Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that affects millions of people worldwide.
It is characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors.
Although autism is becoming more widely recognized, there is still a lack of understanding and awareness surrounding the condition.
As a result, many individuals and families affected by autism struggle to find the support and resources they need.
Why Not Me The World podcast aims to bridge that gap by providing valuable information and insights into autism, fostering empathy and understanding, and promoting acceptance and inclusion.
Nashville based Music Producer Tony Mantor explores the remarkable impact his guests make by empowering their voices in spreading awareness about autism and helping break down the barriers of understanding.
Join Mantor and his guests as they delve into the world of autism and mental health to explore topics such as diagnosis, treatment, research, and personal stories.
Together, we can create a more informed and compassionate society for individuals with autism.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Gabriela Salcido:Creating Lifelong Pathways for Autism Services Across America
Join us for a compelling conversation with Gabriela Salcido, a trailblazer in autism services and the founder of the Roman Empire Agency.
Discover the challenges and triumphs of expanding vital support networks across state lines, as Gabriela shares her journey from a dedicated social worker in California to leading a multi-state agency.
Learn about the pressing need for uniform service provision nationwide to better serve families facing long waiting lists and hurdles in obtaining autism diagnoses for their children.
Our discussion takes a heartfelt dive into the life stages of children with developmental disabilities.
From initial diagnosis to the transition into adulthood, Gabriela emphasizes the importance of early interventions like speech and behavioral therapies.
As children grow, the focus shifts to developing adaptive skills and exploring supported living options, while the necessity of conservatorship ensures continuous advocacy for their needs beyond age 18. Through a personalized approach, Gabriela's agency collaborates with families to tailor individualized service plans, ensuring every child’s unique needs are met.
In the final part of our episode, Gabriela sheds light on the ambitious national expansion of her agency.
Facing challenges such as state credentialing and insurance approvals, she remains committed to making autism services accessible across the U.S. Gabriela also highlights exciting partnerships, including one with the Arizona Cardinals, to foster community support.
Tune in to hear her passion for helping families and her vision for a future where no one feels alone, and learn how you can support this mission.
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intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
Why Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)
Welcome to why Not Me, the World? Podcast, hosted by Tony Mantor, broadcasting from Music City, usa, nashville, tennessee. Join us as our guests tell us their stories. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry. Their stories Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry. Real life people who will inspire and show that you are not alone in this world. Hopefully, you gain more awareness, acceptance and a better understanding for autism Around the World. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to why Not Me the World. Today, we have the pleasure of hosting Gabriella Salcido, who established the Roman Empire Agency in 2010 to provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Currently operating in eight states, she is striving to expand her services nationwide. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you for inviting us.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's my pleasure. How long have you been working with autism, mental health and the special needs community?
Speaker 2:About 24 years or so. I first started out as a social worker for the state in California. I did about 10 years there and then, after 10 years, I decided to open up my own company, and I've been in business for about 14 years or so in County.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's perfect. When you started your company, is that the Roman Empire Agency?
Speaker 2:Yeah, roman Empire Agency is kind of an umbrella because I have several companies under that. I have a company called Roman Empire Living Skills, roman Empire ABA Services and Roman Empire ABA Agency.
Speaker 1:Which one come first? How did you develop it and evolve from there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the first one that we developed was Roman Empire Living Skills. From there, yeah, the first one that we developed was Roman Empire Living Skills, but with that company we provide services for a wide range of disability diagnosis. And then, after that, the ABA agency developed because the state was no longer going to be funding services for behavioral therapy and the insurance was now going to pick up that tab. So that's when I created ABA services and we have a contract with about seven different states and with all the major health insurances for every state.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's great. What kind of a process was it to get that started and then expand it to all the other states that you're in currently?
Speaker 2:I decided to expand to other states because I saw that there was a really great need and as I more got into it and providing services and then I started asking in different states, I saw that the demand was definitely there and we are trying to expand to more states. It's just a credentialing process that sometimes takes a little bit of time.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I hear from several different people is autistic children. A little bit of time. One of the things that I hear from several different people is autistic children the autistic community pretty much all across the country have the same needs. Unfortunately, it's the way the different states operate that causes some issues. So how do you handle that with the way that you do business?
