Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Leon.
Hi Jen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
From a young age, I enjoyed the idea of teaching. I was always good at math, but I didn’t realize it until one of my teachers in college recommended me for an actuarial science program at Georgia State University. Her husband was the department head there and she taught math at the community college, so she kept her eye out for good candidates. I transferred into the program and finally felt challenged. That’s when I fell in love with mathematics and with learning.
I ended up getting my B.S. and M.A. in Mathematics. After graduation, I took a few months to do something dramatically different and joined a group of activists for an endurance bicycle ride from Atlanta to The Grand Canyon to raise awareness about environmental racism, Native American rights, and sustainable energy. This is when I solidified my identity as an activist.
After the ride, I started my Ph.D. in Mathematics Education and Instructional Technology and began teaching high school math at a private school in Atlanta. I managed to keep my activist spirit nourished with my dissertation on mathematics education through service learning (teaching academics via community service). I also taught a human rights course and sponsored the Amnesty International student group at my school. It was fulfilling and a perfect blend, so it seemed, but little did I know what lay ahead.
In October of 2012, my wife and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy. He was the most amazing gift we’d ever imagined, full of smiles and bursting with energy. He was also incredibly difficult to soothe. I knew something was different about my child and when he was 20 months old, he was diagnosed as autistic. We knew little about autism at the time, so this was unsettling news as parents.
We began researching and learning as much as we could right away. It became apparent that the prevailing information out there focused on deficits and behavior modification therapies to push autistics to conform to neurotypical norms. This didn’t sit well with me. Conformity has never been one of my strong points.
Instead, we embraced a relational model for helping our son to engage with us and the world through play in his own way. We learned about the neurology of autism and the sensory systems and created an environment that was supportive of his needs and his body. He is 10 years old now. He is still full of smiles and bursting with energy, love, and curiosity. We have taught him to advocate for himself unapologetically. We are in awe of the unique and interesting ways he processes and engages in the world. He is by far, the greatest teacher and blessing of my lifetime.
The most important part of our learning journey was, and continues to be, from direct sources. Other autistics have the most valuable perspectives to share. Many self-advocates now have blogs, vlogs, books, films, TedTalks, websites, social media pages, and give live interviews where they share and educate others about their experiences. It is not difficult to find direct sources if you want to. Unfortunately, these voices have historically been excluded from conversations about how best to support and accommodate autistics because of the misconception that they are not able to contribute meaningful perspectives. I’m determined to be part of the effort to change that narrative.
While my son went on to develop reliable speech, some autistics do not. I discovered how these individuals can communicate by pointing at letters on a laminated or stenciled alphabet board or a keyboard, “spellers”, as they are often referred. I learned that the reason they have little or no reliable speech is because the parts of the brain that organize sensory input and direct motor planning are misfiring with the parts of the brain responsible for language and cognition. However, the thinking and language part of their brain is highly capable, in fact, often in elevated ways. They just need a way to relay their thoughts that doesn’t rely on the complex sensory and fine motor pathways required for speaking. That’s where pointing comes in; this gross motor movement is easier to develop. With lots of practice with a skilled practitioner trained in this method of communication, nonspeaking autistics have quite a lot to say and wow, their messages are incredibly powerful! In the past decade, my journey has led me to meet many autistics, most of whom are nonspeaking or minimally speaking. They are the most intelligent, empathetic, nonjudgmental, funny, compassionate, and insightful people I’ve ever encountered. As with my son, I am a better human being by virtue of knowing them.
As for what led me to my business, it all began shortly after my son’s diagnosis. I started tutoring Geometry after school to an autistic teenager who communicates by spelling. His father attended our sessions with him as his communication regulation partner (CRP). His father held the letter board in front of him while his son pointing at his desired letters to give me his answers. We also used boards with numbers and symbols and eventually, made our way through all the content. The student loved math and was hungry for more. I was amazed and inspired and knew that this was the direction I needed to go as a teacher. How many other students like him were out there longing to learn mathematics but because of a communication disability, were falsely presumed incapable of even basic computation?
Through word of mouth, I started working with more autistic students on the weekends, mostly doing high school mathematics. They had varying degrees of reliable speech, but they all had such interesting ways of thinking about mathematics. It was eye-opening and so much fun! After many hours of observing and being coached by practitioners, other CRPs and even spellers themselves, I started working directly with students as their math CRP. There was no clear process for doing the type of higher-level math we were doing together so, I just had to figure it out as I went. I developed and refined various versions of math boards. The students were patient and so grateful for the opportunity to finally do some challenging math. The call continued to grow and eventually, I made the leap and left my teaching job of 18 years to pursue this work fully as an independent educator. I officially founded my business, All Minds Math, in early 2020, and it has been a wild and wonderful ride ever since.
