ADHD, Autism, & Business: The Neurodivergent Advantage

I am an educator, founder of Off thebeaten Path Learning. We help young people to learn how they learn. I took your early advice to take action every day. My goal was to get five new learners and I was able to get three new learners in the span of the sprint. Let's first talk about that transformation. >> The earliest transformation was the first learner that joined. They reached out and said they were stuck after 4 years of working together. Their biggest achievement was that award that they won. They actually had their play acted out by a SAG actor in Central Park. The same learner also took four AP exams in one year and they did well on three out of four of them. You have found an offer that is very fulfilling to you, helps other people and that's the best place you can be because you then have that confidence to sell it. Hi Dominique, how are you? >> Hi Aron, I'm great. I'm with you. >> Yeah, thank you. It's so great to to see you. we we got to really get to know each other during the 100 day sprint that you were part of uh that kicked off really kicked off 2026. Can you talk a little bit about what you do and what you did in that sprint? Uh so I am an educator and uh the founder of off thebeaten path learning. Um and what I did during that sprint was like David Senra recently quoted um I don't know who he quoted but he said don't look left don't look right go. Um so during that sprint I took your early advice to take action every day >> and and I documented that action for quite a while too. So every everything I felt like I accomplished in a day, I I would put down with the date and here's what I did, here's what I didn't do. And my goal was to get five new learners. And I was able to get three new learners in the span of the sprint. >> And when you say learners, talk a little bit about what Off thebeaten Path is and who it's for. >> Off the beaten path Learning is a one-on-one self-directed educ company. who it's for um are neurode divergent teenagers. So we help young people to learn how they learn. We help young people to um develop confidence and creativity and dependence. Um I like to say that I'm in the business of power. This is about empowerment. This is about knowing that you can make a difference in your life. knowing that you have impact on your own existence and and those around you too. Um, and I think for a lot of neurody divergent people and a lot of disabled people es especially but but but a lot of people just generally marginalized in any way or not. It's hard to really believe that you can sometimes especially when you're told so often really like can you? >> Um it's like yeah actually I can. So watch me. I agree with you that there are multiple people probably everyone on this earth has felt underestimated in some way but we're talking about specifically neurode divergent people and people who have been yes >> uh have been told that maybe their whole lives do you identify as that is that okay to ask that question >> so yes I do identify as neurode divergent and disabled not everybody identifies as both which is it's up to each person to decide for themselves I'm going to talk about what those two things mean at least to me. >> Mhm. >> Um, neurode divergent comes out of a more historical term, I guess, which is neurodeiversity. So, if you're neurodeiverse, if there's an S in it, then you're just a person with a brain cuz everybody's brain is different. So, neurodeiverse means there's a diversity of our neurology. Um, neurode divergent means that you're divergent from what's known as neurotypical. >> Mhm. A lot of people, like I said, a lot of language is tricky, right? A lot of people do not ascribe to these labels and like more power to you, you know. Um disabled is when you're diagnosed with something. Um and that can be temporary or it can be chronic. Um and that can be physical or and or it can be mental. Um usually it is a mixture, a big old mixed bag. Mhm. >> Uh for me, I have I have seven chronic um disabilities and many of them are neurologically based. And a lot of people don't realize how much is under that umbrella. So like for example, Dr. Naen Burke Harris studies childhood trauma. And in her TED talk, I learned that 67% of middle-aged white college educated people, 67% of that population um experiences chronic like um excuse me, complex um post-traumatic stress, which means that you went through four at least four um traumas when you were a child. Hm. >> Um, and so that is considered I think of that as neurode divergent because it changes the way you operate in the world. >> Do you find in your work, right, that people often hear someone else speak about it and then they realize, oh, that sounds familiar. I might be that way or I may have something that's similar to that. >> Yeah. my mom like a couple months ago. She was like, "Do you think I'm neurody divergent?" I was like, "Mommy, where do you think I got it from?" >> Well, but do you find that in your work? Do people like I guess another way of saying it is when people find you, is it a mixture of how long they've known this about themselves or is it a lot of discovery happening? >> That's interesting. That's a good question. I think when people find me, they already they know. They