Starting a Learning Center

Ideas change everything. I didn't invent it. Ted Talks did.

TED Talks seek stories that permeate the "ideas worth spreading". These are typically emotionally engaging, novel, and memorable, conveyed through simple, straightforward storytelling and a passionate, confident delivery. Here is my story:

When your parents give you access to education, what do you intend to do with it? When your parents provide you with access to travel and culture, how does that help your personal success?

In my case, I made the choices to work in various roles throughout my thirty years of professional experience (from industrial sewing needles sales to hotel furniture sales to corporate head hunter to media sales and eventually to crisis communication). The common thread is that I always picked the most challenging job. If anyone said, "nobody can do it; it's going to be difficult, or there is no way that will ever happen.... " I often made it my personal challenge.

When you become a mother, everything changes, from your body to your mindset, and your perspective of life and purpose. I honestly wasn't mentally ready to have a baby; I thought, as long as he is born on the day he is scheduled, we are good! I only discovered the milestones much later. I don't know why. Maybe because I went back to work four months later, and I barely could emerge from the feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, clean the trash, have something to eat, take a shower..."

I decided to move from Paris to Portugal, not knowing anyone, because I wanted a better quality of life. I wanted to see trees, the ocean, blue skies, and warm sun, just as I did when I was an expat child in the Middle East. Yes, I was an expat child, and most importantly, I was a 3rd culture kid. What is a third culture kid? It is when you grow up in a place that is not part of your roots, your own culture and you end up thinking/ analyzing from many angles but not having any roots. My family is from Mauritius. We do not speak Chinese. We speak French. Mauritius was a French colony. I was born in France, so it made sense for my parents to speak French to me. By the age of 17, I had already attended six different schools in four different countries and traveled alone to four countries. We moved to Kuwait when I was 7, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. While I was often the target of "funny grimaces" in France, whether at school or in the supermarket, my multicultural classmates in Kuwait's lycée français couldn't wait to be my friends.

A child who doesn't feel like they belong is a child who struggles with self-confidence, communication, and overall positive growth. Anxiety and stress start early, way back before even kindergarten, but definitely kindergarten is a sore point for many, I would guess, because of the separation from the mother.

In 2016 in Portugal, my son attended Boa Ventura pre-school. It was suggested to me by a wonderful woman, with whom I am still in contact, that my son should undergo an evaluation. She still runs the Montessori Boat Ventura pre-school in São Pedro do Estoril. Her delivery of the "bad news" to me was done in the utmost respect. My son would probably benefit from an evaluation, as he has been exhibiting behavioral problems that the teacher has noticed. He was 2 years old.

The long journey of understanding autism and how to get my son to regain some of the lost skills was difficult. I flew to Toronto for 4 days to attend a conference organized by the Geneva Center for Autism https://www.genevacentre.ca/. There I ran into a long-lost friend who works for the Government of Ontario on Autism awareness. Through the numerous sessions, it hit me that this would be a long journey, and it would have to be measured/monitored. No one else but me, could dictate the potential progress. In Dubai on a business trip, I was introduced to the head of a Autistic school based in Abu Dhabi, from the United States, who had trained with some of the best autism researchers in the US (The New England Center for Children). That same year, we went to Paris to look for a "specialized dentist" for special needs, we found one but in the end, it was the most traumatic experience for my kid. He cried for 2hours after the cleaning. Yes it was just a teeth clean, he was 3. They wrapped him up like a crazy person. They used the noisy tools which terrified him. They showed no compassion for his sensory processing issues. We took the opportunity to get a second opinion with our former pediatrician, who had his own radio talk show about "growing up as a teenager with ADHD". He asked me how I was taking care of my son. I told him. He replied, "You did the best thing". As long as autism is a condition that falls under the umbrella of psychiatry as a developmental cognitive disorder, there would be little positive news for me if I stayed in France. It was simply that the European Union was not on par with Canada and the US. In fact, the United Nations had scolded France for being 50 years behind in providing decent and respectful treatment to children and adults with autism, in a long statement. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/08/france-is-50-years-behind-the-state-scandal-of-french-autism-treatment

I decided to stay in Portugal because the environment was great, the locals were distinct from those in the neighboring country, and I truly felt a sense of being part of the "Global Village". I was not prepared to realize that the challenge that lay ahead would, in reality, be a lifelong journey with no finish line. I told myself, that environment would probably have more influence than great technique from a "detached Canadian therapist" as we had experienced for 3 months one summer in Vancouver. Aside from the highly priced services, there was no extra support; taking an additional 15 mns to chat with the therapist, would cost 45 $ more. Seeing a supposedly specialized pediatrician in Vancouver for development issues cost me $1,700, in cash, as requested (several times), with a less than illuminating outcome after a technical blood test.

On a recent trip this year, I was in Paris at the AI Action Summit, where I sit as an advisor on the board of an AI company that teaches Africans from all walks of life (even those who don't have access to education) to get introduced to data science. Through the collaboration with universities, they can learn how to use a computer. Isn't that wonderful? At the Summit, there were many many researchers , and some who spoke about AI and Education. My most pressing question: what happens to kids with disabilities?

One professor, Phd researcher from MIT and Oxford University, told me," The world is about to get a rude awakening. The current state of education as we know it will completely collapse," and he had repeated that to a minister of digital transformation that was on the panel. It dawned on me that here was the perfect opportunity to create the proper setup and community for my child and others who were underserved by their local (continental) education system, due to lack of funds, training, ignorance, and so on...

How did I believe that I could create a learning center? I just do. It is not a pet project.

A friend recently described me as "That guy", read below for an urban colloquial explanation.

When the Urban Dictionary says 'I know a guy' : I know a guy" is a colloquial phrase implying the speaker has a personal connection to someone who can provide a specific service, resource, or solution, often in a situation where direct or formal approaches might be difficult or impossible. It's an expression of familiarity, access to resources, and personal networking that suggests the problem can be solved through a personal connection rather than a conventional process.

I look forward to meeting every parent (single or coupled) who believes that, as a team, we can achieve great things and build mountains for kids with autism/neurodivergent needs who require empowerment to achieve a quality of life as they transition into adulthood.