“Hello and thank-you for calling Ghostbusters.” No matter
who says those words, I hear them in that awesome voice and picture that little
woman with the sassy attitude, Annie
Potts. Without question, she has celebrity status. We know her face,
recognize her voice and marvel at her range. Ghostbusters, Pretty in Pink,
Designing Women, countless TV shows and TV movies, along with stage shows and
documentaries… not to mention Bo-Peep in Toy Story… my generation grew up
knowing her and feeling comfortable as soon as she was on screen or we heard
her voice.
It’s not surprising to me that she is my mom’s guest for the most recent episode of her podcast A NEW SPIN ON AUTISM: ANSWERS! My mom has celebrity status as well. Lynette Louise aka THE BRAIN BROAD (my
mom) was the black sheep in her family and in her small Canadian town.
Growing-up with undiagnosed autism has a way of making a person stand-out and
challenge those around them to know how to act and feel. Later, as the single
mother of eight children—six who were adopted; of which four had autism—she
stood out still. In schools where she fought for her children’s rights—our
rights, and in neighborhoods where neighbors felt intimidated and confused by
our challenges, she forever stood out. And now as an international mental
health therapist who also writes, speaks and teaches, always with an eye on
honest answers and transparency. Even when those answers may be unpopular or
controversial, and when transparency leaves her vulnerable and open to judgment,
she wears her celebrity status with intention.
And that is one of
the topics Annie Potts and Lynette Louise
aka THE BRAIN BROAD discuss on the show. The topic of what to do with your
celebrity status—whether it’s something you went after purposely or something
that was bestowed upon you by the nature of who you are—and how to use it
wisely and with intention. How to use it to learn about yourself and the world
openly, exampling for others a kind of actionable kindness that on-lookers can
feel good emulating and you can feel good implementing.
This episode of A NEW
SPIN ON AUTISM: ANSWERS will no doubt be fabulous and fun. However, it will
not be unique in style to Lynette’s other episodes. Celebrities of all sorts
have chatted with Lynette candidly while she played with the topic of the day.
Whether the topic was single-mom
autism dating (with Patti Stanger)
or actors
targeting autism with (Johnathon
Schaech), or movement
for brain health (with Anat
Banial), or Phineas
and Ferb (with Martin
Olsen) or lucky
to have an autism diagnosis (with Donna
Williams) always Lynette and her guest discover actionable autism and
parenting answers. Which, according to Lynette, “Proves that no matter what
your interests, work, culture or age, there are always answers you can find in
your personal passions, and in the passions of others, that will apply to your
life. Answers that you can use to gain skills and go after dreams. This is
important because it opens people up to learning from each other and,
ultimately, accepting each other as well.”
Tune in now! The show can be found here: ANEW SPIN ON AUTISM: ANSWERS . You can also find it on iTunes and Lynette’s own websites,
www.lynettelouise.com and www.brainbody.net. Lynette Louise and Annie Potts will explore
ideas and share insights that are rarely shared elsewhere. And I can pretty
much promise that whatever they reveal will be applicable to your life!
And you’ll also enjoy listening to that awesome and familiar
voice so many of us have grown-up adoring!
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| "Welcome to Ghostbusters...." Annie Potts as Janine! |
