February 15, 2024 • 30 mins
In this engaging episode of AutismRadio.org, our host Paul Cimins sits down with Registered Behavior Therapist, Stephanie Loibl, to discuss her determined efforts to revolutionize autism care. From sharing the tangible progress of her clients to her ambitious plan to implement Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy in Malawi, Africa, Stephanie's commitment and passion are clear throughout the episode.
Shining a spotlight on the critical shortage of ABA services in Malawi, Stephanie outlines her plan to provide essential training to caregivers, parents, and educators. Her impressive initiative was directly inspired by a parent of one of her clients from Malawi. From her firsthand experiences, Stephanie has a deep understanding of the stark difference between the healthcare systems in the U.S. and resource-limited regions.
Moving onto Stephanie's highly ambitious future plans, the episode discusses her aspiration to establish a therapy clinic in Malawi. This dream is now closer to reality thanks to advancements in video conferencing technologies. However, making this transformative vision a reality requires substantial funding. Consequently, Stephanie and her team have set up a GoFundMe campaign aiming to raise much-needed resources.
Documenting the journey towards improving autism support in Africa, this episode is an eye-opening exploration of the inspiring actions taken by individuals like Stephanie to address the urgent needs of the international autism community. The episode will captivate anyone interested in autism therapy and the vital steps being taken to increase global access to support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Music.
(00:25):
Amari global is the first ever revolutionary mental wellness company focusing
on the gut brain connection for adults and children amari's holistic products
are designed to optimize performance, positivity, and motivation.
The products are made with ancient natural wisdom combined by modern science
(00:46):
that supports mood, focus, stress resilience, and whole body wellness.
Whether you're an Olympic athlete or a stressed out parent, Amari Global's scientific
approach is designed to meet you where you are and empower you to be the best version of yourself.
Welcome back to AutismRadio.org, home of the world's first autism support radio
(01:10):
network and proud 501c3 charitable organization, helping families challenged
with autism every day get services they desperately need.
Please help us make a difference in the autism community and find it in your
heart to support one in 88 families in America today.
Donate directly at AutismDonation.org.
Now, stay tuned for a special broadcast of Hope Saves the Day.
(01:34):
With autism activist, super dad, and author of The Spectrum Diet,
MasterChef, and the Hope Man himself, your host, Paul Simmons.
Thank you for that great introduction. As always, it's great to be back on another
edition of Hope Saves the Day.
On today's program, I have a very special guest who has a really great idea
(01:56):
to really bring services to another part of the world today.
And we're going to get to tell her story and how we can help her journey make this a reality.
We'd like to give a warm welcome to Stephanie Lobel to the program.
Stephanie, thank you for joining us today on Hope Saves the Day.
So first, let's start off what
you do and who you are and how you got involved in the topic of autism.
(02:20):
Okay, well, thank you. I appreciate it. I'm excited about being here.
My name is Stephanie Lobel. Like you said, I am an RBT, which is Registered Behavior Therapist.
I work with children from age two to young adults age 26 who are on the autism spectrum.
(02:41):
I stumbled upon it. I was in the travel industry for many years.
And after 9-11, it got a little crazy and a series of layoffs.
And I ended up working in a school. I had young children.
So it worked for me, the schedule. I mean, I fell into a special needs school
that is actually right behind my house, and I never knew it was there.
(03:04):
And I started working there, and I got my foundation in ABA through a wonderful
teacher who guided me and taught me everything there is to know about it.
And my life and career evolved from there. I absolutely love it.
I've been doing it for probably between 10 and 12 years.
And then I went into the private sector.
(03:28):
I left the schools about two years ago, and I do it full-time.
And full-time, I mean seven days a week, eight to eight during the week,
and probably nine to two, nine to three during the weekends. I have private clients.
They're all through insurance companies and a district. So I'm clinic-based,
(03:50):
in-home, and in a school.
And I just, I love it. I love helping the kids. I love helping the families.
I love seeing the changes in the kids and them learning the new skills.
And that light in their eyes when they figure out, oh, wow, I can do this on
(04:11):
my own. It's amazing. And it's very rewarding.
So what do you think, from the time you started doing ABA therapy to today,
the changes you've seen, have you seen any changes in basically the therapy itself?
Absolutely. I've always been very progressive.
I am a fan of children being relaxed.
(04:33):
There's actually a theory right now called happy, relaxed, and engaged, and it's true.
You can't learn unless you're engaged in what you're learning. You can't really learn.
Some people do under pressure, but it's a lot easier if you're happy and enjoying yourself.
So I've been a subscriber to that always. But I have seen how ABA has evolved over the years.
(04:56):
And it has gotten a bad rap because of the way it used to be.
But like everything, evolution is a thing and it happens.
And we learn from our past mistakes and it's just the cycle or the trajectory that we're on.
So I'm really proud of the changes. And I train people and I always bring the
(05:22):
progressive way to the table where it's not the old school APA.
It's not sitting at a table for 40 hours a week and showing them pictures and
saying, you've got to get this. No, you're going to get this.
It's more connecting with the families, connecting with the student or the client
(05:43):
and helping them and guiding them.
So yeah, it has changed a lot.
Yeah, which is great because again, it's like, you know, everything like evolution,
things evolve to get better over time.
