Royan shares his story of growing up with a brother that's autistic and the associated trials and tribulations of not knowing how to best work with him. Through his own personal discovery, he finds his passion as an educator and makes an impassioned call for reform to the special education system. Royan challenges us all to realize that those with special needs need more understanding from others, that they have much more to offer than we are aware of, and that we need to all understand that weird is greater than normal.

Royan is a teacher, parent, consultant, speaker, blogger, and professional learning facilitator. He is a family man and, in the words of his own children, “very…weird”.

When he isn’t blogging, reading his RSS feeds, or tweeting about education and parenting, you can find Royan doing wonderfully mundane things with his three children and beloved wife Janet.

He is obsessed with learning relationships and experiences that cause growth and shifts in thinking. He is also easily swayed by delicious, unpretentious foods, and perfectly pulled shots of espresso.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx