{"id":2335,"date":"2021-08-19T22:43:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T03:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/wordpress\/autisticme\/?p=2335"},"modified":"2025-01-11T16:54:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T22:54:29","slug":"podcast-episode-068-season-four-wrap-pandemic-podcasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/2021\/08\/19\/podcast-episode-068-season-four-wrap-pandemic-podcasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast Episode 068 &#8211; Season Four Wrap, Pandemic Podcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Podcast Episode 0068, Season 04, Episode 32; 17\u00a0August 2021<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Another rant on pandemic parenting? Absolutely. I\u2019m exhausted. My wife is exhausted. If people don\u2019t come to their senses I\u2019ll be podcasting about the COVID-19 pandemic for another full year.<\/p>\n<p>Somehow I\u2019ve managed to record 68 episodes of The Autistic Me Podcast since launching this project. I\u2019m winding down the fourth season and preparing for a fifth. Thank you to everyone for listening.<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/20183873\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/336699\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" 0=\"allowfullscreen\" 1=\"webkitallowfullscreen\" 2=\"mozallowfullscreen\" 3=\"oallowfullscreen\" 4=\"msallowfullscreen\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n<h3>Transcript<\/h3>\n<p>Welcome to\u00a0The Autistic Me Podcast. I am Christopher Scott Wyatt, speaking as <strong>The Autistic\u00a0Me<\/strong> and one exhausted homeschooling parent.<\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0episode marks the end of Season 4. I\u2019m a bit surprised there were more than 30\u00a0episodes over the 2020-2021 academic year. That\u2019s the most I\u2019ve managed to\u00a0record in a single school year. Then again, we were all at home thanks to the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Being home\u00a0meant no time wasted commuting to jobs. It meant we were home on weekends\u00a0instead of visiting bookstores, zoos, museums, or taking other short trips with\u00a0our daughters.<\/p>\n<p>We painted\u00a0walls, assembled new doors for an office, and had some landscaping installed.\u00a0We are now preparing for more landscaping and some custom bookcases.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re\u00a0at home day after day, it might as well be the best home you can make it.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks and\u00a0months started to blur and lose meaning because every day was the same as the\u00a0previous days.<\/p>\n<p>Susan\u00a0appreciated the predictable days at home. She doesn\u2019t enjoy travel or crowds.\u00a0When she\u2019s not working, she\u2019s content to sit with a book or working on crafts.\u00a0The pandemic was a break from activities she didn\u2019t really enjoy.<\/p>\n<p>The girls\u00a0did well with the all-year academic routine. Every weekday followed the same\u00a0schedule, regardless of the school calendar. There was no beginning or end.<\/p>\n<p>I am the\u00a0one who likes getting out of the house from time to time. I like to get out\u00a0around trees, lakes, oceans, and other outdoor spaces.<\/p>\n<p>I have\u00a0taken the girls on drives to some of the local lakes. I take the girls on walks\u00a0through our community a couple of times a week when the weather is nice. I\u00a0don\u2019t miss crowded places and can do without long-distance drives. We happen to\u00a0live a few miles from several state parks, thankfully.<\/p>\n<p>I do feel a\u00a0little out-of-sorts without preparing for a normal school year.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2004,\u00a0I have been either a teacher or a graduate student. I completed my master of fine\u00a0arts degree in 2017 and I taught college courses during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>But this\u00a0year, I\u2019m not teaching. The girls aren\u2019t returning to their elementary school.\u00a0We don\u2019t know what to expect. We\u2019re simply continuing with what we\u2019ve been\u00a0doing since March 13, 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Like a year\u00a0ago, Labor Day once again doesn\u2019t feel like I expected or remembered. I\u00a0actually have good memories of this time of year, before COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>Normally,\u00a0the Labor Day holiday feels a lot more like a New Year\u2019s holiday than January\u00a0first does.<\/p>\n<p>This Labor\u00a0Day, it seems people are trying to restore the old, familiar sense of time. I\u2019m\u00a0not sure COVID-19 will allow that. Still, I miss the familiar things.<\/p>\n<p>When we\u00a0lived in Minnesota, the days leading to Labor Day were marked by the State\u00a0Fair, which they call \u201cThe Great Minnesota Get-Together.\u201d It\u2019s held next to the\u00a0University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul. When the fair ends, summer ends.<\/p>\n<p>There will\u00a0be a state fair this year, August 26 through September 6. I checked. Then, school will\u00a0start and everything will be\u2026 not quite normal.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, Labor\u00a0Day isn\u2019t the \u201creal\u201d end of summer, but September slowly cools. Susan and I\u00a0grew up in Central California. Usually, the last triple-digit days are at the\u00a0end of August and first weeks of September. Now, we live in Central Texas and\u00a0the same patterns holds. Sure, 80s and 90s aren\u2019t cool, but they signal the\u00a0coming fall.<\/p>\n<p>Television\u00a0shows used to start their new seasons in September. I miss that predictable\u00a0pattern. Now, shows start and end throughout the year, especially on cable and\u00a0streaming services.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0broadcast season is how I think about this podcast. Starting new seasons of The\u00a0Autistic Me Podcast around Labor Day was the comfortable thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>I am not a\u00a0sports fan, but it\u2019s the time of year when football starts and baseball heads\u00a0towards the post-season. Of course, back-to-school means high school and\u00a0college football returns, too.<\/p>\n<p>We grow up\u00a0thinking about time in terms of school years. The winter holidays divide the\u00a0school year.<\/p>\n<p>I fear that\u00a0COVID-19 outbreaks will divide this school year. There won\u2019t be anything normal\u00a0about this school year.<\/p>\n<p>Many\u00a0schools started early, trying to make up for lost class time. It shouldn\u2019t\u00a0surprise anyone that many of those schools now have dozens of COVID-19 cases,\u00a0including both students and staff.<\/p>\n<p>After\u00a0schools return nationwide, more clusters will be detected. By three or four\u00a0weeks into the school year, we should have a clear picture of the trends among\u00a0younger students, too. Remember, children under 12 are unvaccinated.<\/p>\n<p>I\u00a0understand the risks are low. However, COVID risks are preventable. These\u00a0aren\u2019t beyond human control.<\/p>\n<p>If we all\u00a0miss the routine school year, we should have followed basic precautions. It was\u00a0a serious mistake when we celebrated the end of the pandemic prematurely. Our\u00a0political leaders haven\u2019t helped.<\/p>\n<p>One side\u00a0was in mask and vaccine denial, while the other side rushed to declare the\u00a0worst of the pandemic behind us. Yes, I do blame Pres. Biden and his team for\u00a0declaring the Fourth of July some sort of celebration of freedom from the\u00a0virus. That led to some poor choices by those who were trying to take the\u00a0pandemic seriously.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve done\u00a0the (rough) math and know that \u201conly\u201d 11 percent of U.S. residents have tested\u00a0positive for COVID. Also, the official fatality rate among all Americans\u00a0remains 0.19 percent. The fatalities among positive cases is 1.72 percent.\u00a0Sure, the risks seems minimal, but that\u2019s potentially misleading.<\/p>\n<p>Not\u00a0everyone faces the same risks. Averages are misleading. Before vaccination, I\u00a0was at a higher risk of hospitalization because I\u2019m diabetic, over 50, and have\u00a0other health complications. A month or two ago, a child or even a 30-year-old\u00a0in great health was at no significant risk.<\/p>\n<p>Now, 20\u00a0percent of new COVID cases in the Southern states are children. Sadly, they are\u00a0a rising percentage of hospitalizations and intensive care cases, too.<\/p>\n<p>One new\u00a0variant and the on-campus school year will come to a sudden halt.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t\u00a0want another year blog posts and podcasts about pandemic parenting, but there\u2019s\u00a0a good chance that\u2019s what will happen.<\/p>\n<p>If things\u00a0go as I expect, we will mark two full years of homeschooling, plus a few months\u00a0from the spring of 2020. The girls have already had two birthdays each at home\u00a0during the pandemic. I\u2019m expecting there will be at least one more for each.<\/p>\n<p>The poor\u00a0response to COVID-19 safety protocols isn\u2019t a uniquely American problem. There\u00a0have been anti-mask and anti-vaccine protests in France, Germany, Australia, and\u00a0Greece in recent weeks. Humans are the problem, I fear, especially the\u00a0extroverts who cannot stand to be at home for weeks at time.<\/p>\n<p>My autistic\u00a0traits have meant the pandemic has been a relief, much like it has been for\u00a0Susan and the girls. It\u2019s a break from social interactions, sensory overload,\u00a0and other stressors.<\/p>\n<p>Had more\u00a0people been able to isolate and follow the guidelines, the blog and podcast\u00a0might be moving on to whatever\u2019s after pandemic parenting. Oh, well. Here we\u00a0are.<\/p>\n<p>So, what\u00a0will keep you listening to The Autistic Me? How will Season 5 manage to be\u00a0interesting if pandemic life feels like a broken record, a song stuck on\u00a0repeat, or a 1970s eight-track tape of classic rock? (The eight-track players\u00a0were particularly annoying when they shifted tracks.)