We recently connected with Lonnie Manns and have shared our conversation below.
Lonnie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
I spent a decade and a half in corporate America but when my son was born everything changed. Our son was neurodivergent and experienced the world in ways that I did not understand. I went back to school to learn how to support him and I got a masters in special education. Through supporting our son we had extreme difficulty finding services and support. It took us months to find a social skills group. When we did find programs we were paying for everything out of pocket. Through this process, I got the idea of starting a nonprofit with the mission of being a resource for families with autistic youth that provides free educational opportunities as well as free social programming ( movies, bowling etc).
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am interested in supporting families and autistic youth as they navigate autism. For some, an autism diagnosis can be very isolating. But so often deficit-based thinking clouds the discussion and society focuses on challenges as opposed to opportunities. When my son was diagnosed, I had an IEP full of negativity about what he could not do that did not represent who he was as a person and his potential. But we had the resources to fight for our son. We began to pour opportunity and expectation into him and he has grown exponentially. I want this for other families. My goal with my organization is to support other families with social and educational opportunities.
So far, I am most proud of a program I started at a local school that focuses on supporting students with learning differences. I started a chess club and offered an introduction to chess program for autistic students. This program was well received, and it was fun watching the students learn a new skill. I will be partnering with the school for the 2024 – 2025 school year offering curriculum enrichment.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I worked in corporate America for 17 years with the same company. I had a pension, a 401k plan. When my son was two months old I had to Brazil for work. I could not stay in my job and provide the level of support my son needed. I had to prioritize supporting my son and getting his needs met sooner rather than later because we know that early intervention and services can make a huge difference. We had to pivot. We moved across the country to be closer to family. I left a high paying corporate America job and moved into education so that I could learn the skills to support him. This has been worth it 100%. Today, I am using the skills I learned to support other families.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
One of my favorite books is Neurodiversity in the Classroom: Strength-Based Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs Succeed in School and Life by Thomas Armstrong. Another book I would recommend to parents and educators is, The Gift of ADHD by Lara Honos-Webb.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mecoautism.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meco_autism/