Meanwhile, I’ve written a complete high school math curriculum designed especially for students who communicate through spelling and typing. Currently, it includes Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, Calculus, and Advanced Statistics. Several schools that serve this population have adopted the curriculum. I also work privately with numerous students domestically and abroad.
Some of my students, and other spellers too, are now attending college, even pursuing advanced degrees! More and more doors are opening. What joy it is to see these students finally gaining access to their basic human right to an education. It also saddens me deeply to know that there are still so many more that remain misunderstood and left behind. However, the tide is shifting and the speller and ally community is growing rapidly.
I never dreamed that my passion for activism and my love of teaching math would collide so profoundly. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I feel like I won the parent and teacher lottery. Oh, and that first speller that I tutored in Geometry has since completed all my courses and still has an insatiable appetite for math. Good thing I kept some of my graduate school textbooks!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In many ways, of all the students I’ve taught over the years, my spellers have been the easiest. They tend to learn rapidly and often can complete complex calculations mentally. Plus, those who find their way to me genuinely love math and like me, find it satisfying and stimulating. They have tricky bodies though, and sometimes the fatigue from the hard work of organizing their body for spelling or even the excitement of doing math can manifest as dysregulation. I’ve had to develop skills to help students work through dysregulation, that is, to co-regulate. Some of that is about learning out-of-the-box strategies, but a lot of it is about intuition, problem solving, and staying attuned to my own regulation. Most importantly, it means ALWAYS interacting respectfully and with presumption of competence. Altogether, this requires being willing to engage in deep-level professional and personal work. It certainly has been an emotional and transformative journey.
Some of my most challenging moments have been encounters with those who have the power to positively impact the lives of my students (educators, administrators, therapists, professionals, policy makers) but refuse to set aside pride and accept that it’s time to radically change the way we treat autistics, especially non-speaking autistics. But there are also many who are willing and who want to learn, which is why I’m grateful for this opportunity to share my story.
As more and more spellers emerge, the demand for math services continues to grow. While I have been able to hire help for curriculum writing (thank you, Ansley Yeomans!), I had to come up with a solution to get these students learning math wherever they are and with whomever is willing and available to work with them. This was definitely a challenge, but an invigorating one. I created All Minds Math Academy where students can enroll in a program that utilizes my curriculum in several ways.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
All Minds Math provides a wide range of math support and consultation services to schools, professionals, and individuals of all neurotypes. In addition to directly teaching math, I facilitate conversations with school administrators, teachers, accessibility service teams, and other providers to determine accommodations. I also help students prepare for standardized testing and serve as CRP during testing.
Through All Minds Math Academy, I utilize my curriculum to offer live, in-person or virtual teaching on a limited basis. I also have an asynchronous version of this program with pre-recorded lessons, speller-adapted materials, and monthly consults to maintain the relationship and support that is integral to success. In this version, the student’s communication partner can preview the video/materials and choose when to work on the lessons according to when the student is most regulated. My hope was that the asynchronous version would effectively reach those students that I am unable to serve directly due to limitations in bandwidth. So far, it is working well for a significant number of students and several schools too. I’m thrilled to be able to offer a flexible and useful resource and hope to expand course offerings in the future.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
GENERAL AUTISM/NEURODIVERSITY
Books: Differently Wired, Neurotribes, Uniquely Human
Podcast: TILT Parenting: Raising Differently Wired Kids
Ask and Autistic: VLOG
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoYMFsyj_k1ApNj_QUkNgKC1R5F9bVHs
Link to Blogs by Spellers
https://i-asc.org/nonspeakers/nonspeaker-blogs/
Books by or about Spellers
Ido in Autismland
The Reason I Jump
Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics Who Type, Point, and Spell
The Book of Heaven
Underestimated
More Books: https://i-asc.org/nonspeakers/books/
FILMS
The Reason I Jump
Deej
Sisterly
Unspoken
Life Animated
SCHOOLS
Atlanta: Hirsch Academy https://hirschacademy.org/
Connections School of Atlanta: https://www.connectionsschoolofatlanta.com/
Florida: Invictus Academy: https://invictusacademyfl.org/
Connections Learning Center: https://www.clcflorida.org/
LOCAL SERVICES THAT SERVE SPELLERS
Minds in Motion, OT: https://www.mindsinmotionot.com/
The Growing Place: https://www.thegrowingplacepediatrics.com/
ReClif: https://reclif.com/
ORGANIZATIONS
I-ASC: https://i-asc.org/
Communication 4 All: https://communication4all.org/
Communication First: https://communicationfirst.org/
Communication for Education: https://www.communicationforeducation.com/
Fostering Success https://www.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allmindsmath.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllMindsMath
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/Dr-Jen-Leon
Image Credits
Royce Soble