It's almost like a hybrid now. If you look at back, like where it was,
like I said, when it originated, which again, it was at the time,
(06:04):
the only proven therapy to work with kids with special needs, really.
And it worked very well and it had a very good, you know, rate of success, as we say.
So can you share a story with our listeners that, you know, with maybe a child
that you started with that maybe,
you know, you weren't sure how they were going to progress or again,
(06:29):
without mentioning any names or anything, but just like share something like
of a story where the therapy really worked.
Took hold and really involved this, this job?
Yeah, I have a lot of them, but, but let's go with my guy who I've been with.
He was my first in-home client seven or eight years ago, and I'm still with
(06:51):
him. He's a teenager now.
And there were many days when I thought, what, what are we be doing? Is it going to help?
He's a verbal student, but having a conversation is very challenging for him.
And taking him out into the community is challenging because he talks to himself all the time.
(07:17):
I'm a fan of joining him in his scripts because it makes him happy and it's a a connection.
So, but one of my jobs is community outings and not, you know, talking to yourself.
We all do it. I do it. But when you're standing in a line in a store,
(07:37):
people start to look, people start to stare at you.
And as, as you get older, it really isn't appropriate because it's,
you know, it's just not, if someone was behind me talking,
talking, talking, I would would get nervous because you don't know what's going
on with them, especially in this day and age with 24-hour media who scares the
(07:58):
bejesus out of everyone.
So anyways, we go out into the community, and I have been trying for two,
three years to figure out how can we make this better for all of us,
him, the people at the stores.
His parents, everyone who was exposed to this type of outing with him.
(08:23):
So we went over things, and we put all different things into motion,
but I could never get it to stop.
I even tried bubble gum, you know, because that's an incompatible behavior.
If we're in the store, if he's chewing gum, it will lessen the scripts.
And I've always told him, your talking is fine.
(08:43):
He calls it TV talk. And that was a self-named thing for him.
And so it's always, well, you can do your TV talk when we're in the car.
We're going to go into the store now and let's see if you can have a conversation with each other.
That didn't work. One day I said to him, well, you know, you could hum.
(09:04):
That would be okay. You know, like I do. Sometimes people whistle.
We do all kinds of things.
Didn't work. We went on and on and on. And we still to this day go out.
And then one day, about two years after I had given him some strategies,
we were in Dunkin' Donuts and I realized he was quiet.
(09:25):
But he was making noises. And I said, what are you doing, Vincent?
And he That's amazing. Or Adam or whatever I want to call him.
Sorry, I can't. I've got to give him a name.
(09:46):
But I was absolutely floored.
And so happy. I think I told the entire world that week of what he did,
because it was proof that, okay, well, yes, it's very slow.
And it was probably, I'm not lying when I say it was probably two years,
but it was something, he got it.
And he just had to put it in there and it came out at the right moment.
(10:12):
And we go out every weekend and he now hums and he, he is able to go into the
store. I give him grocery bags.
So his, his hands aren't going all over the place and, and he can go shopping.
It's amazing. I love it. That's great. So I'm very proud of that.
No, that's a great, that's a great success story.
(10:33):
And again, I think, you know, obviously I'm a parent of a child with autism
and every little thing is such a big deal, right? Right. Every little things
are huge milestones to us that a lot of others take for granted.
And again, you know, so that's just testimonial that you stick with the process
and eventually things will get better and things will happen.
(10:54):
You just have to stick with it. And again, it's hard because you got to have a lot of patience.
There's a lot of a lot of work goes into to that success. But when it happens,
it's like you said, it's the thrill of that happening for you as a therapist,
number one, but also for the individual that's going through the therapy, they get it too.
And they get excited about it too. Yes, I love seeing that moment because you
(11:15):
can see the light bulb go off in them. And it's like, wow, I can do this.
And when they acquire a new skill, it builds their confidence.
It builds my confidence. I had a child this week who spoke and I was in tears.
And I told the entire school about it because it was amazing.
He's nonverbal. And he said that I was asking him to say, give me.
(11:36):
I was asking him to sign it. And he said it.
And I couldn't believe I broke out in tears. suits.
That's a special moment for sure. That's a special moment.
So with that being said, obviously all this work that you've been doing,
you came up with this idea.
To bring ABA therapy to the country of Africa.
So let's talk about that, because that's what we're here today,
(11:58):
to really kind of dig in and where this idea sparked from.
What vision do you see and what the needs are?
Okay, so it was a vision. And still in my head, I want to believe it's going
to happen, and it is going to happen because we've basically booked the tickets. There you go.
But we have a client who is over here from Malawi, Africa.
(12:22):
I had never heard of it. I had heard of it, but I didn't realize I'd heard of it.
That's where Madonna has her foundation and does a lot of great work over there.
But so we were talking, I met with this little girl and she's awesome.
Another major success story with all of her skills that she's acquired in a
(12:44):
very short amount of time.
This is a girl who came over as a two-year-old, I believe, and wasn't speaking.
And then she went to a preschool that they spoke only Spanish.
And her family was speaking English to her. And she had to figure it all out herself.
And she now is speaking and able to sort out the Spanish and the English and
(13:08):
the other language that I can't pronounce from Malawi all herself.
