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Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

And today is episode 167 with the title Step Into My Shoes. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Rebecca Engle. Rebecca is a passionate special education teacher, an author, an advocate for neurodivergent students who is dedicated to creating inclusive learning environments and improving support systems for autistic learners. When I asked Rebecca to describe her super power, she said that it is her ability to transform her own personal experiences into actionable advocacy for inclusive education and student empowerment. Hello, Rebecca. Welcome to the show.

Hello. Thank you for having me.

Good to have you. I think we tried to sort this out before Christmas, but for one thing or another, we had to postpone it until now. So yeah, it's great to have you on.

Yes.

You mentioned just now that you're based in Texas, is that right? Yes, in the U.S. so what's the weather like at the moment?

It is like 50 degrees outside, but going up.

Okay. So that's chilly but not cold.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, Rebecca, you have your journey, you've been on as an autistic educator. It's quite inspiring reading through the notes. So can you tell me a bit about your personal journey? What got you into doing what you're doing?

Yeah, sure. As a little girl, my mom realised there was something different about me. But I had two older brothers, so doctors were kind of like, don't compare her to your brother, your sons, like, you know, she's fine, she'll be fine. And my mom went for my brother's 5 year old checkup with me and I was newly 3. The my brother's doctor said something's wrong with her and my mom was like, finally someone said something. And my brother's doctor was my doctor's. Well, my doctor was my brother's doctor's boss, so you can imagine that argument that happened there. And so when all of this started going on, I was later diagnosed with pervasive elemental disorder, sensory processing disorder, auditory processing disorder, speech apraxia, you can name it.

Multiple diagnoses. Now in modern day dsm, all of those fall on the autism spectrum at the age of three because of these diagnoses. I started in the early trial Childhood education programme which is for children that have disability, specifically to attend pre K in the us and so I attended an early childhood facility and learned how to function in school settings. I was in a setting like that for three years in a self contained classroom with other autistic disabled students and then went into the general education setting where I was, which is the setting without, with children without severe disabilities and was manipulated, mistreated by teachers, bullied, led to terrible things all the way until I got to the end of college really. And because of that mistreatment I faced as a student with a disability, I had a heart to make sure that that didn't happen to kids like me that are children today.

It's quite a harrowing story that you had to go through that as a younger person. Tell me when you were aware that you were different or were you just you?