At 17 years old, Braswell Griffin is already a jack of all trades.
Comedy is his speciality. He’s filming a series of YouTube videos depicting a satirical news station. But he’s also an avid gamer, singer and actor, currently rehearsing for Wasatch High School’s production of “Mamma Mia!” As part of Wasatch High School’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, he’s an expert at the rifle spinning he does as part of his drills. He’s recently gotten into baking. His aspiration is to animate an indie TV show in the same vein as those made by Glitch Productions, the studio behind viral hit “The Amazing Digital Circus.”
These are just some of the talents Griffin hopes to share through SkillSwap, an initiative launched by his Wasatch High School peer Iris Beijar. The project invites individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to share their hobbies with each other through online videos posted on a shared YouTube channel.
Beijar, 18, began working on SkillSwap last year as her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can receive and requires 80 hours or more of organizing and executing a service project dedicated to a community issue the scout is passionate about.
Beijar was inspired to create SkillSwap by her 18-year-old brother, Daniel, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder characterized by symptoms including differences in social interaction, communication and sensory processing and a draw toward routine, repetitive behaviors and focused interests. Because autism is a spectrum, it shows differently in each person who has it.
“(Daniel) likes to share his newest weekly obsession with me, whether it’s baking or magic tricks,” Beijar said. “Sharing his skills lights up something in him. And I’ve read a lot about mental health in teens, especially in teens on the autism spectrum, and it’s significantly worse because of a feeling of being different from their peers. So I wanted to give teens and individuals on the autism spectrum a place to build community and develop their strengths, building their self-esteem and confidence.”
Liz Griffin, Braswell’s mother and a speech language pathologist at Wasatch High School, thinks the project could make a real difference.
“The research shows that people who are neurodivergent, especially people who are on the autism spectrum, they have a different communication style than people who do not. And so they tend to gravitate toward other people who are on the spectrum. The communication is not broken. It’s just a different way to communicate,” she said.
Neurodiversity is an umbrella term for conditions including autism, ADHD, developmental speech disorders and intellectual disabilities. It describes those whose brains function differently from what is considered typical by a society’s norms.
Liz characterized the communication style of many people with autism as more direct or with a flatter affect. She said people with autism may not pick up on social cues or indirect language.
“My husband came in and was like, ‘Hey, do you want to help me with this?’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to help you with that. Oh, you mean you need help with that,’” she recalled. “Autism brains and neurotypical brains are a lot like having an iOS and an Android. … They can communicate with each other. It’s not quite as effective or efficient as when we have an Android to Android or an iOS to iOS. Sometimes, things can get lost in translation.”
In line with that analogy, SkillSwap may be an effective way for people with autism to learn new skills.
“They’re going to access a video with somebody with a similar communication style, somebody that they already feel like they can relate to,” Liz said.
Beijar hosted an event at the Wasatch County Library on Tuesday to pitch the project to interested teenagers with autism. Outside of word of mouth, it was her first in-person attempt to garner interest in SkillSwap, which had not yet received any video submissions.
Although Beijar didn’t expect anyone to show up, she got a turnout of about 15 teenagers, many from Wasatch High School’s Neuro Nest, a club for neurodivergent students that Liz launched at the beginning of this academic year.
Beijar said that with that turnout, she would like to organize more in-person workshops. She’s thought about organizing an in-person SkillSwap, allowing individuals with autism to gather and share their interests instead of just filming them, but she has not pursued organizing such an event because of potential logistic challenges.
For now, videos can be submitted to SkillSwap online at tinyurl.com/3ke8dzzt.
Although the introductory workshop was geared toward teenagers, SkillSwap is open to anyone on the autism spectrum.
Beijar is also willing to offer one-on-one help to those needing help filming or submitting a video. Additional questions can be directed to [email protected].