Speaker 2:Well, the states are. For instance, I'll tell you in California the way that it's run. In California they have what you call regional centers. The regional centers get state and federal dollars to provide services and then they hire vendors such as me to provide the services In other states. There is no regional center, so in other states the money goes directly to the vendors providing the service. So there's no person giving you referrals.
Speaker 2:You get the referral strictly from getting a contract with the state and that's how you get your business In California. The way you get your clients, it's through the regional center. They have social workers, they manage the cases. They have social workers, they manage the cases and then they give you, for instance, me, a vendor. They give me a client. I offer a variety of services which I can explain and they may tell me I have a referral. This is the age bracket. Can you guys provide services for this child or adult? So, depending on the state that you're in, it's the type of services that sometimes you're going to get rendered, and sometimes you might get our services rendered faster in some states than in other states.
Speaker 1:When you deal with people that have issues with the state and they're autistic and their family's struggling, do you find that the state will give you what you need, or do you still have to fight for the client to get them everything that they need to move forward?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know what it's kind of a challenge right now we're dealing with kind of a crisis in every single state in terms of like the majority of the states should do behavioral therapy, with the exception of, maybe, california Below the age of 21, the insurance will pick up the tab. So what happens sometimes is that, depending on the state, it makes it very hard for that individual to get services because there's more requirements. Maybe the child needs to have a diagnosis from a psychologist, not from the school. So sometimes the parents are having a difficulty and number one, getting their child diagnosed. There's not a lot of people in the field that are diagnosing the kids fast enough, quick enough for them to start the process to get services if your child has autism. So sometimes, depending on the state, it makes it very difficult.
Speaker 2:There's a waiting list of clients, depending on the state, from one year to five years. I can give you an example, for instance, vegas. There's a five-year waiting list. I could not believe when I was at that state of when the parents would tell me this Because five years. Can you imagine all that time lost from a child being from five to 10? It's like ridiculous, like things need to change and they should be uniform across the board with every state.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I've heard that many times. What ages do you find yourself working with most?
Speaker 2:of the time Right now for the autistic children and providing behavioral therapy. The majority of the clients it's under the age of 10. The statistics is right now that one out of 36 children get diagnosed with autism. But one out of 45 adults are also getting diagnosed with autism. But we provide the majority of the services to children mostly under the age of 10 years old.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good to know. I found that one in seven people around the world either know someone or has someone that's autistic in their family.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yes. I think that the legislation has to take a better look at this, because we have a crisis in a situation where there's a shortage of therapists in the field, just like there's a shortage of doctors and nurses. We have a shortage of staff providing services for these children and adults.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. Change is definitely needed Now. In some states, they age out at 18. In other states, they age out at 21. What do you do to help those that have aged out? As we all know, autism does not stop at 18 or 21. It continues, so they still need help.
Speaker 2:Fascinating and I'm just going to give you like a really brief rundown in terms of like. How is it that it all kind of starts, you know, like your child has a disability, and they tell the parent, hey, your child has this disability, whether it's autism, mental retardation, you know dual diagnosis, whatever. Then the question becomes to the parent I have this diagnosis, now what do I do next? What's going to be expected of my child transitioning into, like younghood and then adulthood? Right, that's the number one worry of the parents what's going to happen to me when I die? What's going to happen to my child? So I'm going to kind of give you like a rundown in terms of like the audience listening, a brief rundown of like how things work and what you should be expecting, and then, if you guys want further information, you guys are more than welcome to then join my website and contact me directly.
Speaker 1:That's great. What's first then?
Speaker 2:So when the child first gets diagnosed, the type of services that are offered to a child which is the typical age to diagnose someone is about four years of age. That's the average age. At four years of age a child will get diagnosed if he's identified that he has some type of disability. So services like that could be like early start. They give speech therapy, playtime, behavioral therapy and so forth. Great, the child is getting those services when he's identified at early stages that makes total sense.
Speaker 1:What's next?
