Brian Middleton
Brian (he/him/mirror pronouns) is a human. He is a human who experiences life. Part of his experience is as an autistic & ADHD adult. Brian also happens to be a former special education teacher and a practicing behavior analyst (IBA™ & BCBA™). But most importantly, Brian is human and loves the human experience. He wishes to help others understand the wonders of this experience. Brian is also known in some circles as the Bearded Behaviorist. Using his social media profiles and love of learning he has created and periodically publishes podcasts on all things behavioral science. He is a fierce advocate for pro-human culture. He believes that neurodiversity includes all neurotypes and that the only way forward as a culture is for all neorotypes to work together to address problems with inequality and inequity. Brian considers himself AutiGender, which is sort of like non-binary, except that it is the idea that gender is part of the mask autists develop to protect themselves. He uses he/him/his pronouns for convenience. He believes that the pronoun used to refer to him is less important than the understanding that Brian is Brian regardless of the pronoun used. In this case, mirror pronoun refers to Brian’s flexibility with pronouns. He is less worried about the pronouns used to refer to him and more concerned about whether others’ are respected. When asked to summarize ACT in one sentence, this is what he says. “Pain is inevitable; Suffering is optional.” It is Brian’s firm belief that we learn, grow, and build together. When we work together amazing things can happen! Join us in learning, growing, and building! In 2017, they graduated with an M.Ed. in Behavior Analysis from the University of Cincinnati. They have worked in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2013, serving as an RBT™ from 2015-2019, and have been certified as a BCBA™ since early 2019. Since 2008, Katelyn has been involved in advocacy movements, first inspired by marriage equality and the passage of Prop 8 in California. Since then, they have become involved with DEI-related endeavors with various behavior analytic professional organizations (Association for Contextual Behavioral Science™) and community theatre organizations in the Denver-Metro region. Katelyn lives their life at the intersection of multiple identities including being neurodivergent, disabled, bisexual, and a non-binary femme.