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(somber music)

(crew murmuring)

(mouse clicking)

(contemplative music)

(contemplative music continues)

(horns honking)

(door shuts)

(jackhammer rattles)

(contemplative music builds)

(train whirring)

(sticks tapping)

(gears whirring)

- As an autistic person who commonly struggles

with sensory challenges, I understand the importance

of inclusive environments.

Leaving the house is a lot to deal with.

There's a lot of sensory input.

I try to teach doctors the understanding

that our own biases play a huge role

in how we interact with patients with sensory issues.

- [Lola] When you have sensory-inclusive spaces,

things are better for everyone.

- I believe there is a paradigm shift happening

around our sensory health

and I would love our low sensory spaces

to be more mainstream.

- The world is slow to change, we all know that.

But it's important for us to start a conversation

and that's why advocacy is so important.

- I hope that people see families like mine

as not some societal problem to fix.

We just wanna be seen and not gawked at or stared at.

It's just a different way of being human.

This world affects people different ways

and I think knowledge is power.

Once you have the knowledge,

then you could maneuver the way you want to.

(contemplative music ends)

(microwave beeps)

[Mom] Fela, do you want an apple

or something to tie you over too or are you good?

No, I'm good.

Okay.

Here we go.

Do you want more water?

All done done.

All done done?

You want milk? Juice?

Fruit juice.

Juice? Okay, I'll get you some juice.

My name is Lola Dada-Olley, I'm a mom, a wife,

an attorney, an advocate.

My husband, Tosan, and I have been really blessed

to have two children.

Take your salad, go back to the table.

My daughter's autistic, my son's autistic.

Come on, come on.

Breathe, one.

Two, two, three, four, five, six.

- [Tosan] Okay, calm down, go, let's go again.

[Lola] Alero is 11.

[Tosan] Look.

- She's what people would categorize as minimally speaking.

- Go ahead. - I don't think

she has fries in there.

I think, water, okay.

(Alero vocalizing)

But we call it minimally speaking, maximum opinionated.

[Tosan] Yummy?

(Alero giggling) You got what you wanted?

Then we have my son, Fela.

He thinks he's 30, but he's 13 years old.

Another burger bun, you need some?

And he is very much highly verbal.

He, in school, is classified as gifted and talented.

So we are balancing quite a bit

as we raise a pre-teen and teen.

Fela and Alero's diagnoses were one year apart.

They got the diagnosis and that was life changing.

(sighs) And to now know you have two babies

on the autism spectrum and not knowing

what the future can hold.

I remember those early days being filled

with fear and deep concern.

I'll do the back and sides first.

There's an aunt that I told this story to

and I cried 'cause I remembered the moment

of all those things that happened

and she let me, you know, do that Oprah, ugly cry.

And she looked at me and she held my hand

and she said, "I know you've been through a lot,

but I think it's time to act like you went

to the store and you bought it."

And I sat back and it changed a lot.

I stopped looking at it like something that happened to me.

I started looking at it like, okay, if I literally went

to the store and I bought this life, how would it look?

(upbeat music)

So which one?

(Alero vocalizing)

Want the black one?

(Alero vocalizing)

You're in your goth period?

Okay, that's fine. We'll do black.

My brother, Kunle, he's on the spectrum too.

This is back in the day when people referred

to intellectual disability as the R-word,

which I will not say.

When you think about the type of resources

that did not exist in the eighties and nineties

versus what exists now, I wish my brother had that.

And that also fuels me with my children

because my daughter will require lifetime care.

Mommy's turn, then Alero's turn.

♪ Ally-Olley doin' the big ♪

♪ She's doing the big with her teeth brush ♪

I'm constantly thinking about the 18-year-old version,

25-year-old version, 30-year-old version of them.

And I want to have as many neuro-inclusive experiences

in their life as possible.

I'm Virginia Spielmann.

I'm a British-trained occupational therapist.

I'm at the STAR Institute, a global center

for research into sensory integration and processing.

We all have sensory sensitivities,

(horn honking) but when we talk

about sensory integration and processing,

we're trying to understand part of that population of people

who have sensory processing differences.

There's a wide range of the ways people process

and experience the world in their brains and bodies.

