Hi Lexi, we’re so glad you could join us today, and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our neurodiverse community and readers. To start, what are some things you wish people knew about living with a disability?

I was 12 when I got diagnosed with autism, it was by my school district and it was a struggle for me at first, but throughout the years I learned to embrace that, to not be embarrassed by that because I know that there are a lot of people with disabilities and they are embarrassed to even express that. I’ve learned to embrace it because there are people out there who are going to be ignorant, but there's also people out there who are very understanding about it. So I'd just rather embrace that than be embarrassed by it. It's who I am at the end of the day so I like to just embrace that. It just shows that I'm different and I view the world differently. 

Can you share a personal experience where you felt included or excluded because of your disability?

Growing up as a kid, I felt very out of place because you’re around kids and teenagers, so I felt very excluded. I didn’t feel included because I was very misunderstood. Being here, working at Game On State, I feel very included, very heard, and very understood, and I don’t get that a lot in the world. Even with previous job experiences, I wasn’t really understood, and that’s why I wanted to work here — because I knew what the purpose was here, and I saw that there were a lot of people with disabilities. I thought this would be the perfect place, and it is. This is actually the only job I’ve worked at the longest. Every other job I’ve had, I worked for a few weeks to maybe a couple of months because I’ve been misunderstood.

What would you say is the most important thing people can do to be more inclusive and supportive of those with disabilities?

I really just think they need to do their research and be more open to things in general, because it’s a struggle living with a disability in the first place. It doesn’t matter what disability it is — it could be autism, cerebral palsy, or anything. It’s just hard to live with a disability, and I really think people need to be more open-minded and understand that not everything we do is with bad intentions. There are a lot of things we can help with, so I think people need to be more educated and willing to understand.

What resources from ANEWAY have been most helpful to you in your personal and professional journey?

[Working at Game On State] helps me learn what to do in a job setting since I’ve struggled with that in the past, and it helps me achieve the goals I have in life. This is like a stepping stone for me to get where I want to be in life. I love heat pressing and all the fun activities we do, especially working with Pedro.