►
From YouTube: Interview with Dr. Melissa Houser | Moments with Melinda
Description
From Melinda Moulton:
Dr. Melissa Houser is a family doctor who was diagnosed with Autism in her thirties. She is the Founder and Executive Director of All Brains Belong (www.allbrainsbelong.org) and a practicing Vermont physician who specializes in neuro-diverse health services.
6/8/2023
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A
B
Good
morning
and
welcome
to
moments
with
Melinda,
my
name
is
Melinda
Moulton
and
I'm.
Your
host
and
today
I,
have
with
me
Dr
Melissa
Hauser
hi
Melissa.
How
are
you
oh,
it's
great
to
be
here,
I'm,
really
glad
that
you
agreed
to
join,
to
join
my
show
and
to
share
your
a
self
with
all
my
viewers.
So
let
me
tell
folks
a
little
bit
about
you.
B
Dr
Melissa
Hauser
is
a
family
doctor
and
founder
and
executive
director
of
a
non-profit
neurodiversity
affirming
Community
Health
Organization.
All
brains
belong.
She
is
an
expert
in
neuro-inclusive
health
care
and
employment,
brain
science
of
mental
health
and
neurodivergent
teams.
You
can
visit
Dr
Hauser's,
all
brains
belong
website
at
allbrainsbelong.org.
Is
that
about
right.
B
Myself,
I,
don't
know,
I,
don't
know
about
that,
but
I'm.
But
but
there's
a
lot
about
you
there's
a
lot
out
there
and
so
we're
gonna
jump
right
in
because
we
only
have
a
half
an
hour
Melissa
so
share
with
my
viewers
a
little
bit
about
your
childhood,
where
you
grew
up
and
a
little
bit
about
your
family
and
your
education.
A
A
You
know
I
I,
guess
I
guess
what
I
would
say
is
that
I
always
I
always
thought
that
I
was
different.
I
always
felt
different.
I
didn't
know
exactly
why
that
was
and
I
think
that
my
life's
journey
to
date
has
been
about,
like
you
know,
looking
looking
for
you
know
a
way
of
carving
out
meaning
and
purpose
in
a
world
that
often
seemed
to
make
no
sense.
B
So,
37
years
old,
that's
a
long
time
to
have
autism
and
not
know
and
not
be
diagnosed.
So
that
must
have
been
a
challenge.
Did
you
so
what
brought
you
to
medicine
and,
in
particular
the
care
and
support
for
neurodivergent
children
and
families,
of
course,
because
you
yourself
have
autism,
but
how
did
that
tie
in
with
your
growing
up?
Did
your
was
there?
A
A
I
would
say
that
when
I
did
ultimately
decide
to
go
to
medical
school
after
doing
a
whole
bunch
of
other
things,
I
I
I
had
the
again
Serendipity
I
had
a
a
mentor
in
medical
school,
a
rural
family
doctor
who
I
I
really
I,
just
I
I
wanted
to
grow
up
and
be,
and
the
idea
of
you
know
just
just
someone
who
showed
me
the
the
power
of
doing
things
differently.
The
power
of
you
know
not
being
afraid
to
unlearn
to
you
know,
learn
and
unlearn.
A
Some
of
the
you
know
the
conventions
that
the
Health
Care
System,
dictates
and
I
think
that
you
know
now
now.
Looking
back
I
think
you
know,
that's
that's
that's
what
I'm
trying
to
do,
and
you
know
I
left
I,
guess
at
first
to
answer
your
question
about
you
know
how
did
I
come
to
be,
focusing
on
the
support
of
neurodiversion,
kids
and
families,
often
multi-generational
families
that
that
came
through
Parenthood.
So
six
and
a
half
years
ago
I
became
the
parent.
I
became
a
parent
for
the
first
time,
and
it
was
you
know.
A
I
and
and
my
child
is,
is
also
autistic,
and
you
know
that
that
is
a
that's
a
that's
a
common
Trend
that
that
that
that
neurodivergent
adults
discover
their
own
brains.
After
like
beginning
the
Journey
of
discovering,
you
know
how
to
support
their
children
and
then
they
you
know
they
they
they
that
learning
process
leads
to
other
things.
