstantially large sized program.
(15:32):
Um, not just kids, but young adults.
I mean, that's another thing that isanother elephant in the room is that
all these state and federal programs,depending upon what state you're
in and at either 21 or 22, so somedifferent states for you, it as like
through your 21st birthday or to your21st birthday, depending upon where
you're at, it's what's called in ourcommunity as the cliff where it's like.
You didn't get a job, you didn'tgo to, you know, post-secondary,
(15:55):
you didn't go to trade school.
Military services run out, good luck.
And so it becomes very frightening.
And so we've picked up that mantleand that torch too, to keep that going
for those individuals that haven't.
And when you get a, you know, 305-year-old, 40 50-year-old coming
to your program and you see theirparents cry because that's the
first time they've heard their childor they're now young adult hear
(16:17):
that they are good at something.
It's powerful and it also breaksyour heart because no individual
should have to wait to that age torecognize their strengths and talents.
And then you see them not only getjobs, but advance in those jobs and get
that opportunity they've been waitingfor and deserving that whole time.
It's pretty amazing.
And you know, the cool thing aboutthe trades is you've already embraced
(16:37):
English as a second language.
They put in the infrastructurealready for autistic individuals.
There's all these charts,everything's color coded.
All of these, you know, you walkinto a factory manufacturing site.
It's there.
I mean, they didn't even know theywere doing it, but they already did it.
Yeah.
It's amazing how far it's come, youknow, in a certain period of time.
When you say that, you know, some ofthese individuals are 50 years old, it
(16:59):
just shows also that age is not a fact,or especially working with your hands.
How did the individuals, some of thekids and some of the older people
who were part of the program, how dothey find out about the program and
is it just within your area or areyou, there's people coming in from.
You know, different statesand going through the program,
they come from all over.
(17:19):
So, I mean, we've had kids, one kid,his dad was a judge in Chicago and gave
up being a judge in Chicago to movehere to like give his kid our program.
Now he works at the cardealership and is thriving, you
know, I mean, it's pretty cool.
So people come from all over.
You know, the goal is to grow iteverywhere because despite tech
being around a decade now, tradeprograms still aren't doing this.
I mean, this is still, again,the elephant in the room and so.
(17:42):
Tech partnered with a company,a New York based company called
Fedcap to expand last year.
They're a half a billion dollarmultinational workforce development,
special education nonprofit, and youknow, we're gonna start growing it
to Texas, New York, other countries.
And, um, Becky's leading the way now,you know, she's now running the show.
I took a job, got offered by thegovernor to run the state's disability
(18:04):
opportunity office and kind of guidethe entire state on policy and strategy.
And when the governor calls you and says.
I'd like you to do this.
You can't say no to that.
Right?
So I get to still be on the boardof tact and Becky's incredible.
So I mean, it's gonna keep going andgoing further, which is exciting.
That's really amazing.
And it's interesting, probably whenyou started this, you didn't realize.
(18:24):
That you'd be working there, right?
Just, you know, no.
Yeah.
It was a dad taking the skills thathis, you know, family had taught him and
passing them on and, you know, so manyof the tools were my grandfathers and
great-grandfathers, and I can't tell youhow often, still to this day, you'd be
working on a project with one of the kids.
And some tool that you could buy thatsome fancy tool doesn't work and you're
(18:46):
reaching the toolbox and something mygrandfather, great-grandfather made
still works and you're just like,gosh, man, they're still taking me
to school to this day for some wrenchthat they, you know, cut up and welded.
That's perfect for, you know, some littletask that you're trying to achieve.
It's kind of fun.
And you get to pass that on andshow the kids how to do that.
'cause you don't get that froma YouTube video or from a book.
Like that's the only kind of stuff.
(19:07):
Yeah, you're gonna have to get that frompeople that have been in it for a minute.
So.
What trades do you primarilyfocus on in the program?
Great question.
So it started with the automechanics program's massive.
The welding program's massive.
The woodworking, carpentry, electricalprobably gets honestly more kids
jobs than any of the other trades.
The electrical industry's fantastic.
(19:28):
There's a tech for the trades programthat does everything from drones
to cybersecurity to architecture,engineering, culinary program.
We're wanting to dabble in some more,eventually getting into hvac, but
that's kind of where it is right now.
You know, and the amazing thing about likeelectrical, and I think part of the reason
it's been so successful is there's such ashortage of journeyman electricians right
(19:48):
now that what's happening instinctivelyis a lot of electrical companies are
doing pre manufacturing warehouses,where they're building giant whips in
the factory to take out to the job,and the limited number of journeymen
that they've got can then install it.
When transportation's an issue for somefolks and you've got a big warehouse
and it's repetitive task, you geta blueprint and you're laying out
everything and building in a factory,that's a lot easier for our kids too.
(20:11):
I mean, it's a much morecontrolled environment and it
leads to a lot more success.
So it's almost perfectly built.
I mean, again, it's, it's like theydidn't even know they were doing it
for that demographic, but it works.
So electrical soundslike the most popular.
So how long is the program?
So if individual starts to, when theycome out and they get a job or an
(20:31):
offer, and are you working with localcompanies to place these individuals?
Oh yeah.
There's over a hundred companies atthis point, which we're really proud of.
I mean, that's, I think, apretty amazing achievement to get
that many businesses involved.
I love when people ask that questionbecause they don't usually like this
answer, but tact is competency based.
And so what you hear a lot of timesis all these programs that are
(20:53):
like, come in six weeks, you'regonna be a master electrician.
You're gonna do this in eight weeks.
You're gonna do this in 12 weeks.
Why?
Like I still, I've never met anybodythat can tell me, you know how
they came up with these timetables?
Are you gonna go to trade school, college,and technical school has to be this number
of semesters that are, this number ofmonths tact is competency based, which
a lot of universities are moving to too.
(21:14):
When you look at nationally, thenumber of liberal arts colleges that
are now failing, and it's like 10 amonth that are starting to go away.
They're starting to get creativeand starting to look at this idea
of competency-based education.
We're no longer needing to workthrough this industrial revolution
idea of like, you're going throughit at this certain number of time.
Sometimes classes are slow and youjust have to be there because that's
a little box you have to check.
(21:35):
Like if kids need to movefaster, we're gonna move faster.
If they need to slow downand take more time, let 'em
slow down and take more time.
Some students will go throughin a semester and they'll
just get in, crush it.
It's fully accredited program.
They get all theircertifications through it.
Nothing's watered down.
So they're getting everycertification that they need
to be successful in the field.
Some of them, it takes a couple years.
Just depends.
(21:55):
I mean, not where they fall onthat autism spectrum and how much
support they need and how we needto differentiate their education.
They're getting the same boxeschecked that everybody else's,
nothing's changed or watered down.
That's unbelievable.
And the people who are teachingthese classes, where do you
find these individuals, like theelectrical side or auto carpentry?
(22:15):
They're usually retired orclose to retired traits focused
what we've been found, okay.
A lot of times you get, you know,guys that have been in it for a minute
and they're like, you know, no longerwanna get up early or be out there.
My body can't handle it anymore, but Iwanna be in a classroom and teach all
this knowledge and wanna give back.
And then we pair them with aspecial education professional.
(22:35):
Because a lot of times just because you'vedone it doesn't mean you can teach it.
And so we wanna give them the supportsthat they need to, so we pay for
all these different professionaldevelopments for them, and then
we get them set up with somebodythat can guide them at that point.
So somebody who comes through andthen gets an offer, are they basically
coming out with no debt at that point?
(22:57):
I really appreciate you bringing thatup too, because a hundred percent,
again, the average family, accordingto Time Magazine, right, and they've
done a big study on this, is that theaverage family is spending about $2.2
million to raise an autistic kid.
As opposed to a quarter milliondollars for a neurotypical kid.
So it's expensive, right?
Therapy stuff, you know?