Speaker 2:then you go on to transitional, which is like the child that becomes a teenager. Well, what's offered to him at that point? Behavioral therapy is also offered to him, whether he has autism, whether he has mental retardation, whether the child has Down syndrome. Also, the services that are offered are adaptive skills, which is like let me go ahead and learn how to make my bed, let me learn that instead of grabbing food with my fingers, I should be using a spoon and this is how you should be using your utensils. Some children that have more severe disabilities they don't know the mom is always feeding them, and things like that. Independent living skills the parent that has a child that's a teenager, she wants that child to be independent. She doesn't want to have to do his bed, she doesn't want to have to pick up his clothes, she doesn't even want to have to do his laundry. She wants that child to learn. Those are independent living skills that the child can get during the teenage years.
Speaker 1:Now I'm sure the next step is when they turn 18 or above. What's next then?
Speaker 2:The child becomes 18. So now what happens? Right, like that's, the parents are going to be like okay, what's offered to my child at that point? So the type of services that are offered to adults, it's independent living skills. You still want that individual to learn how to be independent adults. It's independent living skills. You still want that individual to learn how to be independent, to be able to take access to public transportation, go to the movies by himself and learn how to count money, learn how to manage you know, a small amount of money that maybe he's getting from the parents. And then there's also the supported living that he's available to get, and that is, let's just say, the child gets a job, he's fine functioning and he wants to move out. The state can provide services for that person to become not only independent but to have the supports in place for that person to live alone one day, without mom and dad having to care for him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's a very scary thing for the parents. Now, do you help in that at all, with the transitions like that?
Speaker 2:Some of the things that we also offer in our company is that we also try to educate. And I mean this is even when I was a social worker. I was always trying to educate the parents to make sure that the parents, once the child turns 18, that they get a conservatorship for the child. And I'll just explain it briefly what a conservatorship means. Conservatorship means that when the child becomes 18, they kind of gain the rights of their child Because after the age of 18, he technically becomes an adult. So let's just say he goes to the doctor. The doctor says hey, you know, we're going to go ahead and prescribe this medication for him, you know, because he's getting symptoms. And then the mom goes no, I don't like that medication. If she does not have the conservatorship, she cannot advocate for her child anymore. So a conservatorship is so important because not only will she regain the rights medical, but also financial to make the right financial decisions for her child.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's very important for both of them.
Speaker 2:There's about nine powers that the court grants. No, there's nine powers that there is, but usually the court will grant you seven out of nine, one of them that they will not give you. It's like you cannot tell your child who to marry or who to be involved with, which is kind of obvious. But it's very important for the families to always seek that conservatorship, because you become almost like the attorney for your child and you're always looking out for the best interest of your child with that document.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's very important things for people to know. Do you come to them or do you go to them?
Speaker 2:How does that work out for your company? We get all the referrals in California. We get them from the regional centers right Because we have a contract with them and with the insurances were on the network. But sometimes they may seek my services through my website.
Speaker 1:Okay, that makes sense. Now, when you take on a new client, you decide what they need. Do you go to their homes to help them or do they come to your office to decide what is needed to move forward with your company?
Speaker 2:All of our services that I've mentored are in the community and in the home.
Speaker 1:All right. So you actually go to their homes, look at what they're doing, diagnose what's going on and then formulate a plan so that everything can get better for them with your services.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And what we do is we do an individualized service plan. So I'm going to do an assessment, I'm going to assess the child, I'm going to ask mom, dad, hey, listen, what are his weaknesses, what are his strengths? Let's meet together and tell me what you want him to accomplish and then, like I said, a set of goals. For instance, do you want him to learn money? Well, let's do a money management goal. Do you want him to make his own medical appointments? Let's make a health goal. Do you want him to access the community? Well, let's make a community goal for your child. So it's very individualized on the child, depending on the age bracket and also the disability that he may have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that sounds like a tremendously good plan. Now, once you have that laid out, you've done your diagnosis of what the family needs. Then you lay out what they need to do to accomplish it. Have you had situations where you look at everything, you have your reservations if this will work or not. Then you get working with them. They're following through. You still have your doubts, but then all of a sudden it just works out. Have you had that happen?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. My company also not just deals with children to do behavioral therapy and different types of disability, but we have a small percentage of our clients that are referred to us that are forensically involved. What I mean is that they got in trouble with the law. The court calls us and tells us hey, listen, can you guys help this individual? So, like somebody that's gotten involved with the law that will get arrested. They can call the probation officer and report to the probation officer every single day. So they'll call me and they say, hey, Gabby, can you rehabilitate this client? And I'll tell them yes, let me work with that client that has a disability. I'll report to the court, I'll let them know the progress that we're making and, to be quite honest, we've had a huge success that we end up closing the cases very successfully. We end up getting them a job and they're just like really, really good, you know, after they work with our agency.