So
what
I
would
say
is
that
that
that
is
what
you
know:
I
I.
A
It
became
really
clear
to
me
in
early
Parenthood
that
you
know
my
child
was
not
typically
developing
and
that
my
medical
education,
even
though
I
had
like
a
whole
bunch
of
training
and
Child
Development.
That
was
like
an
area
of
expertise
that
I
had
it
just
was
profoundly
inadequate.
So
that's
what
you
know
drove
me
to
do
lots
of
extra
training
and
in
particularly
to
Center
the
experiences
of
autistic
adults
to
you,
know
I
I.
It
became
really
early
early
on
in
Parenthood.
A
It
became
clear
to
me
that
the
experts
in
autistic
life
are
autistic,
people,
I,
didn't
know,
I
was
one,
and
so
you
know
I
I,
I
read
and
I
watched
and
I
like
anyway,
I
I,
that's
that's
the
path
I
took,
and
so
you
know,
I
I,
I'm
I'm,
always
looking
for
Synergy
I
I
have
the
kind
of
brain
that
compartmentalizing
different
domains
of
my
life
doesn't
really
feel
good.
And
so
that's
that's
how
my
professional
life,
you
know.
Fused
with
my
personal
life,
exploded.
B
Well,
fascinating
now,
Melissa
you
have
devoted
much
of
your
life
to
promoting
true
social
inclusion
of
children
with
no
developmental
differences.
So
can
you
talk
to
my
viewers
about
neurodiversity
and
talk
about
your
all?
Brains
are
awesome
website
and
also
oh
yeah,
all
brains,
Are
Awesome
YouTube
stations
station.
A
A
It
was
chaos,
and
so
I
was
and
then
I
found
myself
like
homeschooling
a
then
three-year-old
and
like
figuring
out
how
to
do
that,
and
it
became
really
clear
to
me
that
my
child
learned
really
well
on
video
I,
had
to
unlearn
a
lot
of
like
these
assumptions
about
screens
and
young
children
that
you
know
my
medical
education
had
like
fed
me
anyway
turns
out
from
a
visual
processing
standpoint
an
intentional
standpoint.
You
know
this.
This
was
a.
This
is
a
really
powerful
tool
so
turns
out.
A
She
also
learned
best
with
me
on
a
screen,
so
I
started
making
YouTube
videos
to
connect
with
her
in
the
context
of
her
interest.
Her
monotropic
focus
at
that
time
was
Elsa
from
Frozen,
so
we
had
a
lot
of
Frozen
videos
about
like
all
kinds
of
socio-emotional
learning
Concepts
anyway,
so
I
figured.
You
know
if
I'm
making
these
videos
for
my
child
every
day
and
like
I,
made
videos
every
day
like
in
the
middle
of
the
night.
You
know,
while
on
call
anyway,
I
figured
let's
put
on
YouTube
and
try
to
promote.
A
You
know
really
the
the
the
basics
that
I
think
all
children
need
to
understand.
Neurodiversity,
which
is
what
neurodiversity
means
to
me,
is
that
it's
that
we
all
have
different
brains.
We
all
have
different
brains,
that
learn,
think
communicate,
behave,
play
differently
and
there's
no
right
type
of
brain,
and
so
you
know
then
so
so
I
wanted
my
three-year-old
to
know
that
and
so
and
and
even
you
know,
I
not
all
my
patients
are
neurodivergent,
and
so
even
you
know,
typically
developing
kids
I
don't
want
them.
A
Thinking
that
their
brain
is
the
default
brain.
There
is
no
default
brain.
We
all
have
different
brains.
So
that's
what
that's,
what
the
all
brains
are
awesome,
YouTube
station,
you
know,
I,
don't
I,
don't
have
time
to
add
I
I,
don't
I,
don't
make
a
whole
lot
of
of
new
videos.
Certainly
all
breeds
belong
our
non-profit
organization
that
I'll
tell
you
about.
We.
B
Well,
my
folks
should
certainly
go
on
to
YouTube
and
pull
up
all
brains
are
awesome
and
also
go
to
the
website.
All
brains
are
awesome.