And it does fall on Medicaid,bulk rehab insurance, but
(23:17):
still out of pocket on parents.
It's a lot, right?
And so as a parent, one of the thingsthat Becky and I have worked for is
to make sure that parents don't pay.
It's a really weird businessmodel to go to parents and be
like, we don't want you to pay us.
But we work really hard with thefoundations and nonprofits, corporations.
I mean, they are the onesthat provide that funding.
And you know, when we created that newpublic school designation, it's called a
(23:39):
Specialized Day School, pretty neat in thesense that it gets both state and school
district funding so that parents and thoseindividuals don't have to pay for it.
We don't want them to have to pay for it.
So yes, they graduate with no debt.
We've got situations where then theyget tools afterwards to work boots, you
know, starter kits of tools, those kindof things so that they can be successful.
(24:00):
I wanna circle back to just anotherprogram that's out there that I
don't think the public like maybedoesn't realize this program exists.
You know, I was at the Williams College ofthe Trades, if you're familiar with them.
In Pennsylvania, they take 300kids, it's tuition free, and
they come from rough backgrounds.
They put 'em through schooling,so they get full education.
(24:22):
They learn a trade for three years andthen after that they're offered a job.
So it's about 80 students thatgraduate after the three years,
and some of them are getting threeor four offers, but they're coming
out with no debt tuition free.
Like these programs exist out there forsomeone who's got a tough background,
(24:42):
you know, maybe comes from poverty,doesn't have any real, you know, outlet.
And this presents itself someonewho's has, you know, autism.
But there is a, a foundation, there'sa program that can give them a, a job
and set them up for future success.
I love hearing these stories.
We need more though.
I mean, like, I haven't heard ofthat program and that sounds awesome.
I mean, like, in a sense that we needmore programs out there doing that
(25:06):
and that we need more kids recognizingthat this is a viable option.
You know, I also ended up doing Air Force.
I had a lifelong dream of joiningthe Air Force in the military.
I did, I enlisted at 39.
I went through basic training at 40.
It was something I always wanted to do andlook at the military in the same way, in
the sense that, you know, it's just notsupported in the same way in our culture
(25:27):
that we, I think it should be in sense.
There is so much opportunity therethat our kids need to be aware of.
And, you know, I have a master's degree.
I love it.
I'm grateful for it.
Is that experience I got formy family any less valid?
I, I don't think so.
You've checked a lot of boxesand many different things.
I wanna circle over to the Mike Roweshow that you were just on and you
sent it to me, and I know he wasmaking his rounds, showing up at
(25:50):
different programs and individuals.
Tell us a little bit about Mike Rowe andyour relationship to Mike Rowe and what,
what ended up happening at the end ofthe show, because you were very emotional
and it was really awesome to see.
It was amazing.
You know, we had the chance to firstmeet Mike right when COVID happened.
He was doing a show calledReturning the Favor.
Tact was going to be highlightedand was highlighted on that, and
(26:12):
apparently he was supposed to come.
Becky knew about it, myparents knew about it.
All this different, and then COVIDhappened and no one could travel
and so they did it remotely.
And so I got to meet him.
Kind of like you and I aremeeting now, which is awesome.
Hope one day we get together and havea beer or a cup of coffee or something
and you know, shake hands and talk more.
It was neat.
I mean, he donated a coupleof vintage cars for our
students to work on as they do.
(26:34):
His foundation gave us some money.
He connected us to some otherfoundations that gave us money and
supported us, which was amazing.
And then his producer, Sarah, that'slike the co-host of that show, has
kept in touch and just been a hugeadvocate for t and the work we're doing.
And he fooled me again withthis new show that he was doing
with the people you should know.
Um, which is kind of funny that he,he genuinely did it twice in a year.
(26:57):
He's.
Consistently donated money to ourprogram and support it in a variety of
different ways, which I think is awesome.
So when he gets the opportunity toshare about it, and now with the
people you should know, show gettingout there in his new platform,
I think it reaches more people.
I mean, the return in the favor wasneat because it was on Facebook,
but not everybody's on Facebook.
Now it gets to go at a much broaderlevel and reach a whole bunch more
(27:18):
people, which I think is pretty cool.
And he donated even more money.
Got to, you know, showcase this.
Most recent time he gave ahundred thousand dollars.
That goes to scholarships.
So I mean that is gonna get a wholebunch of students the opportunity
to come through and get trained.
You know, I always had his sweatpledge since 2017 that was been right
there when people come into tact.
And so I think when he saw that wewere not only just talking the talk,
(27:41):
but walking the walk and aligned withthe values that he's been preaching,
I think that helped connect too.
And he's, him and the wholeteam have been amazing.
And so, I mean, they'vereally helped us a lot.
When you walked in, what was your emotion?
Becky was messing with me.
She told me there was a leak and we'vegenuinely have had some water problems.
So like at first it was like,oh crap, like another leak.
Are you serious?
Like, it's one thing when you'rethere, but it's another thing when
(28:03):
like, you know, now that I'm workingwith the disability opportunity
office, like, oh gosh, how do I, youknow, get there real quick and help.
But seeing him, it was just sucha exciting moment because I had
never met him in person until thatpoint too, to like know that he
took the time to actually come.
And then, you know, share whiskeyand like the way they edited
it, they just showed at one.
But we finished that glass of whiskey.
So it was kind of nice to have that likelong conversation and actually like sit
(28:28):
and talk, you know, just have a reallyengaging, just genuine conversation.
And I think that's theneatest part about it.
He is incredibly sincere and authentic.
It's not just like this show thathe's putting on for the programming,
like he's, he really means it.
And so like you could see thatwhen he is talking to the kids, he
is really listening and excited.
And I think even for him, I think it'sexciting for him to learn about this
(28:48):
demographic that is wanting to work,that people aren't talking about that
helps him out to be more successful.
He's a super cool dude.
And you know, as I mentioned, myfoundation interviewed him and I got
to meet him for like a brief moment,but it was one of those, you know.
Hey Mike, and you put your armaround him and take a picture.
Yeah, take a photo, right?
Yeah, take a photo op, that type of thing.
But I got to hear him speak atSkills USA in Atlanta last week.
(29:11):
So he was the keynote speaker andhe spoke for like 35, 40 minutes.
But a really good background abouthow he started off and where he is
now, and he's got a different toolbox.
It was all about, you know,how he's changed, uh, you know,
his life and his grandfather,and it's powerful just to hear.
But it's good to hear that he's moreor less the same on camera, off camera.
(29:32):
Totally authentic.
Just a cool dude and just wants to help.
That's been my experiencea hundred percent.
You also wrote a book, uh, if I'm notmistaken, tell us a little bit about
the book and is the book just come outor that's, tell us a little bit about,
you know, as I mentioned, you know, noone's really copied us and that bothers
me, that nobody's copied us 'cause.
(29:52):
Like I'm talking to, you know,we, we tell everybody how
we're doing what we're doing.
It's not like a secret, like, youknow, what's the secret sauce for
Coke kind of thing, or the Dr. Pepperrecipe, like, we're open books.
So, um, I ended up writing one and wasfortunate enough to get it published,
um, in Manhattan with Ratledge andTaylor Francis, the UK partner.
Uh, when it first came out, Iended up reaching number one in
(30:13):
special education on Amazon, which Ithought was pretty cool in the sense
that people are paying attention.
It kind of gives folksthe starting conversation.
I would like to suggest to like startreframing the way that they're thinking
about autism education and saying like,Hey, maybe the way that we've gone about
it, educating this community, it's part ofthe reason they're not being successful.
(30:33):
Like we don't need them to change.
We need to change theenvironment around them.
Like we're not trying tocure autism, change autism.
We're embracing it wholeheartedly andwe need to set them up for success
as who they are as individuals.
That's what the book is trying to address.
So, uh, people can buy at Barnes andNoble or Amazon or wherever they sell
books 'cause that's legit published books.