And she just turned four.
But anyways, so we were were talking to mom and dad about what's going to happen when they go back.
Will she have her therapies? What can they get?
So on and so forth. And her mom said, well, they don't have anything.
(13:31):
And so she started talking about it and we, oh, well, you should come over.
And we just, it was, it was ignited from there. Yeah.
And we talked about it for a couple of months back and forth. What could we do?
And it evolved from there. And first, we wanted to go over and put the treatment
(13:54):
in place and realize that there's time constraints.
We were thinking much bigger than we could do right now.
So we finally decided that it would be best right now because they have no services
or very limited. ABA is not a thing.
They do have American, not American schools, international schools who follow an American model.
(14:20):
So they're familiar with IEPs and they do have special needs.
And on there, so I was going through the websites of various schools over there.
In the long way, Malawi, and I found that there are IEP, there's information on there.
And ABA was the one thing they listed as not available.
(14:42):
They have special needs teachers, special educators.
They follow the IEP. They have all the different boxes checked,
but they can't provide ABA.
So we decided that the best thing right now is to go over and train caregivers,
parents, medical professionals, and hopefully the schools.
(15:05):
We have to touch base with the schools so that But they can help and they can
be an extension of us for now. We're going to, we're putting together.
Course or a training course that
we will use, kind of like the 40-hour RBT course that you have to take.
It's going to include the basics, very progressive, how parents,
(15:31):
and it's going to be focused more at parents and caregivers and the schools,
how they can work with their children to help them because right now they don't have anything. thing.
So we met with a medical practitioner over there who has a clinic.
They're very interested in getting into this.
(15:51):
So hopefully we'll be able to use their facility to provide these trainings.
And we're going to go over for a couple of weeks or a month,
whatever I can in the summer and start this. But it's going to take time.
That's the basis. Yeah, no, I mean, that's an amazing thing,
I think, you know, it just makes people realize too how fortunate we are here
(16:13):
in the United States to have some of the services that we do have,
whereas many, many countries don't have a lot of resources and things available to them.
I mean, again, this is such an important thing that there's so many probably
children that could really benefit from this program that you're putting into
place over in Malawi there in Africa.
(16:34):
Forgot where do you see again this is the start of it but where would you like
to see it go i guess in the future what is your hope from this my hope so i
think big i and i've always have.
My issue is trying to put it into place but i would like it to become not only
(16:55):
us training people but being able to have a clinic and provide the therapy initially
we would like to be able to do it via Zoom.
I mean, that's the great thing that came over out of COVID is that the world
opened up with video conferencing so that we can be in contact with these people who need help.
(17:18):
But we would like to eventually, I can do it more so than my partner because
my children are older and about to go off to college, go over there and be able
to run a clinic and provide.
I get so much much out of helping people.
It's, it's a big thing for me. Well, it says a lot about you,
(17:39):
Stephanie, and you've done, you've made such a difference and so many impacts
on so many people's lives.
You know, we need more people like yourself to do this. And so with that being
said, how do we, how do we find out about this journey?
How do we help? How do others out there, whether it's a sponsor or anybody out
there can help this mission to really grow and be the vision that you'd like it to be, you know?
(18:03):
So I have a really hard time asking for money. It's a big thing for me. I don't know why.
I just always have it. And I was talking to a friend of mine who has a son on the spectrum.
They're a client and very good friend of mine.
And he suggested crowdfunding, crowdsourcing.
GoFundMe, basically. GoFundMe page, yes. And I was floored because I never, never thought about it.
(18:28):
We were going to try to do this all on our own. I knew we couldn't bring our
entire vision to light with our limited income, but we were going to do the best we could.
And after talking to him, I started thinking about it and I did it.
They pushed me for a month or two and I finally did it in the beginning of January.
(18:52):
I put together a GoFundMe. me.
I put our mission statement out there, what our intentions are to create this
training course and be able to get over there and train people.
So I have a GoFundMe. Right now we've raised almost $1,000.
I am hoping that we can get some more because it's going to take a lot more
(19:15):
money for us to do what we need to do.
But anything is better than nothing.
I've bombarded my family family and friends and the community with it.
And I'm so appreciative of everybody that has not only donated,
but sharing it because that's the only way to get it out there is for people to share.
(19:35):
But that's what we're doing right now. I do have a vision of eventually approaching.
Nonprofits like UNICEF or other things like that.
I don't know how it all works. Like I said, I think a lot bigger than I actually
able to right now, but hopefully I'll get some guidance and be able to do that at some point.
(19:59):
Well, you know, Steph, there's never anything wrong with dreaming big.
Trust me. Thank you. And that's actually a great thing because when you dream
big and you think about it and you picture it and you vision it and you lock
it in and say, this is going to happen and come to fruition, it usually does.
And that starts today with this program today. We're going to see the vision.
(20:21):
This is where it's going to go and where we want it to go.
And you heard it here first on the program. So I believe it's going to happen, Stephanie.
So again, I think once people grasp this story and realize like there's so many
lives that could be affected by this and help so many kids that need support
and families that need help, you know, again,
(20:43):
especially the community is such a broad community.
