Episode Description
Justin Moehn is a clinical support administrator at BlueSprig who is diagnosed with ASD. Listen in as he talks shop with host Tim Crilly and co-host Dr. Summer Adami – discussing his own initiatives, his passion for educating law enforcement about interacting with individuals on the spectrum, and how excited they are to see families again after COVID-19. Justin dives into his life as an employee at BlueSprig and what the clients and his coworkers mean to him.
Full transcript
0:07 Tim Crilly:
Hello and welcome to ABA Unfiltered. I’m your host, Tim Crilly, and today we’re excited to welcome Dr. Summer Adami and Justin Moehn to discuss his role at BlueSprig and other projects he is involved with. Welcome both of you. It’s great to see you again, Summer. And Justin, welcome to ABA Unfiltered.
0:23 Dr. Summer Adami:
Thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
0:25 Tim Crilly:
Summer, I if you take a minute, could you maybe just introduce yourself and your role with BlueSprig? And then Justin, I’ll let you do the same.
0:33 Dr. Summer Adami:
Yeah, absolutely. Currently, my role at BlueSprig, I am the VP for research and clinical outcomes. And as part of my role within clinical outcomes, I work on the advocacy team. And the advocacy team has participated in several different opportunities across Houston to raise awareness. And that’s where I met Justin.
0:54 Tim Crilly:
So Justin, could you just give us a little uh background about who you are and how you came to be involved with BlueSprig?
1:00 Justin Moehn:
Um, I’m just a clinical support administrator. I help out the uh information stuff and I do the advocacy work, about the progress of spreadsheets, of files, and all the stuff that needs to be helpful bases.
1:14 Tim Crilly:
Great. So you you work pretty closely with Summer, I I imagine. Yes. Okay. So, Summer, could you give us some insight on how your relationship started with Justin and how it came to be?
1:24 Dr. Summer Adami:
Yeah, absolutely. So I was attending a town hall here in Houston, and it was hosted by Autism Speaks. And Justin was one of the presenters at that town hall. And while he was sharing his story, he mentioned having come across BlueSprig and that he was in the process of applying for a position as an RBT at BlueSprig. And so we were introduced by Judith Ursetti, who works with Autism Speaks, as well as some of the uh clinicians that are here at our Magnolia Center. They met Justin first and then they introduced us. And after that point in time, Justin got into contact with one of our operations managers at our Stafford Center. And from there, we started working together and have been ever since. And I guess this was last year, maybe around October. I think around October.
2:14 Tim Crilly:
Okay, so it’s coming up on a year, Justin, that you you’ve started. Does that sound about right? Yep. Okay. So in in that time, could you give us a sense of some of the things you’ve done for BlueSprig and and how you sort of settled on the current role that you’re involved in? So where did it start? So, what was the first sort of thought process for you getting involved? What role were you looking at and how has it evolved into what we’re doing now?
2:39 Justin Moehn:
Try all different things. I was pretty much experimented with like being an RBT or couldn’t really grasp onto that, but when some are doing some more uh spreadsheets, follow-up loads, and more data input, you know, able to work on that quickly out because I also went to college for that as well.
2:56 Tim Crilly:
Okay. It’s been very helpful. And so are you um are you working? I mean, obviously now everything’s a little bit different, but but prior to that, were you in one of the clinics working, or have you been sort of floating around to different places within BlueSprig?
3:12 Justin Moehn:
Right.
3:12 Tim Crilly:
And it’s been a little, I mean, I’ve been one-to-click, but also I’ve been uh to the support office and some other ones. That’s great. So you’ve had a chance to sort of interact with both the the support services side of BlueSprig as well as in the clinics and around some of the families. That’s great.
3:29 Justin Moehn:
Yeah, yeah. So a lot of parents are like me around, and uh also do the advocacy work for the company, which I do some speaking presentations like Crisis Intervention Team to uh Rotary Clubs as well. Sorry, last week uh did a talk with uh Channel 2 news about autism and uh traffic stops as well.
3:48 Tim Crilly:
That’s amazing. I’d love to learn a little bit more about that. So when you’re invited to speak at these events, what types of information are you trying to share with these groups?
3:57 Justin Moehn:
Pretty much about my journey of autism and a little bit about uh what BlueSprig uh does as well.
4:05 Tim Crilly:
Okay. So the traffic stops, that’s an interesting topic. What exactly were you trying to share with that group when it relates to autism in traffic stops?
4:14 Justin Moehn:
Pretty much about autism, uh, you know, people like me who drive behind behind the wheel, and also some new people who are getting their license about how to handle the situations of police officers, what to do, and like most, you know, like they want their in pretty much they ask for like you know, pretty much a license of registration of traffic stop and how they handle the situations of a lot of educated police officers about autism as well.
4:38 Tim Crilly:
You’re working directly with law enforcement when trying to help them in their role in the traffic stop as well. So you’re really trying to explain what they should be thinking about if they were to say pull you over for stopping at a stop sign all the way or something along those lines. Is that what you’re trying to do? Yeah, or like if you’re actually speeding or if you’re uh or street light. So, Summer, um is that something that you’re involved with as well? Or are you participating in these events?