It's not nothing that I did likeself-published or anything like
(30:55):
that, which is kind of cool.
Yeah, I hope people check it out.
What was it like towrite a book like that?
Because I hear from different people.
About writing a book and some, youknow, it takes a long time to put the
ideas down and get it all together.
What was it like to go through thatwith everything else that you're doing?
It was a pain in the butt,to be honest with you.
So, because it did, ittook a couple years.
(31:16):
There was that, and then, you know,I'm still a reservist in the Air
Force, and at that period of timewhen I was writing it, I was on
active duty orders and balancing tact.
At the same time too, I flysatellites for the Air Force
and do missile warning stuff.
So I would go to Buckley, work thenight shift I'D or the mid shift,
and then go to tact and then.
Downtime would write a book.
(31:37):
And it just was kind of almost like arelease though, in the sense of like your
mind is being stretched in so many ways.
It kind of helped get refocused, butit was a pain in the sense the whole
process took at least two years and you'dsend it off to the publisher, they'd
give you feedback, you would try again.
And I mean, thankfully the publisherwas great and really worked with me.
And then to see it be wellreceived, that was exciting too.
(31:58):
And so to like now see other writersand folks that are neurodivergent.
Advocates.
Recognizing it too helps you feelgood that you did something right.
Give us the, uh, title again forthe people that wanna look it up.
Here is the book.
Right.
So it's supporting neurodivergentautistic people for their transition
to adulthood, blueprints foreducation, training and employment.
So you gotta love educational publishers.
(32:19):
They don't let you come up withsomething shortened, catchy.
It's long in education sounding.
So, sounds like a textbook.
I know, I'm sure.
And that's super exciting for anybodywho wants to pick up that book.
Definitely check it out.
You started off in the trades, the GuitarAir Force wrote a book, start attacked.
Do you go back to your, sort of, yourroots and do you still play guitar
(32:41):
or that's kind of on the side or it'severy so often that you pick it up?
Is it still passion for you?
Yeah, it's now just like hangingout at home, like being lazy
on the couch kind of thing.
Uh, I sold the long fingernailson one hand from doing all
the finger picking stuff.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not as good as I usedto be, so that kind of breaks my heart.
I mean, I just haven't kept up with it so.
Yes.
It's so definitely somethingI love to do for sure.
(33:03):
Until this year, I mean, every summer Iwould teach instrument building attack.
That was always, even at that point whenit got to the point we had so many staffs
and I was no longer teaching the classes,but working with donors or the governance
and operations of the nonprofit, as youknow, with the foundation, that's a lot.
And so I would still take the timeto teach instrument building every
time, 'cause that was important to me.
We build electric guitars andukuleles and getting kids to, you
(33:26):
know, manually solder the circuits.
Routers and actually smell thesawdust of making a guitar is
still something I love to do.
Those skills never leave you.
It's just something that's, you know,I remember taking the piano, I also
started playing the guitar during COVID.
It was one of those things.
My neighbor was getting rid ofone of the electric guitars.
I'm like, I'll take it.
And my goal was to play Johnny b Goodefrom, um, back to the Future, which
(33:49):
was, you know, I guess an advanced piecefor someone who's just kind of starting
out and went through the process.
So maybe one day if youand I meet in person.
Maybe gimme a tip or two and be flat too.
So you, you picked a fun onefor, uh, a guitar to get started.
For sure.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
This was a, an amazing conversation.
Is there anything else that we leftout that you would like to share
(34:12):
about your program or anythingelse that we haven't covered?
I just hope people, you know, go tothe website, the build with tax.org.
Check it out.
There's lots of videos, uh, photos of thekids working, the young adults working.
I hope that somebody out there listeningto this, you know, is aware that there
is this incredible demographic out therethat has so much to offer, would bet money
(34:33):
that a lot of your audience have, youknow, somebody they know that's autistic.
Whether it's a child, a neighbor,a niece, a nephew, cousin, whatever
they know folks, they might not knowthat it's the largest unemployed
demographic in the country, that thereis a huge need for more education and
training programs for this community.
And so hopefully they get inspired.
Reach out.
And say, how do we do this too?
(34:54):
Because we need more folks joining us.
For sure.
Now the tools of the trade.
This was, uh, an amazing conversation,but before we sort of wrap up, I
wanted to ask you one final question.
What is one of yourspecial tools of the trade?
(35:14):
What mindset, habit, or piece ofadvice you can give to a young
person, especially someone.
Who is dealing with autism but wantsto step into the skilled trades, what
do they start doing tomorrow for them?
I would say that they need to try and getthat opportunity to experience it because,
you know, unfortunately not many programsdo, and so if there's a way for them to
(35:38):
go out in the garage, work with mom anddad, put on the lawn mower, you know,
help change the oil, rotating the tires,just something experiencing that with a
loved one or family member or neighbor.
Church member, library, school,whatever opportunity that they
get, get that a chance to try.
I think as a business person, a memberof the community, I think it's important
(35:59):
to remember that it's not about us.
You know, one of the things that taxdoes that's very different you hear a
lot in the educational programs is youalways hear about the idea of pedagogy,
which is the idea that the teacher is thedeity in the classroom and they are the
commander and they tell everything andthe students have to do what they say.
That is not the way that people learn.
And so to switch that and kind offlip it on its head and say, what do
(36:20):
the students need to be successfuland how can the teacher change
to be better for the students?
And I hope that people listening tothis, and especially if they're an
educator or a trades educator, they'lllisten to it and say, you know, if I'm
gonna teach a student to read a tapemeasure and understand something, it
doesn't have to be the same projectwhere they're all building a toolbox.
There's a million different ways to getthem to demonstrate those same schools.
(36:42):
And if you give them that chanceto choose what they're doing.
They're gonna be very successful whenit's not about you and it's about them.
That changes the narrative of what'spossible for them, and finding folks
that are willing to look at it from thatperceptive, I think will be helpful.
That is great advice.
You know, especially working with momand dad and you know, at least tinkering
with things gets you interested inworking with your hands and that there
(37:04):
is a program out there that's really,you know, sort of giving back to those
individuals who need that and they'regetting offers, they're getting.
Real work.
You know, they're becoming electricians.
There are, you know, they're becomingcarpenters or auto mechanics.
It's wonderful to see this andthe impact that you're making.
I could see it, you know, ustalking, and then I saw it
obviously with you, with Mike Rowe.
(37:26):
It's wonderful to see that how far you'vecome sort of in your journey by starting
off with your family in the trades.
You didn't want to go into the trades,and then you went into Nashville and
zigzagged around, but you know, everyonefinds their path one way or the other.
You turned it around.
Obviously it's amazing whatyou've done with your son and
what you've turned it into.
So definitely keep up the greatwork in making that impact.
(37:48):
If people wanna find out moreabout tact, where do they go?
Social media, website.
Yeah, so TACT is onLinkedIn, um, Facebook.
They can just go to thewebsite, the bull attack.org.
They can Google it.
For me, I'm only on LinkedIn.
It's the only social mediathat I personally use.
I don't have an X or Twitter orInstagram or any of that kind of stuff.
(38:08):
So, um, if they look me up onLinkedIn, they'll probably find me.
Well, Danny, it's been a blasthearing about your story and thank
you so much for being on the show.
Thank you.
This has been fantastic.
I can't wait to share it with everybody.
I really appreciate the opportunity.
Thank you.
Thank you to our listeners.
If today's episode got youthinking differently about the
trades, take the next step.
Join the movement at AndrewBrown trades dot kit.
(38:33):
Com slash newsletter, whether it'sbringing a speaker to your school
company, or conference, or findingresources to help someone to get started.
It all begins there, and don'tforget to subscribe to the podcast
so you'd ever miss another episode.
We'll see you next time.
Thanks for listening to TheLost Art of the Skilled Trades.
(38:55):
Visit us@andrewbrown.netfor more resources and tips.