And they have different enough ways

of experiencing the world.

They have different needs and contribute beautiful,

diverse thoughts and ways of being.

We really want to have a narrative

around neurodevelopmental differences

that recognizes the strengths,

allows for pride, and recognizes the disabilities.

But it's still a work in progress.

My name is Spike Lee.

I'm a filmmaker from the Peoples' Republic

of Brooklyn, New York, Fort Greene.

See, I grew up in the mid-sixties.

It's a whole different world, you know.

Growing up I didn't know what I had.

I never knew the words or terminology,

it's like, I just get stuff mixed up and that was it.

So it wasn't until my son got diagnosed with dyslexia

that I had the right term.

I just know that there's something in your brain

that's different and different is great.

And now I understand myself much more.

So looking back, I think that's, to me,

that's one of my superpowers.

(calming music)

(tea kettle whistling)

I'm Burnett.

I'm agender, non-binary, autistic, neurodivergent person.

Well I describe myself as introverted

and attention hyperactive.

My whole childhood was hard. It was really hard.

I have tried to explain saying that I'm autistic,

but the doctors weren't listening to what I said.

I have a feeling my mom was suspected that I was autistic,

but it's also possible she didn't know about it back then,

like, in the nineties and stuff.

I never felt like I could do anything.

I was just struggling for a long time

to perform as a normal child,

which is very much artificially constructed.

Bernard is my twin sibling, right in the goal.

We both had struggles with sensory challenges for years.

We often go places together.

It feels just safer and it makes things easier.

Also, we seem to use less energy that way,

and going out is so exhausting anyway.

There's just a lot of sensory inputs, just a lot of stuff,

and I'm always processing it, so I usually wear gloves

and sunglasses just to make it easier to deal with.

You've got your classical five systems

of taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight.

And then you've also got, in your inner ear,

a really cool piece of apparatus that tells you

about motion.

There's also my proprioceptive sense,

which is about the force I'm using,

how fast or slow my muscles are contracting.

And then there's all of our internal sense

of what's going on in our body, which is interoception.

These systems within systems within systems

all work together to give us our big picture of the world.

And as I am filled with sound, and sight, and smell,

and so on, there is a threshold

beyond which I'm processing more information

than I can keep up with and my body starts

to find it difficult to detect threat,

so I'm gonna become even more overwhelmed

as I become hypervigilant.

It can result in lots of states of dysregulation.

- It's the sensory input that's all unpredictable,

which is all of it.

(receipt printer clicking)

The varying levels of voices,

clattering of utensils, and people walking.

(dishes clattering)

But then also all

of the movement. (bell dings)

(meat sizzles)

Makes it hard to have conversations.

Sometimes voices sound very garbled or crackly.

So if there's a lot of noise around,

it's hard for me to understand what people are saying.

Loops really help.

They're kinda like earbuds.

You put them in, but they have a filter.

You can adjust sound levels and they tend

to block out a lot of noises

and make people's voices easier to hear.

As a person who struggles with sensory challenges,

I understand there aren't

enough sensory inclusive environments.

- I believe there is a paradigm shift happening.

We are seeing lots of different groups of people

come to the same conclusion that what

has been happening before cannot happen anymore.

The narrative needs to move

from sensory inclusive spaces being the exception

to them being the norm.

(birds chirping)

(coffee machine whirring)

[Dr. Dent] Here's your coffee, love.

Thank you!

- [Dr. Dent] Welcome. Y'all have a great day.

Thank you, you too.

See y'all this afternoon.

(calming music)

How's the things at home been? Brushing's been good?

You said she's losing some teeth?

She's losing her molars, her back teeth.

Are you ready?

[Molly] What you wanna do?

You wanna brush 'em or you wanna play?

You wanna brush?

Well, get your blanket. Get your blanket.

(skin pats)

You're velcroed to the table, the floor.

All right. Molly, can I have that tray, please?

[Molly] Sure.

Thanks. All right.

(Molly laughs)

Let's see.

Let's see how good of a job we're doing here, kiddo.

My name is Jacob Dent. I am a general dentist.

I've been practicing for the last 21 years

and I am a father of two

and my son Ethan is on the autism spectrum.