Now
now,
let's
talk
about
your
work
as
a
physician
and
some
of
the
medical
care
that
you
specifically
provide
folks
with
neurodiversity
now
I
understand
autism,
because
my
grandson
who's
18
is
a
non-speaking
autist.
He
has
very
unique
and
special
strengths
and
his
health
care
is
also
unique
and
special
talk
to
us
a
little
bit
about
your
practice.
Yeah.
A
Yeah
I
mean
first
I
would
say
that
just
you
know
when
I
was
working
in
traditional
primary
care,
I
saw
that
there
were
so
many
of
my
patients
who
were
not
having
their
needs
met
both
in
health
care
and
outside
of
healthcare.
You
know,
kids
being
bullied
in
school
and
struggling
to
have
their
access
needs,
met.
Adults
struggling
to
you
know:
access
in
inclusive
employment.
A
You
know
people
of
all
ages
are
struggling
with
social
isolation
and
that,
like
people
of
all
ages,
were
you
know,
often
getting
ignored
by
the
Health
Care
System,
and
so
you
know,
and
I
I
think
that
that
really
to
me
relates
to
how
all
the
defaults
in
society,
like
you
know.
This
is
the
way
you
get
health
care.
You
must
pick
up
the
phone
to
make
make
an
appointment.
You
must
fill
out
the
20-page
packet
to
become
a
new
patient.
A
You
know
at
school,
you
must
sit
in
the
chair
and,
like
you
know,
all
the
things
right,
so
it.
It
also
made
no
sense
to
me
that,
since
I
was
spending
all
my
time
in
the
exam
room,
helping
people
problem
solve
life
outside
the
exam
room,
it
made
no
sense
to
me
to
like
fret,
like
that
life
fragments
these
silos
of
all
of
these
different
domains
that
people
are
trying
to
access
because
they're
all
part
of
Health.
A
As
like
the
brain,
the
brain's
shutting
down
from
you,
know
chronic
toxic
stress
from
navigating
things
in
a
world.
That's
not
designed
for
your
brain,
and
this
is
common
common.
You
know,
unfortunately,
the
the
the
a
lot
of
people
don't
come
to
medical
attention
or
you
know,
don't
don't
don't
come
upon
learning
about
how
their
brains
work
until
they
are
so
profoundly
dysregulated
that
they
start
appearing
more
stereotypical,
because
the
DSM
criteria
for
autism
are
autistic
stress
behaviors.
So
anyway.
A
I
was
37
and
I
had
a
four-year-old
and
like
the
Health,
Care
System
doesn't
know
that
doctors
caring
for
autistic
people-
they
don't
know
that
and
anyway,
it
just
became
like
no,
no
so
I,
you
know
I
had
to
really
Break
Free
of
the
restrictive
ways
of
practicing,
and
you
know
and
try
to
try
to
develop
something
new
which
is
a
village.
It's
a
community
Village
of
learning
and
healing
where,
rather
than
separate,
Medical
Care
from
all
these
other
domains,
all
brains
belong.
A
Does
everything
because
to
me
to
do
anything
for
the
neurodivergent
community?
You
know
I,
I
I
knew
we
had
to
do
everything,
so
we
have
medical
care.
We
have
social
connection
programs,
we
have
employment
programs
and
we
do
educational,
trainings,
neurodiversity
related
education
trainings,
because
it's
about
Shifting,
the
broader
Community
conversation
on
neurodiversity
and
inclusion.
That's
going
to
make
the
you
know
the
most
impact
in
making
the
world
a
better
place
for
people
with
all
types
of
words.
A
B
So
I'm
gonna
save
these
two
questions
for
later
and
I'm
going
to
move
right
into
the
discussion
about
your
non-profit.
All
brains
belong.
You
talk.
You
touched
a
little
bit
on
it
about
why
you
established
the
organization,
and
you
stated
that
it
is
important
for
kids
to
grow
up,
knowing
that
there's
not
one
right
way
to
be
in
this
world
and
as
we
both
know
being
neurodiverse
can
be
very
lonely.
B
Talk
to
us
a
little
bit
more
about
all
brains,
belong
and
and
the
website
and
tell
us
what
the
website
is
as
well.
I
think
I,
remember,
yeah
all
brainsbelung.org.org,
so
folks
can
go
visit.