5:05 Dr. Summer Adami:
Not these particular ones. These are things that Justin has been participating in for quite a while now. So we are in the process of really nailing down exactly what our advocacy team is going to look like and the activities that we’ll be supporting. And these absolutely will be opportunities for not only his own community, but hopefully even through potential web platforms to provide this type of education, you know, across multiple areas. So right now, Justin brought all of these things to BlueSprig, um, which were just phenomenal. Yeah, absolutely.
5:38 Justin Moehn:
I mean, I like also you know, pretty much from summer again now. I mean, I also like to advocate for what she does as well, like you know, like with some of the legislative stuff as well, like with the ADA and uh other things. And one of the things that’s got my bigger picture is the uh you got people who are on these waiver Medicaid waiver programs, one of the things that needs to be addressed, like you know, if you’re on those Medicaid waiver programs like HCS or Class, and we have people who want to go full-time, it’s kind of hindering them from going full-time. And we me personally, I like to see like, okay, we can uh go full-time, we’ll suspend your thing for a time being, kind of stuff. And if something was to happen, it’s like if some accident comes to you, or like if the company goes under, or hopefully doesn’t, and the uh, or we get laid off or something, we’d be all fall back to that. We’ll still keep your health insurance and all payments as well.
6:31 Tim Crilly:
We’ve talked to Summer uh previously about some of the work that that she’s been doing, and you know, we definitely applaud the advocacy work, but you bring up great points that you know there’s a lot of unknowns this year specifically as created. So the more work you guys can do, the better. Going back on that, the concept of working with local officials in in the communities we are in, do you see that as something that we can expand on? You know, Summer, if you were able to bring more people to that role, is that something that BlueSprig is looking to do?
7:01 Dr. Summer Adami:
Yes, and I apologize, you may hear the yap of a uh a little pup from now and again. But um absolutely. And you know, and like I say, not only for police officers, but really all first responders. In BlueSprig, we have something called clinical grand rounds. And grand rounds is deep clinical review of a case that may need some more attention or that may also need more resources. And for the last several grand rounds, the issue of elopement has come up and specifically around kids that are, because we’re all at home now, kids wandering away from their home. And so, as it relates to some of the work that Justin’s currently doing, what we want to also do is host, again, through webinar, through Zoom, through whatever platform that we could get the most first responders, but host these types of conversations so that a police officer can be better equipped to approach a child with autism or an adult with autism and understand that the response back might look a little different, especially if you’re approaching one of our little guys that’s not yet talking. Um, Justin was working in one of our centers and you know could tell you firsthand some of the early learners that we have coming in, may need to be approached in a different way. So absolutely, we want to take some of the work that Justin’s doing and embed that and provide a bit of a broader platform so that we can make sure all first responders have something accessible to them for how to work with and approach folks with autism.
8:30 Justin Moehn:
And especially, I mean, we like to also help out you know, we got other organizations like help with Hope for Three, they do that kind of stuff and get you know, pretty much working with DARLA from that. And we’ve been we’ve she enjoys having my company around helping her out with that stuff, the Crisis Intervention Team, and she’s pretty much called me like a partner in crime on that. Yeah, because she’s great, uh she’s uh got non-crawks that show yeah.
8:54 Tim Crilly:
Uh you know, it’s it it’s amazing you kind of forget about the challenges that so many families have and just simple things like interacting with folks out on the street and the dangers that can occur. So it’s an amazing platform that you guys are working on on creating because the more help the better. Justin, just kind of getting back a little bit to your entry into the uh workforce here at BlueSprig, what has been the most challenging thing for you just during your time here? What surprised you? What did you find difficult? And then what would you say has been the most rewarding aspect of your work?
9:25 Justin Moehn:
You know, I enjoy uh work of the people, and I mean some of it’s not really that difficult on the uh work of the uh people on the uh what I’m doing now. I mean, first is just I guess trying to bear on my roles. That’s that was one of my more difficult to think of first, you know, though I’m doing but has found its own way over time on the uh whole melding thing of everything working out as time progresses and my roles, especially this whole whole pandemic pretty much got everything uh sure mixed up for you. Yeah, that was one of the harder things to get through as well, what my roles during this pandemic and over time I have figured out things as uh as time progresses on like the different stuff I’m doing now.
10:06 Tim Crilly:
So, did you when the pandemic hit, we kind of had to close all our clinics, so you were having to work from home at that point? Okay. Are you back able to go into the clinics yet? Not yet. Not yet. Okay, hopefully soon.
10:17 Justin Moehn:
Hopefully soon, yeah. I miss uh of course missing seeing like like summer and what else uh in person, co-workers, the parents miss seeing me and missing the kids as well.
10:30 Tim Crilly:
Yeah, I think you know that’s been something I traveled a lot for BlueSprig work, so I’m not in Texas, but it has been I miss my work friends. So I I can imagine that you have that same feeling. It’s you know, you take it for granted sometimes that those people are just there, and when they’re not, it it creates a sense of emptiness. So hopefully we can get you know back in the clinic sooner rather than than later and kind of get back into the swing of being around all those people, those kids, because I’m sure you’re a great you know influence to that environment as well.