You know, when we talk about children with autism and people that are very big
advocates of that, and if they get wind of this, I'm sure they're going to get
behind it and really help.
Get to that next level where you want to be. That's great.
That's great. I think about these kids who, and not only the kids, but the family.
(21:04):
I mean, I look at it here and this family who has pushed me,
I talk to the mother often and she says,
one of the biggest things of coming to terms was you go to the doctor and they
say you have, your child is autistic and they give you a script for, for ABA and that's it.
They send you on there. Hey, there's no guidebook. There's, there's nothing.
(21:27):
And you're at a loss. And so I've always wanted to help parents and families,
not just the children. I love, love my clients.
I mean, they, they are my life, like my kids and my husband,
but the families I've always had a connection to because they don't know what they're doing.
At least I have some expertise in behavior and, and how, how I can help them.
(21:52):
So then I think about these children over there and the families who have absolutely
no idea and no support and no medical professionals who are just starting to understand autism.
When I talked to the doctor over there, she said they do provide a diagnosis,
but they don't know what to do.
So it's just the tip of the iceberg being able to get over there.
(22:15):
And Malawi is just the starting point because it's the whole continent.
Right, exactly. Yeah, I was reading about the Congo Republic or the Republic of Congo.
There are thousands and thousands of children who have been diagnosed and have
absolutely no services. Wow. Yeah.
Yeah. So it blows my mind. We are, like you said, we are so fortunate over here to have so much.
(22:41):
Absolutely. And, and, you know, I think it's just a matter of time,
Stephanie, before you were able to get this program off the ground,
it's, it's going to take some time, obviously, but I do think it will come to fruition.
I really do believe that just as I'm talking to you here today,
you know, so when is this trip happening?
You know, when is this first initial trip? You said Did you buy tickets?
(23:03):
When is this actually happening? It's the end of June when school gets out.
I am in a school district and my partner, Bela, she is, she's just, I'm so proud of her.
She just opened up her own clinic. Yeah.
And she's, she's doing great. So she has to wait until the end of school.
Well, so, and, and our client too, who they are from there, they're going home
(23:28):
on home home leave and are going to introduce us to some of the schools over there.
So they too have to wait till then. So it's June 26th.
We're going over for two weeks initially. And I am hoping to extend that.
It just depends on it. This is an exploration mission, basically.
And we are going to we have some appointments set up to to train people so far.
(23:52):
We have to we have to build this this training module.
And hopefully we're, we'll get that done by June.
Yeah, no, absolutely. We have a lot of work to do. We do. We have a lot of work,
but we're going to do it. We'll get there. Absolutely. Absolutely.
So Stephanie, will we make sure that obviously we will continue to push the
GoFundMe link both here on our website and of course our social media page.
(24:17):
And just, again, just encourage people to share and donate if you can,
even if it's just a couple of dollars.
And if we get everybody doing that, it could become a lot of money.
So I always say that. Yes, a couple of dollars adds up. That's what I always say.
It's huge. You get a couple thousand people, get $2 each, you're doing all right.
So again, it doesn't have to be a huge amount.
(24:38):
Give what you can, of course. But Stephanie, this is amazing.
Really excited about your journey in June 26th. That's going to be very exciting.
We definitely would love to have you come back on our program and talk about
the journey, because I think a lot of people would love to hear that.
But right now, the best way we can help Stephanie is to donate to the GoFundMe
page, which we will share again on our website and autismradio.org.
(25:03):
And of course, posting it on our Autism Radio Facebook page,
as well as our Instagram page.
I mean, people can find it there as well. But again, if you're a company out
there looking to donate some money, this is a great cause.
Again, really bringing...
ABA and the light shining a light on autism in the country of Africa in Malawi
(25:25):
right now and looking to expand and grow this.
So definitely Stephanie needs your help. So please, we ask you to,
you know, dig in and, you know, help out Stephanie and her team,
make that transition and really make that happen.
Because this could, this is about changing lives.
And again, we can't thank you enough, Stephanie, for what you're doing and your
work, your line of work and helping so so many children and then the families,
(25:49):
because again, you're helping the child, you're helping the family.
It's not just the child too.
So, you know, you're making such an impact.
So we thank you for that. And we're very grateful for people like yourself too,
that want to dedicate and donate your time and all this hard work that you're
putting together. So again, we thank you for that.
Thank you so much. This was great. I really appreciate it. And to everybody
(26:10):
out there who's listening. Thank you.
We can't even, my thanks isn't enough, but that's all I can give right now.
Yeah. Well, listen, that's more than enough, Stephanie. And we just thank you
for, you know, coming on our program today and sharing this story.
It's, it's really great.
And we really going to be pushing this week after week.
So we really want to hope we can raise a lot of money for, for this initiative
(26:32):
and this cause that you're putting together. So thank you for doing doing that.
We want to thank Stephanie Lobel today for joining us on Hope Saves a Day.
Again, really everybody out there today that are listening to this,
please, we need your help.
Stephanie needs your help and her partners to make this dream come true.
And we can do that together as we join forces where it takes a village to raise a child with autism.
(26:56):
So we need your help to help Stephanie really bring this service over to Africa.
So please, Please, please, please support, I beg you, and ask of your help. So thank you for that.
