Renewminati
- What do we call you? Gary, although you may hear the rest of the Divergent AbiliTEAM refer to me as "Berry" because they've got jokes
- What does your company do? I am the company. I fix and build/make things. My motto is fixer omnium rerum, which is Latin for "fixer of all things."
- How do you partner with Divergent Abilities? They break stuff and then call me to fix what they broke.
- What are your divergent abilities? I'm an autistic small business owner and parent to autistic children.
- What is one quote that represents who you are or what you value? "BIKES!" - Tom Segura
- Why? I script (repeat things) a LOT and I enjoy making jokes.
Best Pressure Washing
- What do we call you? Mr. Chris
- What does your company do? power washing and landscaping
- How do you partner with Divergent Abilities? If there is a client who wants to learn what I do but needs a little more direct support than the typical on-the-job training, the behavior analyst and client can shadow me and learn hands-on in a welcoming and relaxed environment
- What are your divergent abilities? I pay a lot of attention to details, which is one of the reasons I am really good at what I do.
- What is one quote that represents who you are or what you value? Semper Fi
- Why? I'm a Marine veteran
Ariana: Peer Support Specialist Intern, Clinical Team; Creative Media Intern, Operations Team
- What do we call you? You might hear or see other team members call or refer to me as Ariana, AnaAnaaa, Ana, Baby Girl, or A; you can call me Ariana
- What would you say you do here at Divergent Abilities? As a Peer Support Specialist intern, I'm learning and shadowing different clinical team members so that I can be a better self-advocate and neurodivergent peer role model, paying forward the strategies and supports as I learn them. As the Creative Media Intern, I am the creator of our creative universe: photographer; graphic designer; resident artist. I digitally drew and created both the Divergent Abilities logos you see on the website!
- What are your divergent abilities? (1) I am an autistic female and I also have ADHD. I'm proud to be neurodivergent. I like to help others like me whenever I can and help people neurotypical people learn how to be better supports.
- What is one quote that represents who you are or what you value? Why? I don't know the answer to this question yet.
Teyla: Divergent AbiliTEAM Mascot & Lucky Charm, Operations Team
- What do we call you? You might hear or see other team members call or refer to me as TeyTey, Teyla, Baby Girl, Mamas, or Best Friend; you can call me Teyla
- What would you say you do here at Divergent Abilities? As the official mascot (patent pending), I mostly I eat all the popsicles and LÄRABARs while dancing to House of Pain, Babymetal, or DNCE; I also love playing Purple Rain on the office guitars! Sometimes I help out by being the guinea pig and testing out materials or activities. The clinicians also like keeping their teaching and assessment skills sharp by practicing with me.
- What are your divergent abilities? (1) At just 18 months, I was functionally bilingual in English & ASL. My family wanted to help me learn all the things, so they showed me educational sign language programming when I was a wee baby. Now, at almost 3 years, I am hyperlexic (overdeveloped reading ability) and over-use conjunctions to tell the most ridiculous stories. I also love trolling my mother by signing silly things my Best Friend teaches me. (2) I love my routines, which can sometimes make things difficult because I do not like when my routines change or there are unexpected changes. It helps when my family writes my schedule and lets me read it before bed, so I know what to expect when I wake up in the mornings. My family and the rest of the Divergent AbiliTEAM help me in the same ways they help each other and their clients, they just don't get paid for any of it.
- What is one quote that represents who you are or what you value? "You best protect ya NECK!" - Protect Ya Neck by Wu-Tang Clan
- Why? Because my Vulcan aunt teaches me the important things in life, like what good music is and how to use humor and music to help calm myself down when I'm out of sorts.