10:57 Justin Moehn:
Yeah, parents enjoy having me there at times too, because uh they they see me there, they know their kids down like to be successful as well. Parents, when they get that diet autism diagnosed, they’re all their parents like shot down where because now they’re concerned if their kids are gonna be able to be successful in the future, on the uh get through school to get into college, finding work, you know, being able to be in the pen themselves in the years’ time, too.
11:24 Tim Crilly:
Yeah, that’s it’s a great, it’s a great point. You know, it’s a scary time for a lot of families at the very beginning, but to have the opportunity to meet someone like you that’s doing so many different and dynamic things, it’s got to be a little bit inspirational for them. So I think the more we can get you out there meeting people, the the better. What advice do you try to impart with parents when you meet folks for the first time that maybe are just now finding out that they have a child with autism or they’re just entering care or they’re they’re new to BlueSprig? Is there something specific you try to tell them or is it different with each family?
11:56 Justin Moehn:
Well, it depends, yeah, because each parent, I mean, I’ve learned this from previous all workplaces from all the uh companies that do stuff with autism related. Maybe I mean they have their own case-by-case scenario, what they need improvements or or more skills to uh language to get them, you know, see if they come verbal over time, or you know, there’s all different kinds of aspects. It’s a case-by-case scenario and what resources they need, especially most of the most time you should give them a lot of it’s on the same page about it’s like those waiver programs as well, in long those waiting lists, because those each state has their own wait list, you know, like it could be years or whatever, like over 10 plus years before they get something from them, like a where they can get their name on there and see if they get tests in there, they see they qualify.
12:44 Tim Crilly:
Sure, and that’s a great point. And I don’t think it’s something that people think about right away because maybe it’s not services they need at that particular moment, but it is pretty sad that you have to think 10, 12 years into the future and and try to predict what you might need. And fingers crossed that by the time you get there, your name comes up. So that’s that’s great advice, I think, for families. And, you know, I’ve been doing this for a while, and it’s not something that I ever used to remember to tell folks back when I was meeting them for the first time. So, you know, it’s great to hear that information is being shared.
13:14 Dr. Summer Adami:
You know, Justin also does an excellent job of mentoring kids that are school-aged. He participates in one classroom in particular regularly, where he will zoom in, and the kids love asking him questions about his experiences in school and also those different transition points throughout school and then transition into working and into college. But he serves as an excellent mentor for some young kids that are still in school.
13:41 Tim Crilly:
That’s great. The school system is something that we’d love to have you back on on a later conversation to maybe talk a little bit more in depth about your time in school and how that was for you and what was helpful and what wasn’t the most helpful. So I think that’s a great idea that we could explore in future conversations. But I I think with today, I you know, I really it was fascinating to hear a little bit more about that first responder stuff. And I think if that’s something or, you know, we can as an organization educate people around the country on it, the impact on that could be monumental. And, you know, I think what you were talking about trying to figure out what was the best role for you, I think that’s one of the great things about BlueSprig, is there’s a lot of people like that. I’m probably one of them. Come in, you know, you want to do something, and you get a chance to find your way and figure out what fits you the best and how you can have that impact. So I think that’s great. That’s what you were able to do. And hopefully there’s more folks out there with your similar experiences that could come join us and be part of your team as well.
14:41 Justin Moehn:
I mean, part of me, well, also part of me is my ideal thing too, is also like shout summer and what she does, and and learn from her and what she does. She’s a smart lady, I’m not gonna lie. That’s my that’s my other thing right now while I’m going with uh my work. Because now she has a lot of experience too in this area, too. Uh I could learn a lot from her.
15:04 Dr. Summer Adami:
Well, I tell you what, it’s the stories that you have, Justin. It’s the stories that the families we work with have that you know really fuel anything that I’m doing. So hats off to you guys. And you know, y’all were touching on uh some points earlier that are just so important. It’s the the relationships that we’re able to build here at BlueSprig, these friendships, work friends. It’s you know really been special. So, you know, I was looking forward to to getting back to a regular normal, right? So we can all see each other again.
15:33 Tim Crilly:
People on the Altus factor can shout somebody and learn from them. Absolutely. Okay, Justin, before I let you go, there’s a question that I like to ask all of our guests. So Summer’s already been on, so we have her answer. So I’m gonna I’m gonna put it on you. It’s a yes or a no question. So I want you to either choose yes or no and then tell me why you decided yes or no. Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay, so here’s the question Is a hot dog a sandwich? No. Why? It’s uh not as I mean a sandwich is pretty much like a the toast bread, and then you got the hot dog buns.
16:10 Justin Moehn:
That’s it’s just a hot dog.
16:12 Tim Crilly:
Okay, so it’s a it’s a bread, it’s a bread situation. Okay, I I appreciate it. So I really appreciate you taking out some time in your day to chat with us. We’d love to have you back and kind of talk a little bit, maybe about you know your school school age experiences, as well as any updates on you know where you’re at with some of the initiatives that you and Summer are working on at BlueSprig. So again, thank you both for joining us and uh thank you all for tuning in to another episode of ABA Unfiltered. Appreciate it.