Again, we want to thank our listeners as they are continued support always here on Hope Saves the Day.
We want to thank Stephanie Lobel for joining us today, of course,
(27:17):
and her great, great works that she's doing in the autism community,
and again, bringing this to light to help the country of Africa,
just as a tip of the iceberg, and again, there's just so much needed needed
help out there and just amazing when wonderful people like Stephanie want to
do something really to make a difference.
And we are very grateful for people like you and just want to thank her again, joining us today.
(27:40):
And of course, thank all our listeners and remember until next time,
everybody, hope saves the day. Take care, everyone.
Every time I see your smile, I wonder what you feel.
Every time you laugh or cry.
Music.
It is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Music.
(00:25):
Amari global is the first ever revolutionary mental wellness company focusing
on the gut brain connection for adults and children amari's holistic products
are designed to optimize performance, positivity, and motivation.
The products are made with ancient natural wisdom combined by modern science
(00:46):
that supports mood, focus, stress resilience, and whole body wellness.
Whether you're an Olympic athlete or a stressed out parent, Amari Global's scientific
approach is designed to meet you where you are and empower you to be the best version of yourself.
Welcome back to AutismRadio.org, home of the world's first autism support radio
(01:10):
network and proud 501c3 charitable organization, helping families challenged
with autism every day get services they desperately need.
Please help us make a difference in the autism community and find it in your
heart to support one in 88 families in America today.
Donate directly at AutismDonation.org.
Now, stay tuned for a special broadcast of Hope Saves the Day.
(01:34):
With autism activist, super dad, and author of The Spectrum Diet,
MasterChef, and the Hope Man himself, your host, Paul Simmons.
Thank you for that great introduction. As always, it's great to be back on another
edition of Hope Saves the Day.
On today's program, I have a very special guest who has a really great idea
(01:56):
to really bring services to another part of the world today.
And we're going to get to tell her story and how we can help her journey make this a reality.
We'd like to give a warm welcome to Stephanie Lobel to the program.
Stephanie, thank you for joining us today on Hope Saves the Day.
So first, let's start off what
you do and who you are and how you got involved in the topic of autism.
(02:20):
Okay, well, thank you. I appreciate it. I'm excited about being here.
My name is Stephanie Lobel. Like you said, I am an RBT, which is Registered Behavior Therapist.
I work with children from age two to young adults age 26 who are on the autism spectrum.
(02:41):
I stumbled upon it. I was in the travel industry for many years.
And after 9-11, it got a little crazy and a series of layoffs.
And I ended up working in a school. I had young children.
So it worked for me, the schedule. I mean, I fell into a special needs school
that is actually right behind my house, and I never knew it was there.
(03:04):
And I started working there, and I got my foundation in ABA through a wonderful
teacher who guided me and taught me everything there is to know about it.
And my life and career evolved from there. I absolutely love it.
I've been doing it for probably between 10 and 12 years.
And then I went into the private sector.
(03:28):
I left the schools about two years ago, and I do it full-time.
And full-time, I mean seven days a week, eight to eight during the week,
and probably nine to two, nine to three during the weekends. I have private clients.
They're all through insurance companies and a district. So I'm clinic-based,
(03:50):
in-home, and in a school.
And I just, I love it. I love helping the kids. I love helping the families.
I love seeing the changes in the kids and them learning the new skills.
And that light in their eyes when they figure out, oh, wow, I can do this on
(04:11):
my own. It's amazing. And it's very rewarding.
So what do you think, from the time you started doing ABA therapy to today,
the changes you've seen, have you seen any changes in basically the therapy itself?
Absolutely. I've always been very progressive.
I am a fan of children being relaxed.
(04:33):
There's actually a theory right now called happy, relaxed, and engaged, and it's true.
You can't learn unless you're engaged in what you're learning. You can't really learn.
Some people do under pressure, but it's a lot easier if you're happy and enjoying yourself.
So I've been a subscriber to that always. But I have seen how ABA has evolved over the years.
(04:56):
And it has gotten a bad rap because of the way it used to be.
But like everything, evolution is a thing and it happens.
And we learn from our past mistakes and it's just the cycle or the trajectory that we're on.
So I'm really proud of the changes. And I train people and I always bring the
(05:22):
progressive way to the table where it's not the old school APA.
It's not sitting at a table for 40 hours a week and showing them pictures and
saying, you've got to get this. No, you're going to get this.
It's more connecting with the families, connecting with the student or the client
(05:43):
and helping them and guiding them.
So yeah, it has changed a lot.
Yeah, which is great because again, it's like, you know, everything like evolution,
things evolve to get better over time.
It's almost like a hybrid now. If you look at back, like where it was,
like I said, when it originated, which again, it was at the time,
(06:04):
the only proven therapy to work with kids with special needs, really.
And it worked very well and it had a very good, you know, rate of success, as we say.
So can you share a story with our listeners that, you know, with maybe a child
that you started with that maybe,
you know, you weren't sure how they were going to progress or again,
(06:29):
without mentioning any names or anything, but just like share something like
of a story where the therapy really worked.
Took hold and really involved this, this job?
Yeah, I have a lot of them, but, but let's go with my guy who I've been with.