Speaker 1:That's great to know what are some of the steps that you do to help that transition. I've heard from several people and there seems to be a big gap. There are several charities trying to build that bridge between autism and the first responders, so do you do that collectively or individually?
Speaker 2:So we do. We do a lot of events in different states. We kind of like, are always giving our information out. We have a lot of information on our website. We're always sponsoring events because we want the community to feel supported If there's such a high need. Let's just say that some of these families, they don't know where to get services. They don't know how to get services. It's almost like they have to self-educate themselves. So I as an agency, having worked on the inside as a social worker and also outside now as my own vendor, I can really educate the families and walk them through the whole process. So they're not really kind of like terrified, like what's going to happen now. Like your child has rights, your child can get services, but knowing how to get to those services is sometimes that, yeah, you need to bridge that gap into the community. You need to educate the community.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's so right. The education part of it is just so tremendously important. Have you ever had anyone that you've worked with that did so well that after you got them through it, they went in, they studied, they went to school? Then all of a sudden they became therapists and came to work for you?
Speaker 2:You know it's funny because we've had actually therapists work for us that they did not disclose that they actually had autism because they were very high functioning. When we found out we were just like very amazed. We were very excited. If there is someone that has the capacity to help another client, we are more than welcome to bring them on board, because we've had situations like that that we were just not aware and they worked out great. So it's a possibility. We have kind of a lot of our clients that are high functioning jobs, like at Bored House. We've been so successful in getting our clients jobs in the workforce that despite the fact that they have a disability, it does not impair them to be very successful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so true. I think that's awesome that you help out and do that. As you know, the autistic community is either unemployed or underemployed. It's not good.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yes. Yes, we became partners with Amazon and they now have like a department in which they hire a lot of clients with a disability and they're trying to support the community in that sense and there's Amazons everywhere and they have that department where you can apply if you have a disability and they will hire you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's really good. How many people do you have working for you now? I mean, you've got eight different locations in several different states. Do you have a lot of people working at your organization?
Speaker 2:It is. You know what. It's so funny because I started with one client, to be quite honest with you, and since I was very knowledgeable in the services, I had a feeling that I was just going to be a great success and I was going to offer the clients something that nobody else was offering, because I wanted to be different. And right now I have, honestly, over a thousand clients and over a thousand employees and still growing, like we get the referrals that we get on a monthly basis. It's a lot.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's great. Now you're in California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Washington, Hawaii, Tennessee and Florida.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Now you're thinking of expanding from there.
Speaker 2:Yes, I want to go to other states because, honestly, there is such a high need. We are right now credentialed with TRICARE, which is the military clients that are connected with the military, because there's really a high need for them as well. But, yeah, I would love to provide services in every single state if I could.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a great thing to think about doing. It will help a lot of people. Plus, it didn't take you long to get to the eight states, so I don't think that's anything that's out of the possibilities of happening. I think that's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just a process. Like, every state has about maybe 12 to 14 insurances, so it's just a matter of time before one insurance approves you. It takes about nine months or so. If you're dealing with like state Medi-Cal and stuff like that, they take a little bit longer. Sometimes they can take up to two years. So sometimes that's a little bit of a holdup, depending on the state. But right now we're trying to apply to as many states as we can. But if we were to have, let's just say, a client in, let's say, oh my God a state that we were not in and they have the military insurance, we can provide services for them right away.
Speaker 1:Well, that's definitely a good thing to know. What do you do in a case where someone might call you? You're not in that state yet, so do you refer them to someone else. What do you do in a case like that?
Speaker 2:There's different ways to actually do it. They can actually call their insurance and they can tell them that hey, listen, I really want this company to start and what they will do is a private agreement with me so that I can provide services. It's kind of like an individual private agreement. They expedite the process, but I can only work with that specific client, so it doesn't matter what state it is. We can walk them through if they really want my agency to provide services.
Speaker 1:That's a great thing to know. You said it takes sometimes two to five years. These people can't wait two to five years. Is there a quick thing to where you can help them, or do they still need to find others? What do you do in cases like that, where they just don't have the time?
