In our most recent episode of “& so much more,” we speak with Weston Smith who was diagnosed at the age of 5 as having autism spectrum disorder. In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, we interview Weston and find out what it was like to be diagnosed, the difficulties he has overcome and his current progress. Together, Cami and her son Weston share a personal look at what it takes for Weston to consider his autism diagnosis as his "superpower". Join us for this heartwarming interview! To learn more about the work that Centra's Autism & Development Services is doing across central VA, listen to or watch, “& so much more,” on your favorite podcast platform today!
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Transcript
Cami Smith:
Hi, and welcome to And So Much More. It is Autism Acceptance Month in the month of April, and this is a super special month for me and my family because my son has autism spectrum disorder. And he's really passionate about his story and so I thought, who better to tell a story than one of our own Centra Autism and Development Center patients? My son Weston. So I have him on here with me. Thanks for coming, bud.
Weston Smith:
Thank you for bringing me on here. Hello.
Cami Smith:
Hello. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself first?
Weston Smith:
I've had autism almost my whole life. I have had some challenges and I've had some victories with it. And I usually get through them all, just barely.
Cami Smith:
Yeah?
Weston Smith:
But I feel strong about it.
Cami Smith:
You do? That's awesome. So you were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when you were five years old. Do you remember much about that?
Weston Smith:
Yeah, I remember before I went to my main school, we were trying to find summer camps so that way you could go to work and I was constantly being kicked out because of how I thought and how I acted because no one really gave me that much patience.
Cami Smith:
Yeah? So you have a strong memory of that. Yeah. And I remember you trying to just to process your emotions and the things you were experiencing. And do you remember us talking to you about fight or flight?
Weston Smith:
Yes.
Cami Smith:
And we were like, "You fight and you flight." You just choose both and you go for it. But that's because you were still learning to wrap your mind around some of these big emotions you were having. And would you say that that's probably pretty normal for most kids?
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. But as things progressed, we realized maybe there might be something a little bit more happening. And so we went to see Dr. Brennan over at the Centra Autism and Development Center.
Weston Smith:
And Baxter
Cami Smith:
And Baxter. Dr. Brennan has a therapy dog named Baxter, and he is kind of super main character in our family. We love Baxter. Do you remember much about that first meeting with Dr. Brennan and some of the questions she asked you or even how you felt?
Weston Smith:
I know I was fairly satisfied with what I was doing and I was very calm because I felt good where I was. I remember her asking me tons of questions and then I got to pet Baxter while I did them sometimes.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Did that help you feel safe?
Weston Smith:
Yeah. At the time I remember we didn't have a dog then, so Baxter was like, I got to go there every few, like a month or so.
Cami Smith:
Every few months we would go in, yeah.
Weston Smith:
And I got to see a dog. So that was pretty big.
Cami Smith:
That was a big win.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
And so at that point in your life you had had some interaction with adults outside of our family, not just our family friends, but some teachers, some administrators. Before we met with Dr. Brennan, can you tell me about some of those interactions and maybe how their understanding, or their lack of understanding about autism, had an impact on you?
Weston Smith:
All right. Tell me if I'm correct. I'm pretty sure I went to kindergarten and then I met Dr. Brennan?
Cami Smith:
Yes. You started kindergarten and then a few months later you met Dr. Brennan.
Weston Smith:
I remember back when I first started kindergarten, I was in a class. I remember I had three friends and so I'd usually stick with them throughout the whole day. So we would get there and the teacher would sit out on each table different games to help get our memory up of what we learned the other day. And so I learned patterns then. But I remember that she did not have much patience for me. And one thing that I strictly remember is she had this thing on the wall.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And it was like you had your name on a clip and there'd be different boxes up on there. And so it'd be like space and red would be "Outstanding," and then dark blue would be, "Oh no, that's super bad." And then there'd be a moon and the sun. Moon usually is like 10 minutes of recess or in the sun you would have to have lunch alone.
But I remember that I was usually in somewhere at the bottom, be it she never had any patience for how I thought and how I acted.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And part of that was on me because I didn't really take in consideration on what she was through. But I remember that everyone, almost every day, she would send me to the office to color. And at the time I thought that going to the office was normal. Every kid did it.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And like one kid did it in every class.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And so eventually I just started going without asking, and I'd just meet someone there. And the teacher helper, I'm pretty sure, the second teacher, she would always bring me back, coped me back in the classroom.