Join us next time for real stories andmeaningful initiatives as we celebrate
our men and women in the skilledtrades and shape the future together.
It's costing parents accordingto Time Magazine, $2.2 million
(00:03):
to raise autistic individuals.
And then they're not getting accessto programs that lead to careers.
It's a giant elephant in the roomthat there is this huge demographic
of folks that want to work, that canwork, that can do amazing things that
aren't even given the opportunity.
And I think that's wheretact comes into play.
How valuable it's been in leading tokind of change that narrative, especially
(00:26):
in the skilled trades and create just awhole bunch of different opportunities.
Hi, I'm Andrew Brown.
You're listening to the Lost Starof the Skilled Trades Podcast,
a show that shines the spotlighton careers in the skilled trade.
That are high paying, honorable,rewarding, and fulfilling.
(00:46):
The trades are the backbone of theeconomy that keep us running, and without
them, our world would cease to exist.
Today we have a special guestsuper excited about this one.
Danny Combs, founder of Tactteaching the Autism Community trade.
(01:08):
Welcome, Danny to the show.
Hey, thanks so much for having me.
I appreciate it.
You know, Danny, I was, uh, thinking aboutmy time in Nashville last year, and I was
there with our foundation, the SkilledTrades Advisory Council, and one of our
members, Rob Alman, interviewed MikeRowe at the Conex National Conference.
(01:30):
And I want to get into the Mike Rowstory with you in a little bit, but
it's also the same time that MorganWallen country Singer threw its
share off a balcony from chiefs.
I remember walking downthe street on Broadway.
It's my first time and my buddy wholoves Nashville, he's like, you gotta
go to Robert's Western world and have afried bologna sandwich and a moon pie.
(01:54):
And it was unbelievable.
You know?
You started your career offas a singer, a country singer.
Can you tell us a littlebit about that background?
Not necessarily a singer.
If you heard me sing, you'd gorunning for the hills for sure.
But guitar player.
Yeah, I mean, I grew upin a family of the trades.
My great-grandfather, grandfather,and father were all tradesman.
Actually, when you're fourthgeneration, you spend every weekend
(02:15):
time after school, summer vacation,working out on a construction
site, and you're like, heck this.
I'm gonna go be a musician.
So that's exactly what I did,and I ran away to Nashville.
It worked out really well.
I was very fortunate and got a musicdegree and went there and I ended up
getting to work with country artists,Christian artists, did recording,
touring, editing, publishing, management.
Teaching a whole gamutof different things.
(02:37):
That was pretty amazing.
And I think like the culture and thephilosophy of a lot of the people that
I met there really became like thefoundation and guiding principles of
how I work and interact with people.
Where I learned that like if you weregenuinely good at something, you didn't
need to tell everybody how good you were.
Like the people that were really good werethe most humble, down to earth, honest
(02:58):
people you'd ever meet and you could meetsomebody that had played on every record.
And they were just sitting havinga, you know, beer or a cup of coffee
at some diner and probably holyblue jeans and a ratty t-shirt.
You'd have no idea that theywere like this incredible talent.
And the ones that you know,like to boast were obviously way
better than me, no doubt about it.
But nobody wanted to workwith people like that.
(03:18):
And so it was such a great lesson tolearn that your attitude now you show up
to the game really influences what kindof work you end up getting in the future.
I wanna roll back 'cause you had mentionedthat your family was in the trades.
What trade or trades were Ann?
My great-grandfather was very fortunate.
He happened to be neighbors with aman named Mr. Grumman that started
a company called Grumman that becamenorth of Grumman back in Long Island.
(03:41):
So you're in Connecticut, soyou're, you're pretty close.
You know, they did everything fromthe lunar module, DSP satellites, to
drones, to aerospace, grumman's, massive.
And my grandfather was Air Force.
Um, after Korea, he went and joined andhe started as an electoral engineer,
trained in the Air Force, worked hisway up into an executive at Grumman.
I mean, he did have my great-grandfatherthat kind of, you know, soft
(04:03):
little push there into Grumman.
And then my dad, same thing,became a general contractor and
would build one house at a time.
He taught me everything.
I mean, we would dig the foundations,we'd lay the brick, we'd do the
wiring, frame it shingle it.
I thought everybody did that.
And so, you know, it wasn't until collegewhen your toilet broke in your dorm room
and people were like, how do we fix it?
And you're like, what do you mean?
(04:23):
How do you fix your toilet?
I was so ignorant.
I thought everybody knew how to dothat, or your car needed a new breaks.
And they're like, oh, I'm gonnatake it to the break shop.
And it's like, that's a job.
Like people don't just do that themselves.
That was just my upbringing.
You know what's funny?
'cause my friends, nobodyknows how to do anything.
Right.
Let us screw in a lipo.
You know, my father, I cameup in industrial distribution.
(04:45):
So my great-grandfather started ahardware store and then my grandfather
turned it into more of a steel businessand then my father turned it into more
upper brick and mortar store sellingto iron workers products and services.
And it has an impact on you, butit's interesting that in your journey
you just know to like work with yourhands like you're gonna get in there.
(05:07):
And it's funny that.
You had that experience that people arelike, I don't fix a toilet, but you can.
It's interesting 'cause Ialways viewed, you know, playing
guitars the same kind of thing.
I mean, I still felt, always feltlike I was still working with my hands
because I was, and like very, very muchviewed it as just a different trade.
And it wasn't until my son, Dylanwas born and diagnosed with autism.
(05:28):
He was naturally good atmaking and fixing things.
And even before we learned whatautism was, I thought it was just,
okay, this is my family upbringing.
That's what we all do.
You know, like this is how wewere like, he just somehow got
this gene and he's, even before hecould say, hello, dad, I love you.
I mean, he was six, six and ahalf before he could say that I
let my son play with scissors.
(05:48):
I was that dad.
And he would cut things outtacardboard and he would build
Legos without instructions.
I mean, he was just able to seehow it worked and do it, and now
I know a lot more than I did then.
That was kind of the start.
Yeah.
But working with your hands and playingguitar or fixing a toilet, but it had an
imprint on, you didn't go that direction,but you came around in a sort of way.
(06:10):
For the audience that doesn'tknow what autism is, can
you describe what autism is?
You?
The CDC just came out and said it'snow one in 31 individuals here in
America are diagnosed with autism.
They only take that fromeight year olds by the way.
So, I mean, you're talking justshy of 3% of the population now
is being diagnosed with autism.
Actually, a number of individualswith autism is probably much
(06:32):
higher, um, as they've gone aboutsome different diagnoses processes
than when you and I were probablyyounger, but according to the medical
journalism, the DSM five, that'sconsidered a communication disorder.
It's the way that somebody wouldprocess and view information and
then communicate that information.
There's no quantifiable.
Gene, there's no like scientific test.
You can go and get blood drawn.
(06:53):
You're like, Hey, you're autistic.
It's very qualitative from a, a group ofdoctors and psychologists and therapists
as they assess it, but has to do withthe way that you communicate, perceive,
and think and you kind of that kind ofbiodiversity of cognitive diversity.
And so I'm going to bet you knewautistic individuals growing up.
I know I did.
And you know, so it could be anythingfrom that nerdy kid in the classroom
(07:15):
that was super hyper-focused on somethingor maybe didn't make great eye contact.
Was socially awkward to struggled,communicating verbally what they
were thinking and understanding atthe same time, 3% of the population.
And when you look at that and thefact that it's the largest unemployed
demographic of any point to thatpoint, I mean, when you're talking
(07:36):
roughly 3% of the population, roughly8 million individuals, you look at how
many job openings there are right now.
I mean, it wouldn't bea perfect one-to-one.
When you've got a demographic that's90% unemployed, it's causing parents,
according to Time Magazine, $2.2million to raise autistic individuals.
And then they're not getting accessto programs that lead to careers.
