I started out as a child.

Ok, skipping ahead.

Some of you who find your way here already know me.   For those who don’t, my name is John Shouse.   Along with my wife Janet, I am parent to three incredible children, including a son Evan, a young may who has autism.  That is him in the picture on this page.  The picture is from a few years ago, but I like it pretty darn well, so I’m using it.  Evan has a twin brother Brendan, and they have an older sister Emma.

My involvement in the autism community and the greater disability community has been a life-changing and defining thing for over eighteen years now.   It’s not my whole life, but it certainly colors pretty much everything else.   Most days, being the parent of a child with autism impacts my life in a good way, and I’m successful in allowing that to happen.  Then there are the times, especially if it’s a day when Evan is having difficulties with something or when the world seems particularly unfair … as it often does for people with disabilities ….  that it just sucks eggs.

It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

I have a varied and extensive background in leadership, community development, and grassroots team building with local, state, and national nonprofit organizations.   I served as the President of the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee (Now known simply as Autism Tennessee) for 6 years, and served on their board for a long time.  I served for nearly 4 years as a Vice Chair of the national board of the Autism Society of America. I have served as the Chair of the Community Advisory Council for the UCEDD at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, and as a member of the External Advisory Council for the IDDRC at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.  Additionally, I have been very fortunate to help lead The Arc Tennessee, our state-wide chapter of The Arc of the US, as Board President.

In 2003 I was attended the TN “Partners in Policymaking Leadership Institute”, an intensive 7 month course on disability advocacy.  Like many Partner’s graduates, I consider that to be a real mountaintop and life-changing experience,  and I highly recommend it for individuals with disabilities and/or their immediate family members.  Many states have PIP programs.  Contact me if you need help connecting with yours.

I have been an active advocate for more and better inclusive educational practices in schools across Tennessee and nationally.   I am a frequent speaker at national, regional, and local conferences or workshops on the special issues faced by fathers of children with autism and other disabilities, and also on the joys and challenges of grand-parenting a child with disabilities.  I also enjoy opportunities to speak to classes of future Special Education Teachers and other professionals about the “family perspective” on working with school systems when you have a child with a disability.

I have conducted or helped to organize and conduct workshops for non-profit organizations in the disability community around the country on strategic visioning, board development, best practices for governance, and building and supporting the grassroots organization.

In 2008 , I was honored as one of three finalists for the Center for Nonprofit Management  “Board Member of the Year” award in the greater Nashville area.   I am co-author, with Paula Kluth, of The Autism Checklist: A Practical Reference for Parents and Teachers, John Wiley & Sons, 2009.

Now….   having said all of that, don’t expect the articles here on “The Very Stuff”  to be exclusively (or even mostly) about disability.   That’s certainly going to creep in from time-to-time.  It is, after all, part of my “stuff”.    But it’s not ALL my stuff.

So where this thing  goes, we’ll just have to see.

(updated May 2017)