He was my first in-home client seven or eight years ago, and I'm still with
(06:51):
him. He's a teenager now.
And there were many days when I thought, what, what are we be doing? Is it going to help?
He's a verbal student, but having a conversation is very challenging for him.
And taking him out into the community is challenging because he talks to himself all the time.
(07:17):
I'm a fan of joining him in his scripts because it makes him happy and it's a a connection.
So, but one of my jobs is community outings and not, you know, talking to yourself.
We all do it. I do it. But when you're standing in a line in a store,
(07:37):
people start to look, people start to stare at you.
And as, as you get older, it really isn't appropriate because it's,
you know, it's just not, if someone was behind me talking,
talking, talking, I would would get nervous because you don't know what's going
on with them, especially in this day and age with 24-hour media who scares the
(07:58):
bejesus out of everyone.
So anyways, we go out into the community, and I have been trying for two,
three years to figure out how can we make this better for all of us,
him, the people at the stores.
His parents, everyone who was exposed to this type of outing with him.
(08:23):
So we went over things, and we put all different things into motion,
but I could never get it to stop.
I even tried bubble gum, you know, because that's an incompatible behavior.
If we're in the store, if he's chewing gum, it will lessen the scripts.
And I've always told him, your talking is fine.
(08:43):
He calls it TV talk. And that was a self-named thing for him.
And so it's always, well, you can do your TV talk when we're in the car.
We're going to go into the store now and let's see if you can have a conversation with each other.
That didn't work. One day I said to him, well, you know, you could hum.
(09:04):
That would be okay. You know, like I do. Sometimes people whistle.
We do all kinds of things.
Didn't work. We went on and on and on. And we still to this day go out.
And then one day, about two years after I had given him some strategies,
we were in Dunkin' Donuts and I realized he was quiet.
(09:25):
But he was making noises. And I said, what are you doing, Vincent?
And he That's amazing. Or Adam or whatever I want to call him.
Sorry, I can't. I've got to give him a name.
(09:46):
But I was absolutely floored.
And so happy. I think I told the entire world that week of what he did,
because it was proof that, okay, well, yes, it's very slow.
And it was probably, I'm not lying when I say it was probably two years,
but it was something, he got it.
And he just had to put it in there and it came out at the right moment.
(10:12):
And we go out every weekend and he now hums and he, he is able to go into the
store. I give him grocery bags.
So his, his hands aren't going all over the place and, and he can go shopping.
It's amazing. I love it. That's great. So I'm very proud of that.
No, that's a great, that's a great success story.
(10:33):
And again, I think, you know, obviously I'm a parent of a child with autism
and every little thing is such a big deal, right? Right. Every little things
are huge milestones to us that a lot of others take for granted.
And again, you know, so that's just testimonial that you stick with the process
and eventually things will get better and things will happen.
(10:54):
You just have to stick with it. And again, it's hard because you got to have a lot of patience.
There's a lot of a lot of work goes into to that success. But when it happens,
it's like you said, it's the thrill of that happening for you as a therapist,
number one, but also for the individual that's going through the therapy, they get it too.
And they get excited about it too. Yes, I love seeing that moment because you
(11:15):
can see the light bulb go off in them. And it's like, wow, I can do this.
And when they acquire a new skill, it builds their confidence.
It builds my confidence. I had a child this week who spoke and I was in tears.
And I told the entire school about it because it was amazing.
He's nonverbal. And he said that I was asking him to say, give me.
(11:36):
I was asking him to sign it. And he said it.
And I couldn't believe I broke out in tears. suits.
That's a special moment for sure. That's a special moment.
So with that being said, obviously all this work that you've been doing,
you came up with this idea.
To bring ABA therapy to the country of Africa.
So let's talk about that, because that's what we're here today,
(11:58):
to really kind of dig in and where this idea sparked from.
What vision do you see and what the needs are?
Okay, so it was a vision. And still in my head, I want to believe it's going
to happen, and it is going to happen because we've basically booked the tickets. There you go.
But we have a client who is over here from Malawi, Africa.
(12:22):
I had never heard of it. I had heard of it, but I didn't realize I'd heard of it.
That's where Madonna has her foundation and does a lot of great work over there.
But so we were talking, I met with this little girl and she's awesome.
Another major success story with all of her skills that she's acquired in a
(12:44):
very short amount of time.
This is a girl who came over as a two-year-old, I believe, and wasn't speaking.
And then she went to a preschool that they spoke only Spanish.
And her family was speaking English to her. And she had to figure it all out herself.
And she now is speaking and able to sort out the Spanish and the English and
(13:08):
the other language that I can't pronounce from Malawi all herself.
And she just turned four.
But anyways, so we were were talking to mom and dad about what's going to happen when they go back.
Will she have her therapies? What can they get?
So on and so forth. And her mom said, well, they don't have anything.
(13:31):
And so she started talking about it and we, oh, well, you should come over.
And we just, it was, it was ignited from there. Yeah.
And we talked about it for a couple of months back and forth. What could we do?
And it evolved from there. And first, we wanted to go over and put the treatment
(13:54):
in place and realize that there's time constraints.
We were thinking much bigger than we could do right now.
So we finally decided that it would be best right now because they have no services
or very limited. ABA is not a thing.