(07:58):
It's a giant elephant in the roomthat there is this huge demographic
of folks that want to work, that canwork, that can do amazing things that
aren't even given the opportunity.
And I think that's wheretact comes into play.
How valuable it's been in leading tokind of change that narrative, especially
in the skilled trades and create just awhole bunch of different opportunities.
And I wanna go talk about tact in, injust a minute, but how did that change you
(08:22):
when you found out about his diagnosis?
Was that, did you stop atthat point playing guitar and.
Focus, you know, on family,like what happened there?
If you don't mind sharing.
I mean, no, not at all.
You know, I would love to tell youI took it well and you know, it
was like, yes, my son's autistic.
This is awesome.
I did not, you know, I madethe folks cry the time.
(08:43):
I was proud of it.
In retrospect, I regret that thatwasn't way in a lot of selfish
thoughts went through my mind.
You know, when you hear autism,especially a long time ago.
It was like this, youknow, bad news, right?
The doctors still to this day, theygive you a book, which is a three ring
binder with flyers and say, good luck.
They don't know what to tellyou where to go, anything.
(09:03):
And I started doing research andthe selfish thoughts of like,
you know, am I gonna take care ofmy son for the rest of my life?
Is my last name gonna carry on?
Is, you know, what does thislook like for me going forward?
It was all about me, me, me.
It was very selfish.
And then when I started seeing allthe things that my son was able to do
despite, you know, the language barriers.
It kind of started changing myperception and in the sense of like,
(09:25):
wow, he can do these amazing things.
And I would go to these therapist'soffice and thankfully music paid the
bills and it paid the bills well.
So I was able to afford these therapyoffices that were quite expensive.
By the way.
I sat in these, these waiting roomsand therapists would come out and
all they would talk about werethe negative things about my son.
They never recognized all the good things.
It was constantly whathe needed to change.
I recognized all the thingsthat he could do, and so.
(09:47):
He was able to, you know,do all these amazing things.
So I started looking fora strengths-based program.
Again, kind of selfish, likehe's good at fixing things.
Clearly somebody is using this as a vesselto like, demonstrate kids skills and like
build them up and give them opportunity.
And I couldn't find anybodythat was doing it all.
And I had the chance to meetDr. Temple Grandin, and she is
(10:08):
one of the coolest people you'reever gonna meet in your life.
So she just made USA,today's top 100 individuals.
She's been in time magazine's,100 most influential folks.
Women's Hall of Fame.
She's autistic.
She's a professor.
They made an HBO movie about her.
They've made several movies about her.
She's written a whole bunch of books.
She designed the machines thatturns cows into hamburgers.
(10:29):
She's awesome.
And so I had the chance to meet her,and if you haven't looked her up, my
gosh, Google her right now and likeyou're gonna get down this rabbit hole
of all these things that she's done.
She's incredible.
And so I had the chance to meet herand said, Hey, I've got this idea
for teaching trades to autistic kids.
What do you think?
And she was like, you need to put downyour guitar right now and go do it.
And for whatever reason, that wasthe straw that broke the camel's
(10:52):
back and had good lawyers for musicin Manhattan and contacted them and
said, has anybody ever done this?
They said, no.
We started it right away and as a carguy, 'cause I grew up in, you know,
loving cars and working on cars.
We put it started at a 58 Chevy.
Put on a police car frame on twentiesand a three 50 engine and because if
you're gonna do it, you do it right.
Right.
I didn't want the kids to belike, okay, here comes, you know,
the quote unquote short bus.
(11:13):
I wanted it to be fun.
It needed to be like, thisis exciting and engaging.
And then I loaded up the back of thetruck with the tools, you know that, with
the skills that my parents taught me.
And so, I mean, all the trades westarted with automotive, carpentry,
electrical, woodworking, this was all.
Welding.
This was things that my parents,my dad, my grandfather, and
(11:34):
great-grandfather taught me.
And it was very much just like,okay, let's give this a shot.
And so I would drive to churchesand rec centers and libraries,
and anywhere people would gimmea chance and it grew from there.
So now it's, we had a law change to createan entire new public school designation.
We have a 19,000 square foot facility,a staff of almost 30, it's now
multimillion dollar nonprofit that hassponsorships from Subaru and Toyota
(11:57):
and Miller Electric and Mitsubishi.
And.
All of these big companies thatsee the value proposition and the
return on investment for what theautism community is able to do.
It's pretty cool.
We get, you know, hundredsof kids jobs every year, and
not just jobs, but careers.
We always like to differentiate.
I mean, that's something that thetrades offer and what's traditionally
happened for autistic individualsor any neurodivergent person.
(12:19):
Is they're not given necessarilythat a quality of opportunity.
It's always like, do you wantto go work at the coffee house?
Do you wanna roll napkinsat the restaurant?
Do you wanna push, youknow, grocery carts?
Like what is it that you wantto do that isn't a full career?
And we're changing that.
That is unbelievable.
But just, you know, kind of going throughsort of your background of the trades and
(12:40):
that you didn't want to go that direction.
Going to Nashville and being guitaristto working with your son and, and
having to go through that, comingout of this and starting sort of a
foundation that gives back, I guess,what was the initial feeling when
you wanted to start this foundation?
Was it when she gave you the greenlight and she's like, go do it?
(13:03):
Was it just like, okay.
Where do I go first?
What do I do?
Who do I, yeah.
It was terrifying.
You know, I mean, thankfully good lawyersand my wife Becky, she's been amazing.
The two of us together I think iswhat's really made it possible because
we just compliment each other so well.
But I mean, it's very fearfulwhen you've got a family and
you're, you know, music was good.
It was worked out the way that a lotof people would hope it would work out.
(13:25):
I was very fortunate totake that leap of faith.
The big, you know.
Driver and feeling a little bit ofcomfort in it was we had won a half
a million dollar grant as a nest egg.
So I didn't think anytime you wanta half a million dollar grant that
makes you feel a little bit better.
And we moved from the back of thetruck to this horrible, just terrible
(13:46):
falling apart warehouse where the agentleman that his grandfather had
invented a cochlear implant for peoplethat are deaf or hard of hearing.
To here.
He had this old warehouse andhe's like, heard what we doing?
His son was autistic and he islike, you can use this space.
I mean, it was terrible.
I mean, it was like literally thisthin metal, you know, no heat, no
air conditioning, rust everywhere.
(14:08):
It was the old factory where theymade those red shop rags that you go,
if you go to advanced auto parts orsomething, you buy like the Red Rocks.
Yeah, that's where they used to make them.
So it was covered withthis dust everywhere.
And that was our start.
We would bring out little propane heaters.
It got robbed all the time, orburglar all the time because people
would break into the building.
You know, if you think Denver, anold warehouse, this was the same
(14:28):
time marijuana was becoming legal.
People were breaking and theyweren't looking for tools,
they were looking for weed.
And so we would get robbed all the time.
And so, but at the same token, becauseit was just so exciting and so.
Powerful to see what was happening.
That warehouse has so many great memories.
Then it got knocked down and somebodypaid like $40 million for the land
(14:49):
to build a new duplex or something.
So, but that's where it's your roots.
That's where you started.
And at that point, how many students, orhow many kids did you have at that point
when you first kind of started this hole?
It was, you know, never beenmore than six kids per class.
And then we started the firstpartnership with schools one
year after we got started.
And it was 20 kids at first, just acouple different classes, me teaching
(15:11):
all the classes and Becky and like we'drun into classes, then we'd meet with
donors and then we'd write grant reports.
And I mean, it was just verymuch trying to do it all.
And then we hired our first support staffand our first teacher, other than me.
Then it grew, and I mean now it's,you know, over a thousand kids came
through the program this past year.
So I mean, it's grown to a prettysubstantially large sized program.
(15:32):
Um, not just kids, but young adults.