So my focus, most of my practice now, on neurodiverse

and neuro-sensitive populations.

Yep, there's a wiggly one right there, mama.

[Molly] Which one?

Right there.

[Molly] Okay.

That one's, that's a baby tooth.

- That one's coming out. - Is it?

Yep.

- And I kinda-- - Ethan didn't speak

'til he was three.

And so, you know, as a parent I was doing everything I could

to not get that label.

I didn't want him to be autistic.

I wanted him to be delayed.

And, hindsight 20-20, you realize how ignorant that was.

But I always wanted to be able to teach Ethan the things

that I think every young man should know,

things that I was taught by my father.

And when we got the diagnosis,

my biggest regret was I didn't think he was going

to ever play sports.

Wanna play next?

Baseball.

Baseball, all right, let's do it.

And I don't know why, but that triggered me

into a depression about how I looked at the diagnosis.

Because in my mind, that took away something

that I was hopeful for, for him.

He'll never drive a car, he's never gonna get married,

he's never going, and there was a lot of nevers

that came through all of that.

And again, it's not Ethan that's upset about it, it's me.

What do you wanna play tomorrow?

You're gonna finish up and dad cut the grass?

I said, "Why me?"

You know, "Why did I get a child with autism?"

And then they surprise you.

His limitations are so much less than what I thought.

I'm the biggest limiting factor for him.

Until we got our diagnosis and until we started

the personal journey with it,

you realize how ignorant myself, as a doctor,

was to this population.

In the beginning, we did find that we struggled a lot

going to medical doctors because, you know,

as you went to a medical office,

there's always a waiting room full of people,

loud noises and bright light, which is not sensory-friendly.

For us, we started to realize that there's got

to be an alternative way.

We need more sensory-inclusive spaces

because everyone deserves quality of care.

And for someone with a sensory disability, they need

that access to an environment that they're comfortable in.

And so that's kinda really where my ramp

as a professional came from.

And, as the years have gone on, I actually converted half

of my practice to be sensory-friendly.

Because if you have a healthy mouth,

you have a healthy body.

People don't understand, when you start to lose your teeth

and you start to decline because you don't

get proper nutrition from chewing your food,

then your life expectancy goes way down.

- At the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing,

our vision is for sensory health for the state,

the nation, and the world.

Universal design should be sensory design.

When there's a ramp into the building,

everyone can use the ramp, you know?

And when the building accommodates sensory differences,

you're gonna have more success, greater productivity,

less burnout, less stress.

When we don't deal with these differences

as a community, the cost is exclusion.

It's trauma every day, all day.

Dr. Taylor,

welcome to the "Not Your Mama's Autism" podcast.

Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

- From the start of your journey to the present day,

can you tell us a little bit about trends you've seen,

maybe the way people look at autism,

and developmental disabilities?

Things have definitely changed overall.

The research has definitely grown.

We understand a lot more

about underlying causes of autism, what might--

- The "Not Your Mama's Autism" podcast was birthed out

of an idea that has been on my mind for a long time

to chronicle a family's journey into autism

and disability inclusion.

Because I can't tell you how many times

in my private advocacy chapter,

people would approach me and want to learn

and want to talk to me about resources,

but they often thought they were alone.

So I thought, okay, if we can take our advocacy journey

and make it public, people will know they're not alone.

- We have worked on some training for specialists.

One thing that we know is that women with autism

do not get the kind of female healthcare that they need.

And that goes even further.

It goes to dentistry, it goes

to many other specialist conditions

that require these really intense medical examinations

that are aversive to anyone.

They're not pleasant experiences.

- [Lola] So we're working with her occupational therapist

because she does have more significant sensory challenges.

- [Dr. Taylor] I'm not on the autism spectrum,

but I have sensory sensitivities, so I understand this.

- It's a form of thinking with a universal design mindset.

So if you try and design something for one group,

it ends up being beneficial for other groups as well.

And sensory issues are a common challenge

with autistic folks.

- I completely agree, and I think when I've been

giving trainings, particularly over the last several years,

I really try to focus on the idea

that we have sensory seeking and we have sensory aversion.

And many of our autistic individuals

will have a combination of both.