They do have American, not American schools, international schools who follow an American model.
(14:20):
So they're familiar with IEPs and they do have special needs.
And on there, so I was going through the websites of various schools over there.
In the long way, Malawi, and I found that there are IEP, there's information on there.
And ABA was the one thing they listed as not available.
(14:42):
They have special needs teachers, special educators.
They follow the IEP. They have all the different boxes checked,
but they can't provide ABA.
So we decided that the best thing right now is to go over and train caregivers,
parents, medical professionals, and hopefully the schools.
(15:05):
We have to touch base with the schools so that But they can help and they can
be an extension of us for now. We're going to, we're putting together.
Course or a training course that
we will use, kind of like the 40-hour RBT course that you have to take.
It's going to include the basics, very progressive, how parents,
(15:31):
and it's going to be focused more at parents and caregivers and the schools,
how they can work with their children to help them because right now they don't have anything. thing.
So we met with a medical practitioner over there who has a clinic.
They're very interested in getting into this.
(15:51):
So hopefully we'll be able to use their facility to provide these trainings.
And we're going to go over for a couple of weeks or a month,
whatever I can in the summer and start this. But it's going to take time.
That's the basis. Yeah, no, I mean, that's an amazing thing,
I think, you know, it just makes people realize too how fortunate we are here
(16:13):
in the United States to have some of the services that we do have,
whereas many, many countries don't have a lot of resources and things available to them.
I mean, again, this is such an important thing that there's so many probably
children that could really benefit from this program that you're putting into
place over in Malawi there in Africa.
(16:34):
Forgot where do you see again this is the start of it but where would you like
to see it go i guess in the future what is your hope from this my hope so i
think big i and i've always have.
My issue is trying to put it into place but i would like it to become not only
(16:55):
us training people but being able to have a clinic and provide the therapy initially
we would like to be able to do it via Zoom.
I mean, that's the great thing that came over out of COVID is that the world
opened up with video conferencing so that we can be in contact with these people who need help.
(17:18):
But we would like to eventually, I can do it more so than my partner because
my children are older and about to go off to college, go over there and be able
to run a clinic and provide.
I get so much much out of helping people.
It's, it's a big thing for me. Well, it says a lot about you,
(17:39):
Stephanie, and you've done, you've made such a difference and so many impacts
on so many people's lives.
You know, we need more people like yourself to do this. And so with that being
said, how do we, how do we find out about this journey?
How do we help? How do others out there, whether it's a sponsor or anybody out
there can help this mission to really grow and be the vision that you'd like it to be, you know?
(18:03):
So I have a really hard time asking for money. It's a big thing for me. I don't know why.
I just always have it. And I was talking to a friend of mine who has a son on the spectrum.
They're a client and very good friend of mine.
And he suggested crowdfunding, crowdsourcing.
GoFundMe, basically. GoFundMe page, yes. And I was floored because I never, never thought about it.
(18:28):
We were going to try to do this all on our own. I knew we couldn't bring our
entire vision to light with our limited income, but we were going to do the best we could.
And after talking to him, I started thinking about it and I did it.
They pushed me for a month or two and I finally did it in the beginning of January.
(18:52):
I put together a GoFundMe. me.
I put our mission statement out there, what our intentions are to create this
training course and be able to get over there and train people.
So I have a GoFundMe. Right now we've raised almost $1,000.
I am hoping that we can get some more because it's going to take a lot more
(19:15):
money for us to do what we need to do.
But anything is better than nothing.
I've bombarded my family family and friends and the community with it.
And I'm so appreciative of everybody that has not only donated,
but sharing it because that's the only way to get it out there is for people to share.
(19:35):
But that's what we're doing right now. I do have a vision of eventually approaching.
Nonprofits like UNICEF or other things like that.
I don't know how it all works. Like I said, I think a lot bigger than I actually
able to right now, but hopefully I'll get some guidance and be able to do that at some point.
(19:59):
Well, you know, Steph, there's never anything wrong with dreaming big.
Trust me. Thank you. And that's actually a great thing because when you dream
big and you think about it and you picture it and you vision it and you lock
it in and say, this is going to happen and come to fruition, it usually does.
And that starts today with this program today. We're going to see the vision.
(20:21):
This is where it's going to go and where we want it to go.
And you heard it here first on the program. So I believe it's going to happen, Stephanie.
So again, I think once people grasp this story and realize like there's so many
lives that could be affected by this and help so many kids that need support
and families that need help, you know, again,
(20:43):
especially the community is such a broad community.
You know, when we talk about children with autism and people that are very big
advocates of that, and if they get wind of this, I'm sure they're going to get
behind it and really help.
Get to that next level where you want to be. That's great.
That's great. I think about these kids who, and not only the kids, but the family.
(21:04):
I mean, I look at it here and this family who has pushed me,
I talk to the mother often and she says,
one of the biggest things of coming to terms was you go to the doctor and they
say you have, your child is autistic and they give you a script for, for ABA and that's it.
They send you on there. Hey, there's no guidebook. There's, there's nothing.
(21:27):
And you're at a loss. And so I've always wanted to help parents and families,
not just the children. I love, love my clients.