I mean, that's another thing that isanother elephant in the room is that
all these state and federal programs,depending upon what state you're
in and at either 21 or 22, so somedifferent states for you, it as like
through your 21st birthday or to your21st birthday, depending upon where
you're at, it's what's called in ourcommunity as the cliff where it's like.
You didn't get a job, you didn'tgo to, you know, post-secondary,
(15:55):
you didn't go to trade school.
Military services run out, good luck.
And so it becomes very frightening.
And so we've picked up that mantleand that torch too, to keep that going
for those individuals that haven't.
And when you get a, you know, 305-year-old, 40 50-year-old coming
to your program and you see theirparents cry because that's the
first time they've heard their childor they're now young adult hear
(16:17):
that they are good at something.
It's powerful and it also breaksyour heart because no individual
should have to wait to that age torecognize their strengths and talents.
And then you see them not only getjobs, but advance in those jobs and get
that opportunity they've been waitingfor and deserving that whole time.
It's pretty amazing.
And you know, the cool thing aboutthe trades is you've already embraced
(16:37):
English as a second language.
They put in the infrastructurealready for autistic individuals.
There's all these charts,everything's color coded.
All of these, you know, you walkinto a factory manufacturing site.
It's there.
I mean, they didn't even know theywere doing it, but they already did it.
Yeah.
It's amazing how far it's come, youknow, in a certain period of time.
When you say that, you know, some ofthese individuals are 50 years old, it
(16:59):
just shows also that age is not a fact,or especially working with your hands.
How did the individuals, some of thekids and some of the older people
who were part of the program, how dothey find out about the program and
is it just within your area or areyou, there's people coming in from.
You know, different statesand going through the program,
they come from all over.
(17:19):
So, I mean, we've had kids, one kid,his dad was a judge in Chicago and gave
up being a judge in Chicago to movehere to like give his kid our program.
Now he works at the cardealership and is thriving, you
know, I mean, it's pretty cool.
So people come from all over.
You know, the goal is to grow iteverywhere because despite tech
being around a decade now, tradeprograms still aren't doing this.
I mean, this is still, again,the elephant in the room and so.
(17:42):
Tech partnered with a company,a New York based company called
Fedcap to expand last year.
They're a half a billion dollarmultinational workforce development,
special education nonprofit, and youknow, we're gonna start growing it
to Texas, New York, other countries.
And, um, Becky's leading the way now,you know, she's now running the show.
I took a job, got offered by thegovernor to run the state's disability
(18:04):
opportunity office and kind of guidethe entire state on policy and strategy.
And when the governor calls you and says.
I'd like you to do this.
You can't say no to that.
Right?
So I get to still be on the boardof tact and Becky's incredible.
So I mean, it's gonna keep going andgoing further, which is exciting.
That's really amazing.
And it's interesting, probably whenyou started this, you didn't realize.
(18:24):
That you'd be working there, right?
Just, you know, no.
Yeah.
It was a dad taking the skills thathis, you know, family had taught him and
passing them on and, you know, so manyof the tools were my grandfathers and
great-grandfathers, and I can't tell youhow often, still to this day, you'd be
working on a project with one of the kids.
And some tool that you could buy thatsome fancy tool doesn't work and you're
(18:46):
reaching the toolbox and something mygrandfather, great-grandfather made
still works and you're just like,gosh, man, they're still taking me
to school to this day for some wrenchthat they, you know, cut up and welded.
That's perfect for, you know, some littletask that you're trying to achieve.
It's kind of fun.
And you get to pass that on andshow the kids how to do that.
'cause you don't get that froma YouTube video or from a book.
Like that's the only kind of stuff.
(19:07):
Yeah, you're gonna have to get that frompeople that have been in it for a minute.
So.
What trades do you primarilyfocus on in the program?
Great question.
So it started with the automechanics program's massive.
The welding program's massive.
The woodworking, carpentry, electricalprobably gets honestly more kids
jobs than any of the other trades.
The electrical industry's fantastic.
(19:28):
There's a tech for the trades programthat does everything from drones
to cybersecurity to architecture,engineering, culinary program.
We're wanting to dabble in some more,eventually getting into hvac, but
that's kind of where it is right now.
You know, and the amazing thing about likeelectrical, and I think part of the reason
it's been so successful is there's such ashortage of journeyman electricians right
(19:48):
now that what's happening instinctivelyis a lot of electrical companies are
doing pre manufacturing warehouses,where they're building giant whips in
the factory to take out to the job,and the limited number of journeymen
that they've got can then install it.
When transportation's an issue for somefolks and you've got a big warehouse
and it's repetitive task, you geta blueprint and you're laying out
everything and building in a factory,that's a lot easier for our kids too.
(20:11):
I mean, it's a much morecontrolled environment and it
leads to a lot more success.
So it's almost perfectly built.
I mean, again, it's, it's like theydidn't even know they were doing it
for that demographic, but it works.
So electrical soundslike the most popular.
So how long is the program?
So if individual starts to, when theycome out and they get a job or an
(20:31):
offer, and are you working with localcompanies to place these individuals?
Oh yeah.
There's over a hundred companies atthis point, which we're really proud of.
I mean, that's, I think, apretty amazing achievement to get
that many businesses involved.
I love when people ask that questionbecause they don't usually like this
answer, but tact is competency based.
And so what you hear a lot of timesis all these programs that are
(20:53):
like, come in six weeks, you'regonna be a master electrician.
You're gonna do this in eight weeks.
You're gonna do this in 12 weeks.
Why?
Like I still, I've never met anybodythat can tell me, you know how
they came up with these timetables?
Are you gonna go to trade school, college,and technical school has to be this number
of semesters that are, this number ofmonths tact is competency based, which
a lot of universities are moving to too.
(21:14):
When you look at nationally, thenumber of liberal arts colleges that
are now failing, and it's like 10 amonth that are starting to go away.
They're starting to get creativeand starting to look at this idea
of competency-based education.
We're no longer needing to workthrough this industrial revolution
idea of like, you're going throughit at this certain number of time.
Sometimes classes are slow and youjust have to be there because that's
a little box you have to check.
(21:35):
Like if kids need to movefaster, we're gonna move faster.
If they need to slow downand take more time, let 'em
slow down and take more time.
Some students will go throughin a semester and they'll
just get in, crush it.
It's fully accredited program.
They get all theircertifications through it.
Nothing's watered down.
So they're getting everycertification that they need
to be successful in the field.
Some of them, it takes a couple years.
Just depends.
(21:55):
I mean, not where they fall onthat autism spectrum and how much
support they need and how we needto differentiate their education.
They're getting the same boxeschecked that everybody else's,
nothing's changed or watered down.
That's unbelievable.
And the people who are teachingthese classes, where do you
find these individuals, like theelectrical side or auto carpentry?
(22:15):
They're usually retired orclose to retired traits focused
what we've been found, okay.
A lot of times you get, you know,guys that have been in it for a minute
and they're like, you know, no longerwanna get up early or be out there.
My body can't handle it anymore, but Iwanna be in a classroom and teach all
this knowledge and wanna give back.
And then we pair them with aspecial education professional.
(22:35):
Because a lot of times just because you'vedone it doesn't mean you can teach it.
And so we wanna give them the supportsthat they need to, so we pay for
all these different professionaldevelopments for them, and then
we get them set up with somebodythat can guide them at that point.
So somebody who comes through andthen gets an offer, are they basically
coming out with no debt at that point?
(22:57):
I really appreciate you bringing thatup too, because a hundred percent,
again, the average family, accordingto Time Magazine, right, and they've
done a big study on this, is that theaverage family is spending about $2.2
million to raise an autistic kid.
As opposed to a quarter milliondollars for a neurotypical kid.
So it's expensive, right?
Therapy stuff, you know?
And it does fall on Medicaid,bulk rehab insurance, but
(23:17):
still out of pocket on parents.
It's a lot, right?