Your
site
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
my
viewers
can
get
engaged
in
your
organization,
whether
it's
you
know
whether
they
personally
are
affected
with
neurodiversity
or
they
know
someone
who
is
talk
to
us
a
little
bit
about
that.
A
Absolutely
so
you
know,
as
I
said,
we
had
these
four
types
of
programs,
so
so
so
the
the
whole
concept
of
the
whole
organization,
the
whole
model
is
based
on
connection
connection
is
the
path
to
health,
and
so
we
have.
We
have
medical
care,
but
then
we
have
these
other
programs
that
are
open
to
everyone,
even
when
even
folks
who
are
getting
their
health
care
elsewhere,
even
people
look
at
it
outside
of
Vermont.
So
anyway,
I
the
the
best
way
to
get
involved
is
to
come
to
our
program.
A
A
You
know
related
to
Executive
functioning
regulation
relationships
employment
this
month,
we're
doing
a
spot
on
neurodivergent
health
topics
anyway,
so
that's
a
great
way
to
meet
other
people,
and
it's
a
great
way
to
you
know
just
to
to
collectively
learn
and
often
unlearn,
some
of
the
assumptions
that
that
we
grow
up
with
about
what
how
brains
work
so
so
brain
club
for
kids.
We
have
a
free
program.
All
our
community
social
connection,
programs
are
free
by
the
way.
A
So
we
have
another
another
free
program
called
kid
connections
for
Kids
4
to
17.
Certainly
a
little
bit
older
is
also
okay,
where
we
we
connect
People
based
on
shared
interests.
It's
a
customized
friend
matching
program.
You
know,
I,
think
social
isolation
is
common
and
it's
it's
it's
it's
it's
not
about
connecting
people
with
a
shared
diagnosis,
autistic
and
or
ADHD
brains
tend
to
be
monotropic.
That
means
fewer
things,
Captivate
our
interest
at
a
time
and
do
so
more
intensely
than
other
brands.
A
Okay,
just
just
checking
that's
that's
what
I
love
it.
That's
happening,
yeah,
I'm,
fine
with
that
yeah.
She
may
be
like
being
a
dragon
right
now
for
all
I
know
anyway,
so
yeah
right.
So
anyway
she
loves
dragons.
But,
like
oh,
you
know,
if
you
have
a
monotropic
focus
on
dragons
and
there's
no
one
in
your
class
who
wants
to
think
play
talk
about
dragons,
then
it's
going
to
be
really
hard
for
you
to
have.
You
know
satisfying
social
interactions,
because
dragons
are
what
you
think
about
at
all
times.
A
B
So
now,
a
few
a
few
months
ago,
you
testified
in
favor
of
a
bill
that
would
limit
restraints
and
seclusion
in
schools,
which
is
a
form
of
control
by
adults
in
working
with
neurodiverse
children.
We've
experienced
it
ourselves
with
my
grandson.
Physical
force
is
never
acceptable.
So
why
has
this
been
happening
in
Vermont?
And
and
how
will
this
bill
change
that.
A
No
I
think
that,
let's
just
just
thank
you
for
bringing
that
up,
I
am
so
grateful
that
you're
bringing
this
to
public
awareness
right,
because
I
think
the
majority
of
vermonters
don't
know
that
this
is
happening.
So
what
we
know
lives
in
the
balance
reported
that
at
least
587
sweet
little
loves
are
restrained
and
or
secluded
in
schools
each
year
in
Vermont.
A
So
what
what?
What?
What?
What?
What
happens
is
kids
there's?
Because
we
don't
often
have
the
awareness
of
the
like
brain
science
when
kids
are
dysregulated
and
we
meet
them
and
they're
in
the
state
of
fight
or
flight.
We
meet
them
with
scary,
traumatic
practices
that
induce
further
dysregulation
and
more
trauma.
And
yet
you
know
we
talk
about
trauma-informed
schools,
trauma-informed
Healthcare
trauma
for
everything,
but
yet
this
happens.
A
No,
so
it
it
there's
legislative
recess
right
now
and
so
that
it's
it
was
still
being
discussed,
reviewed
by
the
the
House
of
Representatives
education
committee.
