EP 111: Imagining New Possibilities of Inclusion with Meg Raby Klinghoffer
When you are excited about something, how do you show up?Do you wear excitement and passion on your sleeve for all to see? Maybe your personality is more low-key and strategic, and it is less obvious when you're really excited about an idea, a vision, or being a part of something.Or maybe you adapt and edit yourself, muting your responses to play it cool for fear you won’t be taken seriously. Yes, it’s essential to consider your role, environment, and audience when you feel energized about something. But if we’re constantly focused on who we should be, how we should act, and what the right thing to say is, it’s hard to have hope and a vision for the future. Meg Raby Klinghoffer does not feel weighed down by messages about playing it cool and downplaying her excitement and joy anymore. She is emphatically all in with helping others envision how the spaces where we live, work, and play can be inclusive for those with invisible disabilities. She is becoming a contagion to create spaces where we can all be welcome and feel comfortable being ourselves, from concerts to museums to schools and beyond.Meg is the author of the My Brother Otto series, a Speech-Language Pathologist, a writer for Scary Mommy, and a full-time employee of KultureCity, the nation’s leading nonprofit in sensory inclusion. She is also autistic. At any given moment, Meg is thinking about how to better love the humans around her and how to create positive change without causing division.Listen to the full episode to hear:How receiving an autism diagnosis and owning that identity has allowed Meg to advocate for herself more freelyHow to respectfully approach learning more about and supporting the autistic adults in your lifeHow having an autistic community helped Meg let go of old rules and embrace her identityHow KultureCity addresses the need for macro-level change to make spaces more supportive and inclusiveMeg’s vision for moving beyond awareness or acceptance to true inclusionLearn more about Meg Raby Klinghoffer:KultureCityScary MommyInstagram: @author.meg.rabyLearn more about Rebecca:rebeccaching.comWork With RebeccaSign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader EmailResources:Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir, Ashley C FordKamala Harris and the Threat of a Woman's Laugh - Sophie Gilbert, The AtlanticWe're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, Eric GarciaYung PuebloPost Malone - Hollywood's BleedingLauren Daigle - Rescue3 Body ProblemThe Jacksons: An American Dream