And so as a parent, one of the thingsthat Becky and I have worked for is
to make sure that parents don't pay.
It's a really weird businessmodel to go to parents and be
like, we don't want you to pay us.
But we work really hard with thefoundations and nonprofits, corporations.
I mean, they are the onesthat provide that funding.
And you know, when we created that newpublic school designation, it's called a
(23:39):
Specialized Day School, pretty neat in thesense that it gets both state and school
district funding so that parents and thoseindividuals don't have to pay for it.
We don't want them to have to pay for it.
So yes, they graduate with no debt.
We've got situations where then theyget tools afterwards to work boots, you
know, starter kits of tools, those kindof things so that they can be successful.
(24:00):
I wanna circle back to just anotherprogram that's out there that I
don't think the public like maybedoesn't realize this program exists.
You know, I was at the Williams College ofthe Trades, if you're familiar with them.
In Pennsylvania, they take 300kids, it's tuition free, and
they come from rough backgrounds.
They put 'em through schooling,so they get full education.
(24:22):
They learn a trade for three years andthen after that they're offered a job.
So it's about 80 students thatgraduate after the three years,
and some of them are getting threeor four offers, but they're coming
out with no debt tuition free.
Like these programs exist out there forsomeone who's got a tough background,
(24:42):
you know, maybe comes from poverty,doesn't have any real, you know, outlet.
And this presents itself someonewho's has, you know, autism.
But there is a, a foundation, there'sa program that can give them a, a job
and set them up for future success.
I love hearing these stories.
We need more though.
I mean, like, I haven't heard ofthat program and that sounds awesome.
I mean, like, in a sense that we needmore programs out there doing that
(25:06):
and that we need more kids recognizingthat this is a viable option.
You know, I also ended up doing Air Force.
I had a lifelong dream of joiningthe Air Force in the military.
I did, I enlisted at 39.
I went through basic training at 40.
It was something I always wanted to do andlook at the military in the same way, in
the sense that, you know, it's just notsupported in the same way in our culture
(25:27):
that we, I think it should be in sense.
There is so much opportunity therethat our kids need to be aware of.
And, you know, I have a master's degree.
I love it.
I'm grateful for it.
Is that experience I got formy family any less valid?
I, I don't think so.
You've checked a lot of boxesand many different things.
I wanna circle over to the Mike Roweshow that you were just on and you
sent it to me, and I know he wasmaking his rounds, showing up at
(25:50):
different programs and individuals.
Tell us a little bit about Mike Rowe andyour relationship to Mike Rowe and what,
what ended up happening at the end ofthe show, because you were very emotional
and it was really awesome to see.
It was amazing.
You know, we had the chance to firstmeet Mike right when COVID happened.
He was doing a show calledReturning the Favor.
Tact was going to be highlightedand was highlighted on that, and
(26:12):
apparently he was supposed to come.
Becky knew about it, myparents knew about it.
All this different, and then COVIDhappened and no one could travel
and so they did it remotely.
And so I got to meet him.
Kind of like you and I aremeeting now, which is awesome.
Hope one day we get together and havea beer or a cup of coffee or something
and you know, shake hands and talk more.
It was neat.
I mean, he donated a coupleof vintage cars for our
students to work on as they do.
(26:34):
His foundation gave us some money.
He connected us to some otherfoundations that gave us money and
supported us, which was amazing.
And then his producer, Sarah, that'slike the co-host of that show, has
kept in touch and just been a hugeadvocate for t and the work we're doing.
And he fooled me again withthis new show that he was doing
with the people you should know.
Um, which is kind of funny that he,he genuinely did it twice in a year.
(26:57):
He's.
Consistently donated money to ourprogram and support it in a variety of
different ways, which I think is awesome.
So when he gets the opportunity toshare about it, and now with the
people you should know, show gettingout there in his new platform,
I think it reaches more people.
I mean, the return in the favor wasneat because it was on Facebook,
but not everybody's on Facebook.
Now it gets to go at a much broaderlevel and reach a whole bunch more
(27:18):
people, which I think is pretty cool.
And he donated even more money.
Got to, you know, showcase this.
Most recent time he gave ahundred thousand dollars.
That goes to scholarships.
So I mean that is gonna get a wholebunch of students the opportunity
to come through and get trained.
You know, I always had his sweatpledge since 2017 that was been right
there when people come into tact.
And so I think when he saw that wewere not only just talking the talk,
(27:41):
but walking the walk and aligned withthe values that he's been preaching,
I think that helped connect too.
And he's, him and the wholeteam have been amazing.
And so, I mean, they'vereally helped us a lot.
When you walked in, what was your emotion?
Becky was messing with me.
She told me there was a leak and we'vegenuinely have had some water problems.
So like at first it was like,oh crap, like another leak.
Are you serious?
Like, it's one thing when you'rethere, but it's another thing when
(28:03):
like, you know, now that I'm workingwith the disability opportunity
office, like, oh gosh, how do I, youknow, get there real quick and help.
But seeing him, it was just sucha exciting moment because I had
never met him in person until thatpoint too, to like know that he
took the time to actually come.
And then, you know, share whiskeyand like the way they edited
it, they just showed at one.
But we finished that glass of whiskey.
So it was kind of nice to have that likelong conversation and actually like sit
(28:28):
and talk, you know, just have a reallyengaging, just genuine conversation.
And I think that's theneatest part about it.
He is incredibly sincere and authentic.
It's not just like this show thathe's putting on for the programming,
like he's, he really means it.
And so like you could see thatwhen he is talking to the kids, he
is really listening and excited.
And I think even for him, I think it'sexciting for him to learn about this
(28:48):
demographic that is wanting to work,that people aren't talking about that
helps him out to be more successful.
He's a super cool dude.
And you know, as I mentioned, myfoundation interviewed him and I got
to meet him for like a brief moment,but it was one of those, you know.
Hey Mike, and you put your armaround him and take a picture.
Yeah, take a photo, right?
Yeah, take a photo op, that type of thing.
But I got to hear him speak atSkills USA in Atlanta last week.
(29:11):
So he was the keynote speaker andhe spoke for like 35, 40 minutes.
But a really good background abouthow he started off and where he is
now, and he's got a different toolbox.
It was all about, you know,how he's changed, uh, you know,
his life and his grandfather,and it's powerful just to hear.
But it's good to hear that he's moreor less the same on camera, off camera.
(29:32):
Totally authentic.
Just a cool dude and just wants to help.
That's been my experiencea hundred percent.
You also wrote a book, uh, if I'm notmistaken, tell us a little bit about
the book and is the book just come outor that's, tell us a little bit about,
you know, as I mentioned, you know, noone's really copied us and that bothers
me, that nobody's copied us 'cause.
(29:52):
Like I'm talking to, you know,we, we tell everybody how
we're doing what we're doing.
It's not like a secret, like, youknow, what's the secret sauce for
Coke kind of thing, or the Dr. Pepperrecipe, like, we're open books.
So, um, I ended up writing one and wasfortunate enough to get it published,
um, in Manhattan with Ratledge andTaylor Francis, the UK partner.
Uh, when it first came out, Iended up reaching number one in
(30:13):
special education on Amazon, which Ithought was pretty cool in the sense
that people are paying attention.
It kind of gives folksthe starting conversation.
I would like to suggest to like startreframing the way that they're thinking
about autism education and saying like,Hey, maybe the way that we've gone about
it, educating this community, it's part ofthe reason they're not being successful.
(30:33):
Like we don't need them to change.
We need to change theenvironment around them.
Like we're not trying tocure autism, change autism.
We're embracing it wholeheartedly andwe need to set them up for success
as who they are as individuals.
That's what the book is trying to address.
So, uh, people can buy at Barnes andNoble or Amazon or wherever they sell
books 'cause that's legit published books.
It's not nothing that I did likeself-published or anything like
(30:55):
that, which is kind of cool.
Yeah, I hope people check it out.