Speaker 2:It's unfortunate. But sometimes I tell the families, like, work with us, we're not going to take two to five years. I'm sorry that you've dealt with that and we really try to expedite them. So let's just say they've had such bad luck with other companies that are not able to perform for them. I have been in a situation where like, okay, it's not going to take that long, but it'll probably take between six months to nine months you know are so high. For the therapist to provide services they have to be state registered. They have to be. Sometimes they have to be certified and have an exam that they have to take. So that makes it more difficult to find the therapists that are state registered so I can get them up and running to work with the clients. I think that the states have to be all uniform and one state shouldn't be harder than the other one. If they all kind of came uniform I think the children, regardless of the state, would be able to get services much faster that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's where we need to get the federal government more involved.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Like a national health service that would cover a situation just like you're talking about. Yes, because it is just Absolutely into this field. That it's very great. You know that it's a good paying job and we need workers. And there has to be that voice of someone to say, please, you know like more people need to join the program so that they're able to be field workers. You know we need workers. You know we have a lack of workers out there. Nobody wants to really get into this field, so we have to make it enticing again. We have to open those doors to our students so that they're able to graduate and work in this type of service.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's very, very important, for sure. One of the biggest things that I find out because of the people I speak with is they are just so overwhelmed when they first find out and they just don't know what to do at all. They don't know what's available out there. They don't know what service, what agency. They are just so overwhelmed with their child and trying to help them. The states don't need to make it easier. They need to make the process quicker so people like yourself can get out there and help those that really need it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. If I could tell you right now, depending on the states that we work, I can tell you California is the number one state that offers a lot to our clients. And one thing that they did recently that has been great they increased the rates for the vendors. So what does that mean? That means that we can pay our workers more money for the vendors. So what does that mean? That means that we can pay our workers more money. That means that I can be able to pull more workers and they'll be happy and they'll get paid well and they'll be more enticed to get into the field.
Speaker 2:But if you were to go to another state and I'll give you an example Arizona. Arizona they can get behavioral therapy, not a problem through the insurance. But when you talk about having your child that's an adult or like a teenager, the services that are out there, they're not really that many out there. There needs to be more companies like me to open up these type of services in different states. Maryland is another state that is very run exactly like California, but California does offer a variety of services for anyone and also any age.
Speaker 1:That's such great information. How do people get in touch with you?
Speaker 2:I will provide you my website. I will also provide my phone number so if families have a question, they can text me or they can email me. Text me or they can email me and then I can give them information of how to acquire any services that they may need for their child or their adults. If they need information on conservatorship, I can also guide them where to go get it for free, so they don't have to pay an attorney, so I can give them kind of like tips of what to do with their child or their adult.
Speaker 1:That's great. I think everyone will appreciate that. So what is your website?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. The company is called Roman Empire Agency. The website is wwwromanempireagencycom.
Speaker 1:That's great. Then from there they can go into your website, figure out which state that you're in and they're in and contact you from there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a central number. I have a few staff that will pick up that line and then they'll route it to the right department. I will provide all of you audience my email that you guys can email me directly, and if you guys have questions, you can just say I heard your information throughout the podcast. My direct email is Gabby G-A-B-B-Y at romanempireagencycom. I am the owner and I'm also the founder. I'm bilingual, I also speak Spanish and I can definitely help all the families out there.
Speaker 1:I think that's great A lot of information, a lot of things that people can contact you about. Anything else that you'd like to say?
Speaker 2:So one of the things I'm going to say before our session is over is that I'm a very proud agency because we became partners with the Cardinals here in Arizona, the Cardinals Stadium. With NSL, we're actually sponsoring a sensory room and we're utilizing it to give the kids a break when they need a break from loud noises there at the stadium. Hopefully we can continue to get more partnerships here so that we're able to offer that to the community.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's really awesome, Really really good. I appreciate you coming on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having us on the show.
Speaker 1:Oh, the pleasure has been all mine. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to listen to our show today. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. If you know anyone that would like to tell us their story, send them to TonyMantorcom Contact then they can give us their information so one day they may be a guest on our show. One more thing we ask tell everyone everywhere about why Not Me, the World, the conversations we're having and the inspiration our guests give to everyone everywhere that you are not alone in this world.