So
I
encourage
any
viewers
who
care
about
this
to
contact
their
legislators
and
tell
your
story
because
I
think
that's
the
you
know
it's
it's!
A
B
It
does
it
does,
and
we've
experienced
it
personally
so
now,
Melissa
I
do
not
support
the
use
of
the
word
disability,
which
is
so
often
used
to
describe
neuro
and
physically
diverse
people.
I
feel
that
any
discs
before
a
word
diminishes
and
diss
dismisses
the
gifts
and
extraordinary
talents
of
these
remarkable
human
beings.
B
A
A
The
social
model
of
disability
refers
to
it's,
not
the
issue
with
the
individual,
it's
about
the
environment,
thwarting
the
individual.
So
it's
about
and
the
amount
of
disability
that
somebody
experiences
is
relative
to
the
barriers
in
the
environment.
So
you
know
if,
if
I
am
a
wheelchair
user
and
I
approach,
a
building
that
has
a
ramp
I
am
going
to
have
less
disability
than
if
I
approach
a
building
that
does
not
have
a
ramp,
and
so
when
it
comes
to
Invisible
disability,
it's
the
same
thing.
A
There's
the
equivalence
of
the
lack
of
ramp
like
all
over
the
place,
and
so
you
know
I
think
that
access
you
know
we
it
all
brings
belong.
We
do
a
lot
of
of
trainings
educational
trainings
for
for
organizations
of
a
wide
range
of
types
all
about
you
know,
accessibility.
How
do
we
remove
barriers
to
access
to
full
and
meaningful
participation?
I
think
that's
where
the
action
is.
B
A
Yeah,
so
this
is
a
project
being
carried
out
by
the
the
Vermont
developmental
disabilities.
Council,
the
DD
Council,
so
Auburn's
belong
consults
to
this
project,
but
it's
the
idea
that
you
know
often
health
information
is
not
provided
in
an
accessible
way.
So
you
know
people
with
particularly
people
with
intellectual
disability,
but
you
know
not
not
even
you
know,
there's
just
plain
language,
so
the
idea
of
communicating
in
clear
easily
understandable
language
benefits.
Everybody
having
you
know,
you
know,
Clarity
of
information
benefits
everybody.
A
So
what
the
DD
council
is
doing
through
the
inclusive
Health
Partnership
project
is
co-creating
health
information
materials
using
Universal
Design.
So
what
Universal
Design
is,
is
it's
it's
using
multiple,
flexible,
different
ways
to
to
do
everything,
and
so,
with
this
project
there
there
is
text.
There
is
video.
A
So
so
the
the
the
type
of
training
that
that
my
organization
does
is
around
kind
of
the
the
the
nuances
of
neuro-inclusive
Health
delivery.
So
you
know
covering
topics
of
sensory
processing,
and
you
know
neural
inclusive
communication
strategies,
use
of
declarative
language
supporting
folks
who
are
non-speaking
communicators.
A
B
So
I
mean
talk
a
little
bit
about
that
for
a
second
about
the
some
of
the
medical
issues.
I
understand
that
during
covid
you
held
a
a
clinic
because
that
was
a
very
difficult
thing
to
to
take
my
grandson
in
to
get
a
shot
he
refuses
to
and-
and
they
ended
up
figuring
it
out
that
if
they
just
kept
him
in
the
car,
somebody
could
jump
in
the
car
and
give
him
the
shot.
B
A
B
Sure
Rowan
would
have
would
have
felt
more
comfortable
to
be
in
that
environment.
So
talk
a
little
bit
about
self-regulation,
I'm
going
to
go
back
to
that
and
the
social
demands
that
students
with
neurodiversity
deal
with
and
and
all
and
I'm,
assuming
that,
hopefully,
the
schools
are
getting
better,
especially
when
this
Bill
gets
passed.
But
how
are
the
schools
helping
them
to
navigate
this
public
system
that
they
are
required
to
participate
in?
Do
you
feel,
like
things
are
getting
better
in
the
schools
that
they're
understanding
and
providing
what's
needed
rather
than
hey?