Cami Smith:
She was really helpful. I remember her.
Weston Smith:
Yeah, she was. I remember after that I moved to another teacher because the other class wasn't going to well because of the patience thing.
Cami Smith:
So real quick. So you would say there was a lack of understanding there?
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
And I heard you say something that I thought was interesting, that some of it was on you because you didn't take into consideration how she was feeling. Which I think when you're a five year old child in a classroom, it's really not your job to think about what the teacher might be feeling. But that's a big thought to have. And so I love that you're being considerate of others. But I think it's also important to see that when somebody doesn't understand how autism spectrum disorder can exhibit or impact a child, it's hard to know how to work with them, how to instruct them.
So it's so important for the adults in our life to learn about different things that kids experience. And autism spectrum disorder is one of those things. Would you agree? So it's really crazy. You had an example of how there was one experience that was really hard because there was a lack of understanding, but then you had an experience that same year when you switched classrooms and it was really good. So tell me about that, because I feel like that was a grace moment in your life.
Weston Smith:
So I know in that classroom, I mostly remember it because of how nice the teacher was. She would interact with everyone. If someone had one certain need and she was teaching a lesson, sometimes she would just immediately stop, run over and say, "Hey, what was going on?" And all that. And I remember I had outbursts at the time to where I would just be angry and I'd hide in a corner and cry or something.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And I remember that some kids were scared of me. And that kids that I actually have in my class now, we all ended up in the same school. I remember they all-
Cami Smith:
All these years later.
Weston Smith:
Yeah. I remember they all remember hearing me yell and scream down the hall or some were even in my class.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And I remember, I now know that it's hard to have a name of that kid that's screamed or yelled and everyone heard.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
But I remember that when I was in there, she always, to calm me, she would send me all the way to the back. And at the time I loved marble tracks. They were super satisfying to me for some reason.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And I would take all this stuff, old fidgets and stuff whenever she wasn't using it and I'd take tape and I'd tape them together and I'd make a marble track.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And I'd always come over when we'd had free time and I'd like show it off and I'd send a marble through and be super satisfying to me.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And I really felt like she understood me in a way.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
Than the other class.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. So that's really cool what you just shared. So you had someone who understood that you processed information differently, and when you were overstimulated and upset, you needed to have a safe space separate from everyone. Maybe not coloring in the principal's office, but a separate place for you to be able to process those emotions and maybe use your hands to do something to calm down.
And I remember that being so impactful that year. I saw such a change in you when there was suddenly someone who saw you and who took the time to understand you and give you the space to process things in a certain way. And so I think it's really cool that you have not a poor memory of either of those teachers because you understand that they were working with the information that they had. One wasn't a bad teacher, she just didn't understand and she didn't know how to interact. And the other had more of an understanding and it allowed her to help you and teach you in ways that really actually worked. So I love that. Thank you for sharing those stories.
Weston Smith:
Welcome.
Cami Smith:
So how about now? All these years later. You have probably one of the best memories. I feel like you remember details about your life and even my life that I don't even remember. What is it like now, you're 11 years old, and when you tell people you have autism spectrum disorder, or if you have to explain to someone that you have autism, how do you do that?
Weston Smith:
I remember when I first transitioned to the school I was in now, I've been in it since first grade. And when I first started in first grade, I was in a autism development classroom.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
So at the time there was literally only three kids in the class.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Kids who were high functioning like you are.
Weston Smith:
Yeah. There was literally only three.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
If you include me.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. And I remember first walking in there and we were all different grades.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
My friend at the time, my best friend that I stick through all the way to third grade.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
He was one grade above me, and then the other kid, he was one grade above him. And I first got there and I nicely talked and we played with these sort of Legos in a way, if some people call them. And I remember we had so much in common.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
That what we did at home, how we functioned. And we hung out all the time. And then other kids started joining.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
There was another kid that came and he was in fourth grade.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. So you were with kids whose mind worked similar to yours.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
Okay.
Weston Smith:
And then another kid came, and then another kid came, and then another kid came.
Cami Smith:
So it grew, yeah.
Weston Smith:
And so the teacher would change every once in a while, but they would always be one of my top favorite teachers. And so I remember when I was in second grade and in first grade, I mostly stayed out of trouble then. I would still have my outbursts every once in a while. But I learned a lot.
Cami Smith:
About how to cope?
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
What were some of the things that you learned?