So some cases they might be seeking sensory experiences

and then in some cases, they might be pulling away.

So we have to be sensitive to that.

The diagnosis itself is not, it's important

for the individual insofar as it helps them get the care

that they need and the interventions

that they need, maybe in the school,

but we should be using these interventions for everyone.

My name's Jonathan Martinez.

I'm the Head of Federal Affairs over at Haleon.

We are a consumer over-the-counter company.

We've known about neuro-inclusive needs

and neurodivergent needs, specifically, for quite some time.

Haleon is using its platform, its products,

to help promote better outcomes

for the neuro-sensitive community.

We wanna make sure that this community has a voice.

Part of the problem that you have with the current system

is that there isn't a specific requirement,

that we think about neuro-inclusivity in the classroom

or neuro-inclusivity as part of a dental practice.

Creating more inclusive, sensory-friendly environments

makes a meaningful difference

- For the most part, I've been bullied out of workplaces.

I've even just been fired for no reason

or they made up a reason.

I've been fired because people said I was hostile,

but they couldn't give a example.

And I'm starting to think, now,

that hostile means quietly doing your work

and not talking to people.

I've had some very strange experiences

and it's hard to talk to people about them

'cause they don't believe me.

But I realized later that neurodivergent people

have these experiences and they believe me

and they understand them.

But most people don't have these experiences

because people don't treat them this way.

It's something about being autistic

or just behaving differently from them.

Even if you're not doing, you're doing what you're paid

to do, you're not misbehaving or anything,

you're in trouble or they're upset or they're angry.

I think the trauma is never gonna go away,

it's just always gonna be a thing for me with jobs.

I have dreams about it, like, every night

about getting fired.

'Cause it can happen any day, in my experience.

There doesn't have to be a reason

or there can be a made up reason.

So at some point, I stopped worrying so much about trying

to fit into arbitrary social norms

and just decided to be myself.

And being myself is much less stressful and I'm happier.

I work doing quality assurance

in a food manufacturing plant.

I do a lot of FDA oversight and testing things.

There's a sensory aspect to the work I do now.

It makes that aspect very enjoyable to me

and it's important for me to enjoy the work that I'm doing.

Well it took, maybe it took me about a year, I think,

to fully accept that I was safe at my job.

- I started working with Burnett since May of last year,

so I've been knowing Burnett for about a year now.

And Burnett is so open.

Just speaking with Burnett throughout the year,

I'm realizing, well, why do I believe certain things?

It's like, was it just taught to me

and it been put in my head as normal

or is it just an actual belief system of mine?

So it just kinda helped me grow as a person.

My little cousin, he's actually autistic, too.

Oh.

- But just seeing how you, like, persevere,

it gave me, like, inspiration from my little cousin.

Like, he can still go far.

People are not, people's mindsets are changing.

You are, like, legit one of the smartest people

I've ever met, so.

Ah, well, thanks.

Not everyone in my community can speak up for themselves,

so when people see me in the workplace,

that can change their minds about what we're capable of.

People have told me that I've inspired them

and taught them things, which surprised me.

But I'm glad because they helped me

and I like to think I'm giving back.

How could you check--

- I think it's really important to self-advocate.

At STAR Institute, we have an adult-specific program.

We're supporting this population to be successful

and thrive, and that includes finding employment

and holding a job.

And it can be really hard.

- For me, when I'm on a set, it's a sacred place.

We're all here, in front or behind the camera,

to do the best work we can.

There's not a joke. This is some serious business.

Where there's a great amount of concentration needs

to be had, has to be a setting where I can thrive.

And film sets are very complex.

But as a director,

you wanna make the actors feel comfortable.

They do a job and it's a hard job,

and you have to concentrate.

And if there's stuff going on the sides,

that's breaking the concentration and, you know,

it's not helping.

- I realized that there was such a large gap

between dentists and sensory-friendly dentists

and even one step above that,

dentists who are sensory friendly

and can adapt how to actually provide dental care.

So in my office in Houston, I took half

of the physical space and we redesigned it

to be more sensory friendly.

There is nobody that goes into the dental office

and goes, "Man, this is my favorite place in the world!