B
A
Yeah,
it
doesn't
work,
so
I
think
it's
important
to
distinguish
between
individuals
and
systems
right,
so
whether
we're
talking
about
education
or
Healthcare
I
think
that
individuals
are
wanting
what's
best,
it's
there's
a
lot
of
dysfunction
in
systems
that
really
interfere,
that
that,
like
thwart
the
individuals
from
doing
what
they
want
to
do,
you
know
whether
there
be
you
know
anyway,
in
healthcare.
For
example,
you
know
the
the
idea
that
a
Health
Care
System
would
require
a
primary
care.
Doctor
to
you
know,
see
a
patient
every
10
to
15
minutes.
A
Well,
there
are
a
lot.
There
are
people.
You
know
there
are
lots
of
people
with
all
different
types
of
brains
for
whom
that
is
not
enough
time
and
that
really
thwarts
one's
ability
to
communicate
effectively
with
Healthcare
Providers,
and
it's
just
it's
and
then
then
you
throw
in
the
environmental
conditions.
You
know
the
fluorescent
lights,
the
ticking
of
the
clock,
I
mean
it's
just
a
nightmare,
and
so
so
it
is
in
school
and
so
I
think
that
that
you
know
we
we
there
there
is
a
growing.
A
You
know,
community
of
of
neurodiversity,
affirming
Educators.
You
know
who
you
know
both
who
have
connected
with
our
organization
and
and
folks
who
are
you
know
out
in
the
world
that
I
know
are
out
there
who
I
meet
at
conferences.
Etc,
who
are
you
know:
they're
they're,
they're,
they're,
they're,
they're,
they're,
they're,
changing
they're,
changing
the
system
from
within
the
system
and
I.
Think
that
that
you
know
neurodivergent,
kids
really
do
need
allies
and
I
think
you
know
when
we
think
about
about
stigma.
I
think
part
of
of
of
perpetuating
stigma.
A
Is
you
know
these
these?
These
narratives?
You
know
when
we
think
about
the
way
that
Health
Care
Providers
are
trained
to
speak
about
autism,
for
example,
the
way
that
educators
are
trained
to
understand
autism.
You
know
that
I
think
the
the
going
far
far
upstream
and
shifting
how
these
neurological
differences
are
trained
about.
I.
A
B
A
There's
a
study
from
2015
zerbo
at
all
that
that
showed
that
amongst
Primary
Care
clinicians
less
than
10
would
suspect
that
their
patients
were
autistic.
If
they
volunteered
information,
showed
interest
in
people
and
could
understand
the
whole
picture,
you
know,
I
can
say
that
understanding.
The
whole
picture
is
one
of
the
many
strengths
of
the
autistic
brain
so
like
yeah,
so
and,
and
and
and
and
and
that
you
know
it's
it's
it's
it's
that
stereotype.
That
I
think
is
is
really
problematic.
It.
B
It
was
anyway,
so
I'm
so
glad
that
you
were
working
in
this
area
to
educate
those
that
need
to
be
educated,
especially
in
the
in
the
medical
field.
You
do
have
a
practice.
You
are,
you
are
a
physician.
You
have
a
private
practice,
you're
not
taking
any
new
patients,
so
I
can
understand.
Are
you
well
yeah.
B
Open
for
business
all
right,
thank
you
for
that.
I
I
am
really
moved
by
you
and
and
by
what
the
work
that
you've
done
and
when
you
and
I
had
our
first
conversation,
it
was.
It
was
a
gift
to
know
that
you're
out
there
and
that
you're
in
Vermont
and
you're
close
by
and
that
you're
standing
up
with
Incredible
Vision,
incredibly
hard
work
and
dedication
and
commitment
for
so
many
whose
voices
cannot
be
heard,
the
marginalized
in
our
state
and
and
for
that
Dr
Melissa.
B
Hauser
I
want
to
thank
you
for
all
that
you
do,
and
and
thanks
for
your
time
on
my
show,
I'm
so
glad
my
viewers
got
to
meet
you
and
I'm
sure
they're,
going
to
hear
more
of
you
and
I'm
going
to
get
you
back
on
my
show
again
again
later
on
to
follow
up
with
some
of
the
questions
I
wasn't
able
to
get
to
and
and
to
my
viewers.
Thank
you
so
much
for
for
being
with
us
today.