know. >> They know. they they they find me and they're like usually >> usually >> and what are they looking what what are they seeking from you if that's the case since that >> um I would say different things most the the biggest thing I think is um relief and belief um a lot of people come to me a lot of learners come to me they're stuck they're bored they're um struggling they're really really depressed And um although although this is not therapy, it's it's kind of therapeutic >> um in the way that it operates and and and what it does. >> Um so I think people look for they come to this for like help when they're in need and that need is specifically like nothing else is working. In fact, more recently now that I've so when I started working with you, you said niche down. >> Yeah. Before I started working with you in the sprint, I was serving whomever in the world of any age because I because and because the learning model works for anyone in the world of any age. >> However, the business does not do as well. Um, so after that point, after I started really messaging, clarifying the messaging and saying, "Okay, neurode divergent teenagers, families of neurody divergent teenagers, let me help you." Um, more and more people started coming with that story already and with the need of like nothing else has worked. >> Yeah. >> Like I've I've tried the school for autistic people. I've tried, you know, like and and it's either too much, it's too little, it's too um harmful. Um but nothing else has worked. >> To be clear for everyone, what did you end up niching down to? >> Neurode divergent teenagers. So, so that is um still one-on-one, still self-directed, still the same model, but I'm working with and finding educators for neurode divergent teenagers. >> Oh, that's interesting. So, let's walk through your offer. You say that it it work, you know, you've seen a lot of success with it, meaning that people who go through it. In your experience, you know, it's going to be different for everybody, so we can't make any claims, but in your experience, it has been very helpful to people. Let's first talk about that transformation >> since from the business perspective, it's good to know what what you what you are articulating to people >> and we'll go from there. >> All right. So, the transformation the earliest transformation was the first learner that joined um was the first learner that incepted this too. Um they they reached out and um said they were stuck, they were bored and they needed a talent manager. They were like 14, 15 at the time. I need a talent manager. >> Give me more information what that means to them. >> Well, so they at the time and still to this day they were an artist. They are an artist. And so they knew that they had a lot of talent in them, but they weren't they didn't have the structure. They didn't have the partnership. didn't have the container to go out and and explore from there and uh come back and create. >> Um so in the beginning, you know, kind of floundering and then after 4 years of working together and now it's been about 2 years since that point, since they transitioned out, now they're in university. Um they did a great deal. Um they their biggest achievement was was I in my opinion was that um award that they won. It was a worldwide short play um award and they actually had their play acted out by a SAG actor in Central Park and I attended and we we you know me, mom, dad were sitting with a with a picnic style with the other crew and we're watching this um you know it was incredible. Um, you know, this same learner also took four AP exams in one year, which is like and um and they did well on three out of four of them. Really well. And uh they also got into a top arts university, two top arts university cuz they transferred to an even better one. Um yeah, a more recent and a different kind of profile too is an 11year-old um that I'm working with now and he is, I would say, an engineer. He described himself, this was a big win recently actually. So he um has autism um and a PDA profile of autism which is a uh one term for it is pathological demand avoidance. Another term that a lot of people like better is a pervasive drive for autonomy. M >> so he he sometimes struggles with certain external pressures and yeah um and so for for him when he said to me he said I am a creative a builder and I'm good at soccer and I told his mom that and she was like my son is back like I have my son back like I haven't seen him in years >> and that's because of the work you all do on a weekly >> basisally It's because of the work that we do on a weekly basis, 100%. That's a huge part of it. >> Um because the gains since we started working together in the summer have been incredible and like compounding effects. Um he'll like read a book on his own. He'll clean his room without being told. Um he will build. He's such a prolific builder. He's always coming to me every single meeting. He's like, "Look what I made." >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And they're these are incredible things. He made a Bugatti where the the wheels turn and the engine moves. He he made one thing that actually hooked up to the shopvac and worked. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Wild. Um. >> Hh. Yeah. So, those are the two examples that I have for transportation. >> It sounds to me that it's usually the parent now who has read about you, heard about you somewhere, maybe even referred to you. >> Yeah. Usually, and they're like, "Yeah, I would love for you to talk to my child." And >> is it virtual? Do you do this one- on-one in person? Like, how does that work? Because I know that people, there are some people who are watching, if especially if they're watching to this point, they're very interested. And they want to I believe they want to know two things. They want to know, is it virtual? Can I work with you virtually? And they want to know if you're working with teenagers now, can you work with me if I'm 37? That's what they're probably wondering. >> Um, yes. Yes. >> Okay. It is also in person if that's what you need. >> And where where kind of uh region are you in? >> I'm in New York. Um but currently we have educators um in New York, in Paris, France, in Australia and in upstate New York. Um so it can be virtual and it also if you need in person uh request that um and it can either be um like exploratory so in museums, libraries, at the park um to taking a lot of walks in parks um and then it can also be at home if that's really what is more necessary. I haven't um done a whole lot of that officially. It would mean like different insurance um and different kind of like a a different kind of background check too. But um >> yes. >> Yeah, I was thinking about that. >> It's what they need. >> Also uh sometimes and this is you know this is just based on what I've experienced personally. Sometimes um especially if they're autistic and they're a child sometimes they can have a lot of energy and run around the room or be a little even aggressive. Um, is that something you're So, are you used to that? Are you used to that kind of com like interaction? >> 100%. >> Yeah. 100,000%. Yes. It's it's And that understanding is really important to off the beaten path. >> I don't I don't bat an eye. I tell mom, but I don't or dad. >> Yeah. >> But I don't bat an eye. >> Yeah. Yeah. And there's there's a little bit of that's where things get a little tricky as you grow as a business is what you were saying about insurance and about being you know even HIPPA and things of that nature. >> Um I I assume and imagine that you just take really good care to be sensitive to to information like you've been very broad in describing people and things like that. I think that's really >> Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Is there something that you are especially excited about right now in your business or in just in your work that you're doing? >> Um, I'm going to more events. Um, which is cool. I'm excited about the book. >> Let's talk about it. >> So, I'm I wrote a book. It's in its um kind of like final draft now. I'm getting feedback >> and uh yeah, it's um it's called porcupines and electric eels, what every parent of a neurode divergent teenager must know. And it's based on research that I've accumulated, you know, having two degrees in education and having studied specifically like inclusion and the history of being an inclusive educator. Um, and it's also a lot of it draws from my lived experience. So I do take a little bit from my professional experience here and there like some stories from people I've worked with but mostly it's research like third party research and my my lived experience and like throwing in um yeah what what I know having seven diagnoses and having had them many of them since childhood >> and that like do you have a a plan for that book because the book really starts to set somebody apart and and you can that book can be for years and years. I know this as someone who I wrote this book. I wrote your first million. I wrote It's About Damn Time uh or or published it, right? And and I know that it can be a calling card. And so what do what do you think about the book side of things? Um because it sounds like it's a big a big part of your life now that you're that you're looking forward to. Mhm. >> Um, my first word was book in English, too, cuz I was my native tongue is Portuguese, >> but I said book. >> So, I think that was that was some kind of something. Um, uh, the plan for it is to market it at events, promote it at events. Um, the plan is also I want to put it I want to combine it with mailers. I've not done this yet. I'm curious what you think about this. um like really finding uh a good way to message and package it and mail it out to people. >> Do you mean >> and have that be like the lead magnet that is just in your It's kind of like doortodoor sales, I guess. Do you mean it? Are you saying someone orders something online, they get the So, you're saying send it to them before like >> they don't know who I am and I'm >> How do you know to send it to them? >> Um, you can. So, I um one of my clients had a long um career in marketing and he told me that you can and I started the process. You can go to the USPS website and just pick a zip code or something and then you just mail it off and you say, "I want to mail 300 or 500 households in this area and they just do it for you." >> I see. So my take on that based on just the 60 seconds you've talked about it >> is it's not a bad idea. It's a risky idea