I love it."

Hey, how you doing?

Dr. Dent, very nice

- to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

Come on back, let's go take a walk and get you into a room.

We're gonna go visit for a little bit before we get started.

It doesn't matter if you're a neurotypical person,

you still have sensitivities that need to be understood

and need to be accepted

and not viewed as just being a baby about it

or just being overdramatic about it.

Because some of those things can really cause someone

a large amount of anxiety.

And that anxiety can make people not go to the dentist.

Tell me a little bit about what I can be

of service for you today.

What brings you in?

A cleaning,

- we're gonna do a cleaning. - A cleaning, okay.

When was the last time that you were

at the dentist and had a cleaning?

[Patient] A few years.

Okay.

When I left dental school,

I was a filling and restorative guy.

You know, I had zero training on special needs.

All I knew was from basically what I saw in the movies.

So what I wanna find out from you is what are those things

that you're sensitive to and then we're gonna adjust

our appointment to kinda fit around that, okay?

So let's just start with the basic five.

So, sights, you said, "I don't like seeing

the needle coming," okay.

So if that happens, is there any other sights

that bother you?

No.

What about taste?

[Patient] Like, pumice makes me sick.

Okay, so the things that we use

to brush your teeth makes you sick.

Okay, is it the texture of the pumice

or is it the flavor that they use?

- Just the grittiness. - Just the grit, okay.

So minimal to no grit.

It would be better, in my opinion, if we had two forms.

One health history, one sensitivity form.

Check the boxes on tell me what your preferences are,

what you're hypersensitive to,

and what would make this visit better for you?

[Patient] Can I put my headphones in?

[Dr. Dent] You're more than welcome

to put your headphones on.

All right, let's start right there at the top. Ready?

The dentist is a really interesting one

and there's been some lovely research done on how

to support sensory differences at the dentist.

I, personally, cry every single time

I go to the dentist.

I am not emotionally upset but cannot handle

the sensory experience of being at the dentist.

So right before she goes under,

and right when she comes out,

we need to make sure she's comfortable,

the things that are familiar to her.

She loves this little fish.

Put that in there.

Then we have her old faithful here, Sharky.

She's been using this since her first oral surgery.

So let's keep it consistent.

(contemplative music)

Every year, because of Alero's sensory challenges,

we take her on the pilgrimage.

[Doctor] Good morning!

Alero, are you ready to come back with me?

- You guys ready, Mom? - Good morning, yeah!

And that's where her dentist takes, like,

a normal, conventional dental visit

and kinda converts it to oral surgery.

So it'd be the same oral examination

within a hospital setting, but she would be sedated.

[Lola] Thank you. Hi, Dr. Smith!

Good morning!

Do you guys have any concerns

for her teeth at this time in particular?

How's she been doing with her home care?

Are you guys still able to brush her well

or is she being more resistant?

How is she transitioning?

We are having minimal toothpaste

because she still struggles with rinsing and spitting out.

- Sometimes she seems to have some tooth pain.

It goes in and out, so we're not exactly sure.

We think it might be tied to her chewy sometimes.

- So last time that we did her treatment in the hospital,

I extracted several chewies from her teeth and her gums,

so we are gonna have to kinda collaborate

and see if she'll accept, like, certain teething tools

that would be more beneficial

that aren't gonna leave, like, debris in her mouth.

So now that she's transitioning into being a pre-teen,

teenager, she is gonna have all of her permanent teeth,

so we definitely wanna make sure

that we are focusing on her gum health, both at home

and when she comes in for the yearly exams.

Peace of mind is a form of wealth,

so thank you for keeping us wealthy.

- (all laugh) - Thank you.

[Lola] Sit down.

All right, just sit. We're just sitting.

We're just sitting and talking. We're friends.

All right, can I have the bracelets

- to get them to Mom? - While she's under sedation,

we do a full blood workup in additional to her dental care.

Blood work would then be sent to our endocrinologist,

to her allergy team, to her pediatrician.

- Okay, no bib. - Making sure that,

as she grows up, we can get that at least once a year

of blood work so we can have somewhat of an idea

of what's going on within her body.

(machine beeping)

(contemplative music)

My hope is there's more of a push

towards a holistic view of this from cradle to grave.

