Meet
Barb Rentenbach
The jacket of my latest book , Neurodiversity : A Humorous and Practical Guide to Living with ADHD , Anxiety , Autism , Dyslexia , The Gays , and Everyone Else , says this about me : “ Neurodiversity advocate Barb Rentenbach is a sagacious and humorous writer . Due to ‘ severe autism ,’ she does not speak but types one letter at time . Barb is the co-founder / CEO of Mule and Muse Productions , co-creator of The Greater Living Institute ( GLI ), a non-profit organization designed to serve neurodiverse individuals , and star of LOUD MUTE RADIO ( a funny podcast that highlights people who are excited about who they are ). Barb ’ s previous book , I Might Be You : An Exploration of Autism and Connection , is heralded as a brutally honest memoir packed with shocking humor and insights about her often-disturbing yet beautiful life with ‘ severe autism .’ Her experiences with friendships , love , patience , and profoundly fresh perspectives are inspirational .” Who wouldn ’ t want a gal like that on their board ?
Now , I happily add Zoom Advisory Board Member to my resume .
I consider myself a muse as my work is to inspire . My qualifications are as follows . I ’ m a contemplative . Before that , I had experience as ADHD , ODD , MR , PDD , ASD , and a BRAT . I am not from the dominant human tribe of neurotypicals . Dominance has a way of creating injustice . The plodding progress of civil rights teaches us that the majority does not respect the rights of the minority until all other options are unpalatable . This is why we used the phrase “ The Gays ” in our title . My co-author , Lois ( we alternated chapters ) explains our decision this way : “ We used the term ‘ The Gays ’ to introduce a playful tone in discussing these differences . It is driving our fancy NYC publicist CRAZY ! She said , “ The Gays - WHO says that ? It sounds like some bigoted older person .”
PRECISELY ! That is our point . You see , in 1974 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual listed homosexuality as a mental illness . It sounds ludicrous now to call homosexuality a PATHOLOGY . What changed ? Major scientific breakthrough ? NOPE . ‘ The Gays ’ kicked up a fuss . We tried to make a funny book about serious topics to encourage more people to join the discussion and disarm defensiveness , pity , and less than / pathology perceptions .”
To be appreciated , we must first be understood . To be understood , we must be heard .
I excitedly join forces with Zoom because together we seek to have more neurodivergent voices contribute to bettering our world . LOUD MUTE RADIO is currently heard in over 72 countries and is for us , by us , so it is important I hear from you . If you have a comment or question , please call and record it at ( 442 ) BARB-989 or email me at info @ loudmuteradio . com . You will be heard , and I may put you on the show .
When enough of us embrace being part of the solution , justice prevails and discrimination bails .
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses 23