financially because >> the percentages. Now, if I understand what you're saying is like 67% of white people uh are, you know, have this and so that means that probably across the board that's the case. >> Um I I'm I'm just I'm trying to imagine if I received a a book in the mail. First of all, it's going to take me a while to receive it because I'm not looking at my mail every day. We're just not that kind of society anymore where I'm not looking at physical mail every day unless I know something's on its way. Second of all, let's say I do open it because it's in a package that's like, "Oh, what is this?" And I open it and it is about something that I either don't realize I have or attribute it to or it I just doesn't feel like it's aligned. I might be like, well, what is this? So, what I think is you combine your idea but more focused and more sharp. Right? So I think what you do is you say look is there an organization that appeals to people who are >> a specific mailing list already >> and can you imagine can you imagine how grateful they would be if you if this author came to them and said I have this wonderful book you can read it first and if you think it's great I want to send it to you and then I will send you x number of copies for your audience >> I think I know exactly the organization I think Yeah, >> that's great. Yeah, I I think that could be very powerful. That could be really powerful. Especially if you have a through line of I know that for every 100 books that I pay to send out, I want this result to happen from it. I need I need for this amount of money to come back to me over this amount of certain amount of time for it to just kind of self-perpetuate. >> Yeah. If you can do that, then yeah, I mean, it is off to the races. And that focused is just going to be so much so much better. Um, and really strong. And then you >> That's a great idea. Thank you. >> You're welcome. I I can't wait to see what you do with it because you are a you are a an action taker. That's what I learned from you. Uh you you hear something and you digest it. You decide if it's right for you, and then if it is, you do it. And that's just going to take you so far. One of the things you mentioned a few minutes ago was that there it was a TED talk that taught you something. I'm sure you watch a lot of TED talks and making assumptions. >> Sure do. >> The the book helps you now. >> That's true. >> In line to have your own TEDex talk. >> Yeah, that's true. And Lord knows I've tried but we'll try again. >> The book will change things. >> The book will change things. um you know it'll it'll it'll just it a book just puts you in a different league and it may be fair it may not be fair but it is still accurate. It's still true. So it would be great to see what you do because ultimately you have found an offer and a service that is very fulfilling to you and helps other people and that's the best place you can be because you then have that confidence to sell it. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. What is there? Is there anything else that anyone watching should know um about themselves, about you, about what you offer? >> Um I guess I want to speak to like how to start the process. >> Yeah. >> Um so the the way that it begins is that you, the family, schedule a call. It's 30 minutes. It's free. And so you can do that by going to the offthebeatenpath.com website. um off da d as in dog is an applebeatenpath.com and uh when you're there you click contact you can schedule right on the website um or you can also call me or text me. Yeah, >> we'll send people to the website for now and we'll put that link below in the pinned comment in the description. One of the two you'll be able to find it so people can get going with that. Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um, and so during that during that 30-minute call that sometimes turns into 45 minutes, um, we talk about goals, strengths, and needs. And so we go through the learners. What do they want? What are they interested in? What are they really good at? Um, what what are their unique hurdles? >> What do they struggle with? What are their learning styles? Um, what doesn't work? Right. Um, >> and this is free. This is free for people. >> That 30 minutes is completely free. Yeah. And I got to say too, sometimes people get a whole lot out of out of just that that conversation. I've had people >> schedule, they book a call and they're like, "I need help. I just need to talk this through." Um I've also had people schedule and um the parent or the family is interested, then the kid hops on and they meet and they're like, "You know what? This is cool, but I don't think I need this. I think I need something else." And I always celebrate that >> because ultimately this is about choice. this is about empowerment through choice. And if they're making a choice for themselves, I I I've done my job. Um and I and I love that. So yeah, that 30-minute call and then from there I get to know I get to know the kid. Um that's like a four to six week process usually and then I pair them with the educator that'll work with them one- on-one. Um and I oversee the process continuously. >> Where are the educators coming from? Are they hired by you? Are they part of another organization? How does it work? >> Yeah, so I they're hired by me. Um, a few two of the educators currently are with other organizations, but um I prefer to work with individuals as opposed to agencies. It's less messy for the family and the learner. >> Um, all of the educators I have that are both independent and also with agencies, they are incredible. >> Yeah. >> Um, wow. um they're smarter than me in a lot of ways and I love that because ultimately it's about the learner. So, you know, good. >> Yeah. Oh, I I love this. I mean, I think people who even if they're not thinking about getting in touch with you about that can learn something for their business. That's a really interesting model you have. I don't even know if you realize it is that that first of all that initial call that's great and I always encourage that because sales are on the other side of a good conversation and so people you you don't want to bring someone on who doesn't know what they're in for which is great but then that four to six week period where you're working with the person getting to know them and then you can sort of give like a dossier to the the the teacher >> y That's really interesting. And that way it also doesn't put so much pressure on you to do it all yourself. >> Yeah. >> And run this thing where you're like you left a 9 to5 to get a 247. I think that's really special. >> Oh, we're not grinding. We're fine. >> I do. I do. I think that's really smart >> and um I think it's really really I bet it I bet it works really well. Especially cuz I'm sure you tell people that upfront. >> Yeah. >> That that's how it works. And I bet that that really feels it doesn't feel jarring. It's like, oh, I actually get to ease into this. >> Yeah. >> With someone and then they're going to tell me the best fit for me. That's really cool. >> The best coach, you know, like that's going to be really cool. So, I think that there's some people who are watching this, I'm certainly taking note who could p pull from that, extract that. It's been absolutely amazing talking to you and learning more about this. U I guess I have one last question. This is just a personal question. The question for me that's personal is what is neurospicy mean? I've heard that phrase. Is it just like a cool way of saying neurode divergent? >> Kind of. Um truthfully, >> like I think my honest answer is I don't know. Um but I'll take a I'll take a guess. Um, it's to say it's a description of like I I'm neurode divergent questioning or I'm neurode divergent. Um, and that's my style and I'm proud of it. And I don't want to say I'm neurode divergent. I want to say I'm neurospicy. >> Yeah. I just heard that more and more often the last maybe six to 12 months. >> Like oh this I hadn't heard that before. >> Yeah. For me, I I I personally I I genuinely feel validated by the term disabled actually. >> Um because it it's an impediment. Um >> it Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Um and so like thank you uh for for acknowledging that world um and doctors >> and other people. >> Yeah. Exactly. You know, the the last thing I'll say here too is um at least as of last May or June, Maryland is a state that I think it's the first state or it's definitely the first state. It may be the only state that allows you to that puts like a purple something on your driver's license if you have an invisible uh disability. >> That's interesting. So that when if you're pulled over and you show your license, there's already something to to start working with. So if you react a certain way, it doesn't get seen as aggressive or passive or something like that. >> Um I just think that was I just learned about that last summer and I thought it was so so cool and I think more states should adopt that big time. Also, if you go if you travel, you can ask for a designation while you're flying. Yeah. A lot of people don't know it. And unfortunately, a lot of people who work at airports still don't know it, but you can ask just like you can get a wheelchair, you can ask for a designation, like a wristband or something that says that I am uh neurody divergent. Yeah. >> Wow. That's great, man. Cuz even going to the Lego store >> can be like a lot, you know? So, let alone an airport. >> Yeah. Yeah, exactly. >> Well, I was I was just going to add too that I I I also think that's cool and I realize that it won't mean a lot without the training. Like you said, the airport people need to know about it. >> The police need to know about it. Everybody needs to know exactly not just that it exists, but >> how to Yeah. Um, >> the reason I found out about the airport is that my sister-in-law is uh is has albinism >> and therefore she also is legally blind, but she's also fabulous. So, she's like, >> "Yeah, I saw her at the eventual, right? >> She's a fabulous person." So, you don't realize unless you know that about albinos, right, >> that she can't see you more than a like a foot in front of her. She's just adapted really well. So, when we're on uh at on flights, she's having a trouble putting her luggage up or finding her seat. And some people can consider that rude and stuff. And so, she does need to go to the front of the line. So, it's good to know that she has an invisible disability.

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