I think we need to be better being inclusive

and understanding that not everybody is going

to have healthcare delivery in the exact same way.

(birds chirping)

- On any given day, our routine is very, very ritualistic.

Ethan gets up in the morning, he eats the same breakfast,

he does the same routine

because that's comfort zone for him.

All right, ganglios.

Can you reach that?

- We try to avoid high-populated areas

or areas that are very loud or kind of obnoxious

'cause that does tend to trigger some of his sensitivities.

Oh, and here.

There's a local arcade with pizza and we always like to go,

but we are very selective about the times that we go.

Hey, when you need a refill, let Dad know if you need more.

Here is all of the condiments.

[Mother] Oh, hey, there's this time.

[Dr. Dent] Whatcha lookin' at, bud?

It's a little loud?

There are certain times where they make it

more sensory-friendly and it gives us the opportunity

as a family to go enjoy that.

Because you don't wanna keep him isolated,

just up in his room playing video games or watching movies.

He needs that socialization.

But if you can control the sensory environment for them,

it's a whole lot better as far as the outcomes

and how he desensitizes to environments

that are not sensory-friendly.

All right, here it comes. Shoot 'em up.

Keep going. Good shot!

Put it in there.

Nice shot.

[Mom] Two more!

[Dr. Dent] Curl 'em up. One more!

- Nice, good shot. - Nice, good job!

- Fantastic, all right, what do you wanna play now?

I don't remember.

It's good to be inclusive

where we can all do things as a family,

we don't have to do separate activities.

That really helps build that family base.

Look!

There you are!

- You like it? - Yes.

- [Dr. Dent] All right, let's go play another game.

You wanna go do Space Invaders?

Space Invaders.

- [Dr. Dent] Space Invaders, that looks like a fun game.

Let's go sit in the Space Invaders.

(game beeping)

You wanna play ski ball?

[Ethan] Ski.

All right, good.

Good, real hard, real hard.

Good job!

Their sensory-friendly hours really focus on some

of the most common triggers,

which are the loud noises from the games,

the fluorescent lights.

When they transition out of sensory-friendly

to just general public sights, sounds, everything,

it creates a whole different level of anxiety in Ethan.

(machines beeping)

We've learned him so well that when we start to sense that,

it triggers our sensitivities

and we are able to transfer him out of that situation.

I think we have a tremendous mandate

to unlearn the things that have become assumptions

in the way that we do life.

It's time to sort of be awake and intentional

about embracing different ways,

different ways of being human,

different ways of experiencing the world.

The wisdom of the body.

(water rushing)

- Well, since I lit it, you can blow it out.

Well, that sounds fair.

Yeah, and it's your ice cream.

Okay.

Oh.

Okay, happy birthday.

Happy birthday.

How's it feel to be 38?

Nothing feels different.

[Bernard] Yeah?

(laughing)

Do you feel more optimistic about the next year?

- More optimistic than--

I feel more optimistic about turning 38

because I won't see there.

And even numbers are very good for me.

[Burnett] Oh that's cold on my teeth.

- Do you need to go back to the dentist this year?

- Yeah, I think I'm running out of excuses.

I think I'm getting too old, so it's, like,

irresponsible at this point.

[Bernard] Yeah.

So yeah, I'm think I'm going to.

- [Bernard] Why don't you impose the deadline on yourself?

Can you make one for me?

A week from Monday.

That way you have all week to do it.

Like I can help you 'cause I can be

at your computer with you.

We could find the dentist together

and I can dial the number for you.

Oh, okay.

And give you the phone.

That'll remove some, a lot of executive functioning for you.

Yeah, okay. Okay, that's a lot of work.

So find a dentist a week from Monday.

I think it's easy to just,

to just justify reasons not to go.

Yeah. I've done five years.

[Burnett] Okay.

(patrons murmuring)

That's 2029, I should make it round up to go 2030.

- [Burnett] Yeah, you're just, yeah, we're prolonging it.

- You're pushing it back. - I'll go to the dentist

- in 2030. - Oh, okay.

Don't you think you should go this year?

[Bernard] Of course I should!

Oh, okay.

