Shasti McLaughlin
Bio
Shasti McLaughlin, AWEtism We Embrace Founder
Shasti is the founder of AWEtism We Embrace, an online facilitated support group of Autism Empowerment that meets on the third Tuesday of most months from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm.
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Shasti McLaughlin now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter. A proud member of the autism community for over 25 years, she is an American Sign Language interpreter, writer, ordained minister, and an optimist.
Shasti McLaughlin spent years in the public school system working with deaf youth severely impacted by autism. During her time in the schools, she discovered that no matter what level of functioning a person is diagnosed as having, all people are cognizant and aware of the world around them. All individuals want and have the capacity to learn, to develop and grow. She decided to follow each person’s lead in their learning, their understanding, and their abilities. She learned where and how we as individuals all uniquely pay attention; she has used her own understanding of that to open new avenues for others to interpret the world around them.
What followed her years in public schools was serendipitous: after leaving her job as a paraeducator, she gave birth to her own daughter who was diagnosed autistic at the age of 5. The journey she has been on since that time (her daughter is now an adult) has given her not only more intimate insights, but a desire to share what there is to embrace about the autistic experience.