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m pleased\u00a0that Leigh and Anne want to participate again, so I have told them they can\u00a0choose some topics and lead some episodes.<\/p>\n<p>Letting the\u00a0girls choose topics and discuss their opinions might reveal how young\u00a0Neurodiverse students process their environments and experiences. During their\u00a0first podcast appearance, we discussed how difficult the school settings can be\u00a0for them. I hope parents and teachers pay attention and learn from what\u00a0students try to communicate.<\/p>\n<p>The girls\u00a0want to compare being at school on campus to learning at home. Was the\u00a0homeschooling less stressful? Was it more challenging academically?<\/p>\n<p>I wonder\u00a0how other Neurodiverse families navigated the pandemic. Has this been a relief\u00a0or a time of increased anxiety?<\/p>\n<p>How has the\u00a0pandemic experience affected the Neurodiverse long-term? Did we recognize some\u00a0unexpected strengths? We sure didn\u2019t experience the pandemic in a single way. I\u00a0do know some autistic extroverts. What were their experiences like?<\/p>\n<p>Followers\u00a0want more voices on the podcast, too. We need more diversity on this podcast\u00a0and throughout social media.<\/p>\n<p>I have\u00a0started a list of autistic bloggers, podcasters, authors, and speakers who\u00a0might want to be on The Autistic Me Podcast. It might be easier to start with\u00a0those advocates already speaking publicly on critical issues, which is why I\u00a0want to reach out to other bloggers and podcasters.<\/p>\n<p>Neurodiversity\u00a0goes beyond autism. Neurological diversity includes ADHD, certainly, and\u00a0probably other differences like synesthesia and dyslexia. I\u2019ll do my best to\u00a0include conversations on those differences, too.<\/p>\n<p>There are\u00a0some good discussions to have, reflecting on the recent past.<\/p>\n<p>As the previous\u00a018 months prove, there\u2019s no telling where the future will lead. I do thank you for listening to <em><strong>The Autistic Me Podcast<\/strong><\/em> and reading the blog.<\/p>\n<p>Remember to\u00a0follow <em><strong>The Autistic Me<\/strong><\/em> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/autisticme\/\">Facebook<\/a> and Twitter. Leave a review on iTunes and\u00a0recommend <em><strong>The Autistic Me Podcast<\/strong><\/em> to help expand our audience. You can also\u00a0subscribe to the blog for more frequent updates.<\/p>\n<p>I am Christopher Scott Wyatt, speaking as <strong>The\u00a0Autistic Me<\/strong> and looking forward to the podcast\u2019s fifth season. Let\u2019s hope that\u00a02021-22 is much closer to normal.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for listening.<\/p>\n<h3>The\u00a0Autistic Me:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Blog:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/\">https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/autisticme.libsyn.com\/\">https:\/\/autisticme.libsyn.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Facebook:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/autisticme\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/autisticme\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Twitter:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/autisticme\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/autisticme<\/a><\/li>\n<li>YouTube:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CSWyatt\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CSWyatt<\/a><\/li>\n<li>LinkedIn:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/autisticme\">https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/autisticme<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Podcast Episode 0068, Season 04, Episode 32; 17\u00a0August 2021 Another rant on pandemic parenting? Absolutely. I\u2019m exhausted. My wife is exhausted. If people don\u2019t come to their senses I\u2019ll be podcasting about the COVID-19 pandemic for another full year. Somehow I\u2019ve managed to record 68 episodes of The Autistic Me&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/2021\/08\/19\/podcast-episode-068-season-four-wrap-pandemic-podcasting\/\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Podcast Episode 068 &#8211; Season Four Wrap, Pandemic Podcasting<\/span> <i class=\"fas fa-angle-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":10,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,7,9,812,10],"tags":[183,185,244,268,353,517,554,624,715],"class_list":["post-2335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-health","category-news","category-parenting","category-podcast","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-education","tag-exhaustion","tag-homeschooling","tag-pandemic-parenting","tag-podcast","tag-seasons","tag-time","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/Podcast_Banner_800x400.png?fit=711%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfivLC-BF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3528,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335\/revisions\/3528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tameri.com\/autisticme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}