What was it like towrite a book like that?
Because I hear from different people.
About writing a book and some, youknow, it takes a long time to put the
ideas down and get it all together.
What was it like to go through thatwith everything else that you're doing?
It was a pain in the butt,to be honest with you.
So, because it did, ittook a couple years.
(31:16):
There was that, and then, you know,I'm still a reservist in the Air
Force, and at that period of timewhen I was writing it, I was on
active duty orders and balancing tact.
At the same time too, I flysatellites for the Air Force
and do missile warning stuff.
So I would go to Buckley, work thenight shift I'D or the mid shift,
and then go to tact and then.
Downtime would write a book.
(31:37):
And it just was kind of almost like arelease though, in the sense of like your
mind is being stretched in so many ways.
It kind of helped get refocused, butit was a pain in the sense the whole
process took at least two years and you'dsend it off to the publisher, they'd
give you feedback, you would try again.
And I mean, thankfully the publisherwas great and really worked with me.
And then to see it be wellreceived, that was exciting too.
(31:58):
And so to like now see other writersand folks that are neurodivergent.
Advocates.
Recognizing it too helps you feelgood that you did something right.
Give us the, uh, title again forthe people that wanna look it up.
Here is the book.
Right.
So it's supporting neurodivergentautistic people for their transition
to adulthood, blueprints foreducation, training and employment.
So you gotta love educational publishers.
(32:19):
They don't let you come up withsomething shortened, catchy.
It's long in education sounding.
So, sounds like a textbook.
I know, I'm sure.
And that's super exciting for anybodywho wants to pick up that book.
Definitely check it out.
You started off in the trades, the GuitarAir Force wrote a book, start attacked.
Do you go back to your, sort of, yourroots and do you still play guitar
(32:41):
or that's kind of on the side or it'severy so often that you pick it up?
Is it still passion for you?
Yeah, it's now just like hangingout at home, like being lazy
on the couch kind of thing.
Uh, I sold the long fingernailson one hand from doing all
the finger picking stuff.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not as good as I usedto be, so that kind of breaks my heart.
I mean, I just haven't kept up with it so.
Yes.
It's so definitely somethingI love to do for sure.
(33:03):
Until this year, I mean, every summer Iwould teach instrument building attack.
That was always, even at that point whenit got to the point we had so many staffs
and I was no longer teaching the classes,but working with donors or the governance
and operations of the nonprofit, as youknow, with the foundation, that's a lot.
And so I would still take the timeto teach instrument building every
time, 'cause that was important to me.
We build electric guitars andukuleles and getting kids to, you
(33:26):
know, manually solder the circuits.
Routers and actually smell thesawdust of making a guitar is
still something I love to do.
Those skills never leave you.
It's just something that's, you know,I remember taking the piano, I also
started playing the guitar during COVID.
It was one of those things.
My neighbor was getting rid ofone of the electric guitars.
I'm like, I'll take it.
And my goal was to play Johnny b Goodefrom, um, back to the Future, which
(33:49):
was, you know, I guess an advanced piecefor someone who's just kind of starting
out and went through the process.
So maybe one day if youand I meet in person.
Maybe gimme a tip or two and be flat too.
So you, you picked a fun onefor, uh, a guitar to get started.
For sure.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
This was a, an amazing conversation.
Is there anything else that we leftout that you would like to share
(34:12):
about your program or anythingelse that we haven't covered?
I just hope people, you know, go tothe website, the build with tax.org.
Check it out.
There's lots of videos, uh, photos of thekids working, the young adults working.
I hope that somebody out there listeningto this, you know, is aware that there
is this incredible demographic out therethat has so much to offer, would bet money
(34:33):
that a lot of your audience have, youknow, somebody they know that's autistic.
Whether it's a child, a neighbor,a niece, a nephew, cousin, whatever
they know folks, they might not knowthat it's the largest unemployed
demographic in the country, that thereis a huge need for more education and
training programs for this community.
And so hopefully they get inspired.
Reach out.
And say, how do we do this too?
(34:54):
Because we need more folks joining us.
For sure.
Now the tools of the trade.
This was, uh, an amazing conversation,but before we sort of wrap up, I
wanted to ask you one final question.
What is one of yourspecial tools of the trade?
(35:14):
What mindset, habit, or piece ofadvice you can give to a young
person, especially someone.
Who is dealing with autism but wantsto step into the skilled trades, what
do they start doing tomorrow for them?
I would say that they need to try and getthat opportunity to experience it because,
you know, unfortunately not many programsdo, and so if there's a way for them to
(35:38):
go out in the garage, work with mom anddad, put on the lawn mower, you know,
help change the oil, rotating the tires,just something experiencing that with a
loved one or family member or neighbor.
Church member, library, school,whatever opportunity that they
get, get that a chance to try.
I think as a business person, a memberof the community, I think it's important
(35:59):
to remember that it's not about us.
You know, one of the things that taxdoes that's very different you hear a
lot in the educational programs is youalways hear about the idea of pedagogy,
which is the idea that the teacher is thedeity in the classroom and they are the
commander and they tell everything andthe students have to do what they say.
That is not the way that people learn.
And so to switch that and kind offlip it on its head and say, what do
(36:20):
the students need to be successfuland how can the teacher change
to be better for the students?
And I hope that people listening tothis, and especially if they're an
educator or a trades educator, they'lllisten to it and say, you know, if I'm
gonna teach a student to read a tapemeasure and understand something, it
doesn't have to be the same projectwhere they're all building a toolbox.
There's a million different ways to getthem to demonstrate those same schools.
(36:42):
And if you give them that chanceto choose what they're doing.
They're gonna be very successful whenit's not about you and it's about them.
That changes the narrative of what'spossible for them, and finding folks
that are willing to look at it from thatperceptive, I think will be helpful.
That is great advice.
You know, especially working with momand dad and you know, at least tinkering
with things gets you interested inworking with your hands and that there
(37:04):
is a program out there that's really,you know, sort of giving back to those
individuals who need that and they'regetting offers, they're getting.
Real work.
You know, they're becoming electricians.
There are, you know, they're becomingcarpenters or auto mechanics.
It's wonderful to see this andthe impact that you're making.
I could see it, you know, ustalking, and then I saw it
obviously with you, with Mike Rowe.
(37:26):
It's wonderful to see that how far you'vecome sort of in your journey by starting
off with your family in the trades.
You didn't want to go into the trades,and then you went into Nashville and
zigzagged around, but you know, everyonefinds their path one way or the other.
You turned it around.
Obviously it's amazing whatyou've done with your son and
what you've turned it into.
So definitely keep up the greatwork in making that impact.
(37:48):
If people wanna find out moreabout tact, where do they go?
Social media, website.
Yeah, so TACT is onLinkedIn, um, Facebook.
They can just go to thewebsite, the bull attack.org.
They can Google it.
For me, I'm only on LinkedIn.
It's the only social mediathat I personally use.
I don't have an X or Twitter orInstagram or any of that kind of stuff.
(38:08):
So, um, if they look me up onLinkedIn, they'll probably find me.
Well, Danny, it's been a blasthearing about your story and thank
you so much for being on the show.
Thank you.
This has been fantastic.
I can't wait to share it with everybody.
I really appreciate the opportunity.
Thank you.
Thank you to our listeners.
If today's episode got youthinking differently about the
trades, take the next step.
Join the movement at AndrewBrown trades dot kit.
(38:33):
Com slash newsletter, whether it'sbringing a speaker to your school
company, or conference, or findingresources to help someone to get started.
It all begins there, and don'tforget to subscribe to the podcast
so you'd ever miss another episode.
We'll see you next time.
Thanks for listening to TheLost Art of the Skilled Trades.
(38:55):
Visit us@andrewbrown.netfor more resources and tips.
Join us next time for real stories andmeaningful initiatives as we celebrate
our men and women in the skilledtrades and shape the future together.
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