Episode Details

David welcomes guest Kelley Colihan Robertson, a former CNN journalist and documentary producer turned autism mom and communication rights advocate. Kelly shares her son Vance’s early signs, later autism diagnosis at age five, therapies, and difficult public-school experiences amid family stress after divorce. She describes newsroom life at CNN, how journalism shifted toward doing more with less and more punditry, and how autism coverage often reinforced assumptions about non-speaking people. Kelley recounts discovering text-based communication through Spelling to Communicate in Atlanta and her slow realization of unreliable speaking, anxiety and regulation during early practice, and the non-linear progress of communication. They discuss media skepticism and controversies around Woody Brown and an Amy Lutz New York Times op-ed, emphasizing the need to listen to nonspeakers. Kelly offers tips to slow down and presume competence, and they plan a future part two and possible autism news roundup.

Topics

00:40 Meet Kelley

03:28 Autism Journey Begins

05:10 Late Diagnosis Signs

08:29 School Struggles

10:28 Co Parenting Reality

13:44 Inside CNN Newsroom

18:40 Journalism Then Now

24:25 Autism Media Coverage

27:11 Discovering Letterboards

27:35 Writing the Book

32:50 Text Based Communication

34:01 Spelling vs Communication

35:00 Correcting and Letting Go

35:41 Parent Anxiety and Coaching

37:02 Regulation and Steady Support

38:38 Fluency Takes Time

40:04 Woody Brown Media Controversy

46:12 New York Times Op-Ed Critique

52:04 Centering Nonspeakers Voices

54:12 Schooling and Presuming Competence

57:26 Tip and Fact or Fiction

01:01:42 Wrap Up and Book Plans