Weston Smith:
Every day she had this one little spot inside the closet. We called that the chillax corner. And she would have a big bucket of fidgets, and she'd have a chair, one of those big Joe chairs.
Cami Smith:
That like move around a little bit?
Weston Smith:
Yeah. And she had a nice rug. She had this cool curtain that was different colors, and she had posters on the wall. And I remember every once in a while it sort of evolved in a way to different times. So the first-
Cami Smith:
It had different stuff. Well, what was that room used for?
Weston Smith:
Just chilling.
Cami Smith:
And so how did that help you cope when you felt overwhelmed?
Weston Smith:
I would walk in there and I'd grab my favorite fidget. There were these different sort of magnets in a way. And I'd put them together and I'd build cool stuff and I would just make my hands move. And I would sit there, just thinking, and then I'd come out and I'd be so much better.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Wasn't there a little timer?
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
Like one of the sand timers that you would put in there?
Weston Smith:
We could have different timers. That's what I mean by it would every once in a while it changed.
Cami Smith:
So the timer changed every once in a while.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
So we would have five minutes, two minutes, one minute, and we'd tell her what we usually would need and mostly it would be like five or two minutes.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Okay.
Weston Smith:
And I'd use that and I'd be much better later.
Cami Smith:
So there were different things in the class that helped you cope.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
So I want to get back to one of the questions that we asked, or the question that I asked, that was how do you tell people that you have autism?
Weston Smith:
I remember in fourth grade, I would always define it as someone who could be stronger or weaker or someone who could be smarter or not as intelligent as the similar person that everyone usually understood or couldn't be able to communicate as well or could be able to communicate perfectly.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Because it's a spectrum. So they can be really high on the spectrum and do all those things really well, but they could also be low on the spectrum, still be insanely intelligent, but maybe not be able to communicate as well. So that's a good way to explain that.
Weston Smith:
And so then I continued to study it. And I remember there was this dude who was a genius, he works in like NASA. He put out a video and explained on how his son was autistic and he explained what autism was and all that. So I kind of go by that video.
Cami Smith:
Yeah?
Weston Smith:
It's on YouTube. But I loved seeing one of the smartest dudes in the world explain what I dealt with on a daily basis.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And so now I'm still trying to work through people trying to understand my brain.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And how I would think. And so sometimes I think five steps ahead. Sometimes I think five steps behind, a lot. And so mostly, what I said before, that's what I would usually define it as and now I find different ways to explain it.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. So do you remember when we told you you had autism for the first time, we were trying to explain to you what it was. And you told us that it was your superpower.
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. So do you still feel like that? Like autism is your superpower?
Weston Smith:
Yeah, in a way.
Cami Smith:
Yeah? In what way? Help me understand that a little bit.
Weston Smith:
I can think faster.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
I can do multiple things at once. I can make a lot of friends if I have to. And I most likely want to, most of the time. And I think of it as a superpower, as if I could do all these things that some people can't. And I think, "Oh, this is actually really cool. I can do these things."
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
And sometimes I can impress people. Sometimes people are like, "Oh, multiple people can do that." And so not many people have understood how I think.
Cami Smith:
Yeah.
Weston Smith:
But they still help me get through it as friends and sometimes even as enemies.
Cami Smith:
Oh.
Weston Smith:
But I feel like I've learned throughout a lot on how to explain it.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. I like that. I feel like you have a very positive way of talking about this part of you. And that's probably the biggest thing that has helped me, even watching you walk through this and just trying to be a support and trying to be understanding, is autism is a part of who you are. Just like you have blue eyes and you know what I mean? And we all have five fingers. And it's just a part of the makeup of who you are. And I think when people react to something that is a characteristic of somebody and focus on how it makes them different, I think instead what we can do for you, and as well as for other kids, and tell me what you think about this, is just focus on how that makes them special and unique. Because it is. It's just a part of who you are. Not anything that's abnormal necessarily. Would you agree with that?
Weston Smith:
Yeah.
Cami Smith:
Yeah. Well, thanks for hanging out, bud.
Weston Smith:
Welcome.
Cami Smith:
And thank you guys for listening. I think one of the coolest things we can do as we try to understand things like autism for Autism Acceptance Month is to just sit down and listen to the stories of those who understand it best because they live it. And so I'm really thankful to be able to sit here and chat with Weston a little bit. I hope you guys were able to glean a little bit from our conversation. And so thank you for listening to And So Much More.