I mean, they, they are my life, like my kids and my husband,
but the families I've always had a connection to because they don't know what they're doing.
At least I have some expertise in behavior and, and how, how I can help them.
(21:52):
So then I think about these children over there and the families who have absolutely
no idea and no support and no medical professionals who are just starting to understand autism.
When I talked to the doctor over there, she said they do provide a diagnosis,
but they don't know what to do.
So it's just the tip of the iceberg being able to get over there.
(22:15):
And Malawi is just the starting point because it's the whole continent.
Right, exactly. Yeah, I was reading about the Congo Republic or the Republic of Congo.
There are thousands and thousands of children who have been diagnosed and have
absolutely no services. Wow. Yeah.
Yeah. So it blows my mind. We are, like you said, we are so fortunate over here to have so much.
(22:41):
Absolutely. And, and, you know, I think it's just a matter of time,
Stephanie, before you were able to get this program off the ground,
it's, it's going to take some time, obviously, but I do think it will come to fruition.
I really do believe that just as I'm talking to you here today,
you know, so when is this trip happening?
You know, when is this first initial trip? You said Did you buy tickets?
(23:03):
When is this actually happening? It's the end of June when school gets out.
I am in a school district and my partner, Bela, she is, she's just, I'm so proud of her.
She just opened up her own clinic. Yeah.
And she's, she's doing great. So she has to wait until the end of school.
Well, so, and, and our client too, who they are from there, they're going home
(23:28):
on home home leave and are going to introduce us to some of the schools over there.
So they too have to wait till then. So it's June 26th.
We're going over for two weeks initially. And I am hoping to extend that.
It just depends on it. This is an exploration mission, basically.
And we are going to we have some appointments set up to to train people so far.
(23:52):
We have to we have to build this this training module.
And hopefully we're, we'll get that done by June.
Yeah, no, absolutely. We have a lot of work to do. We do. We have a lot of work,
but we're going to do it. We'll get there. Absolutely. Absolutely.
So Stephanie, will we make sure that obviously we will continue to push the
GoFundMe link both here on our website and of course our social media page.
(24:17):
And just, again, just encourage people to share and donate if you can,
even if it's just a couple of dollars.
And if we get everybody doing that, it could become a lot of money.
So I always say that. Yes, a couple of dollars adds up. That's what I always say.
It's huge. You get a couple thousand people, get $2 each, you're doing all right.
So again, it doesn't have to be a huge amount.
(24:38):
Give what you can, of course. But Stephanie, this is amazing.
Really excited about your journey in June 26th. That's going to be very exciting.
We definitely would love to have you come back on our program and talk about
the journey, because I think a lot of people would love to hear that.
But right now, the best way we can help Stephanie is to donate to the GoFundMe
page, which we will share again on our website and autismradio.org.
(25:03):
And of course, posting it on our Autism Radio Facebook page,
as well as our Instagram page.
I mean, people can find it there as well. But again, if you're a company out
there looking to donate some money, this is a great cause.
Again, really bringing...
ABA and the light shining a light on autism in the country of Africa in Malawi
(25:25):
right now and looking to expand and grow this.
So definitely Stephanie needs your help. So please, we ask you to,
you know, dig in and, you know, help out Stephanie and her team,
make that transition and really make that happen.
Because this could, this is about changing lives.
And again, we can't thank you enough, Stephanie, for what you're doing and your
work, your line of work and helping so so many children and then the families,
(25:49):
because again, you're helping the child, you're helping the family.
It's not just the child too.
So, you know, you're making such an impact.
So we thank you for that. And we're very grateful for people like yourself too,
that want to dedicate and donate your time and all this hard work that you're
putting together. So again, we thank you for that.
Thank you so much. This was great. I really appreciate it. And to everybody
(26:10):
out there who's listening. Thank you.
We can't even, my thanks isn't enough, but that's all I can give right now.
Yeah. Well, listen, that's more than enough, Stephanie. And we just thank you
for, you know, coming on our program today and sharing this story.
It's, it's really great.
And we really going to be pushing this week after week.
So we really want to hope we can raise a lot of money for, for this initiative
(26:32):
and this cause that you're putting together. So thank you for doing doing that.
We want to thank Stephanie Lobel today for joining us on Hope Saves a Day.
Again, really everybody out there today that are listening to this,
please, we need your help.
Stephanie needs your help and her partners to make this dream come true.
And we can do that together as we join forces where it takes a village to raise a child with autism.
(26:56):
So we need your help to help Stephanie really bring this service over to Africa.
So please, Please, please, please support, I beg you, and ask of your help. So thank you for that.
Again, we want to thank our listeners as they are continued support always here on Hope Saves the Day.
We want to thank Stephanie Lobel for joining us today, of course,
(27:17):
and her great, great works that she's doing in the autism community,
and again, bringing this to light to help the country of Africa,
just as a tip of the iceberg, and again, there's just so much needed needed
help out there and just amazing when wonderful people like Stephanie want to
do something really to make a difference.
And we are very grateful for people like you and just want to thank her again, joining us today.
(27:40):
And of course, thank all our listeners and remember until next time,
everybody, hope saves the day. Take care, everyone.
Every time I see your smile, I wonder what you feel.
Every time you laugh or cry.
Music.
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