- [Bernard] Of course I do. I'm a logical person.

I'm not going to.

I have an electric toothbrush, so (laughs).

So you'll just keep coming up

with ways to rationalize not going.

- [Bernard] I got $750 of dental work done in 2013.

That's more than a decade ago!

- I'm saying, and I haven't had any cavities since.

[Burnett] Okay.

- So I think that dental work was all I needed.

(Burnett laughing)

- I'm afraid to tell a dentist that I'm autistic.

I don't know if they're gonna get scared.

And reactive.

I expect them to have a bunch of stereotypes

and misrepresentations that I don't even understand,

like, this person's gonna bite me.

I expect them to just be afraid of me

or not taking me serious.

I'm pretty cynical about it.

I kinda just don't wanna go to dentist

until I'm in pain, in really bad pain.

But I need to stop thinking that way.

- I think that there's a tremendous amount of work to get

to a place where we're all sensory informed

and sensory health is prioritized,

that we're supporting people to feel

and sense the world in the best way for their brain

and body to be well and flourish.

A big bulk of the work is about unlearning and change.

I didn't have a purpose in dentistry

other than being Dr. Dent.

And then when I had Ethan, I found purpose.

Please help me welcome Dr. Jacob Dent.

Thank you, appreciate it.

- Good luck. Let me know if you need anything.

Yes sir.

All right, so our goal today is going to be

to really focus on the basics of sensory issues.

And I just want y'all to be thinking kinda

that outside the box.

Like, what can we do that is not the standardized dentistry?

I wanna leave a legacy that's different

than just being a traditional dentist.

Why is it so hard for us as dentists and hygienists

and providers to see special needs patients?

I use the acronym TIM, time, ignorance, money.

Having the platform of being able

to go teach continuing education classes,

it really gives me a little bit more

of a podium to speak to

'cause I can talk to it from both angles.

I can talk to it as a parent, I can talk to it as a doctor.

And everybody has a heart, I truly believe that.

There is nobody that I've ever come across

that says, "I'm not going to treat this population

because they are disabled or because they're different."

What they're gonna tell me is,

"I don't know what I'm doing."

That's why I'm here.

I've been on a 20 year residency with my son,

you know, trying to figure out autism,

trying to figure out sensory issues.

And that's not, it's not an easy class.

So my whole reason for doing it is to show them

that here's the model that I've done,

here's how I've been successful doing it.

If anybody has any questions in regards to the kits

or how to build a sensory room, just let me know, okay?

I hope y'all have a good rest of y'all's conference.

We'll see y'all next time, okay?

My goal at the end of my classes

is that one person will take the lead

and start to incorporate that into their practice

because there will be a day that I'm not here

and there'll be a day that Ethan needs another dentist

that isn't Dad.

And the hope is one of those people that I taught

was inspired enough to be able to open their doors

to my son and continue his healthcare, well after I'm gone.

- My biggest fear is that we're not acting quickly enough

to take into account the neuro-inclusive community's needs.

How do we make that experience a little bit more pleasant?

And to the credit of doctors and dentists, they try.

Should they have more resources? Yes.

Should we make sure that there are more options available

so that we can make dentistry

a little bit more neuro-inclusive?

Absolutely. There are two conversations here.

The first is making sure that the healthcare system

is more inclusive.

But then the second is, how do we think about making sure

that patients and providers are able to meet each other

where they're at, regardless of someone identifying

as neurodiverse?

(hopeful music)

(door squeaking)

- Burnett, I'm gonna go ahead and have you fill out

some forms for me and then you can have a seat

in the waiting room, fill these out,

and bring 'em back up to me when you're finished.

[Burnett] Okay, thank you.

When I first walked in and sat in the waiting area,

I was overwhelmed.

I knew I should be there, but my anxiety was telling me

that I wasn't supposed to be there.

How do you feel about your appointment?

Oh, not very well. Anxious.

When I brought my sibling with me,

we helped each other when we went to the office.

At least you'll be less likely to miss the appointment

or to leave or anything if someone else is with you.

Take a lot of pressure off,

which I guess is just the pressure

is just negative self-talk.

[Nurse] Burnett, are you ready?

Hey.

[Nurse] How are you today?

Good, how are you?

Well, thank you. This way.

Then we're gonna step over here

and then right in this room right here.

And you can have a seat right here.

Okay.

[Nurse] How long has it been for you

since you've had your teeth cleaned?

[Burnett] About three years.

[Nurse] Well, that's not so bad.

Do you have any teeth that are bothering you?

[Burnett] Yeah, a few.

[Nurse] A few, okay.

[Burnett] Can you lower the lights?

- [Nurse] Did you bring your own sunglasses

or would you like to wear these?

- Oh, I left mine in the car. I'll wear those.

[Nurse] You'll wear those?

Okay, I'll take your glasses, if you'd like.

Okay.

[Nurse] All right, thank you!

Thanks.

[Nurse] All right.

Okay, I'm gonna put in my Loops.

[Nurse] Okay.

- I calmed down not too long after being there

because of all the natural lighting.

Oh, that was immediately calming. Surprisingly calming.

- [Nurse] I'm gonna use this bright light on my head.

And open and turn towards me a little bit, thank you. Ah!

- It's important to go into spaces to help people learn

how to become better allies if we're

to create a more inclusive world.

- [Nurse] All right, everything looks good for me.

[Burnett] Okay.

- [Nurse] Now I'll go get the doctor and she'll come in

and do your exam.

Would you like to sit up while you wait?

[Burnett] Sure.

- I think we have to start normalizing the accommodations

and the different environments rather

than trying to normalize people.

And I would love our sensory spaces

and our low sensory spaces to be more mainstream,

we don't bat an eyelid at using them, there's more of them.

(water trickling)

Our daughter, Alero, loves water.

Water is one of her favorite places to be.

But that is buttressed against the fact she has

to be around a lot of people.

So there's the conflict there.

(Alero vocalizing)

Yeah, it's there.

Alero, ready to go?

Alero's perfect scenario is a giant pool,

secluded, nobody's there.

The work I do is because we need inclusive space.

I see the impact because, when you have them,

things are better for everyone, including Alero and Fela.

At a public place like a pool,

you do see the reaction in her body.

I could sense there was a bit

of hesitation on her heart,

so a couple of things I tried to run through,

one being, okay, Daddy's gonna go in, it's safe.

Daddy's having fun. Can you come join me?

(water splashing)

(kids shrieking)

That didn't work.

Come on kiddo. All it takes is one.

Another thing I tried was more verbal cues.

You know, "Come, come to Daddy.

Hold my hand, I'll catch you."

And it almost worked, you know.

You could see her rocking a little bit,

trying to lean and trying to decide

if she was gonna jump into the pool.

[Mother] Don't run, hey!

The final thing that actually did work

was literally walk her to the step down part of the pool,

where she could enter the environment

a little bit at a time, right?

So she stepped literally one foot in, walk back out.

Step two feet in, walk back out.

Step three feet in, walk back out.

And finally decided it was worth taking the plunge.

All of that took 45 minutes before she actually got in.

And once you got her in, she had a blast.

Alero in the water

is Alero truly at one of her happiest places.

I would say water, music, and jumping all bring out

a version of Alero that's highly playful, that loves life,

that loves the people around her.

She laughs more than she normally would.

It truly is her happy place.

It's like when people come alive when they write

or when they, you know, speak in public, when they paint

that's how Alero comes alive in those situations.

In the span of an afternoon, we saw both sides.

We saw sensory overload and then we saw genuine joy.

The beauty of love is the humanity in it,

and humanity is both beautiful

and not so beautiful at times.

And when you look at the totality of it

and the level of authenticity that I now live in,

I do love my life.

And I don't know if I would've said that five years ago,

but I have embraced it all.

I listened to my aunt, I acted like I went

to the store and I bought it.

And do I cry sometimes? Absolutely.

But I cry and I still move forward.

I hope that people who watch this see families like mine

as not some societal problem to fix.

I hope they genuinely see our humanity.

That's what I hope and that's why we do what we do.

(inaudible)

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- I wanna thank you for doing this documentary

because not that many people really understand

what dyslexia is and, you know,

or might even know people are dyslexic.

And knowledge is powerful.

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