Ep. 11 - Success Is the Best Revenge: Jayme Teplin on Neurodiversity, Self-Advocacy, and Becoming the Clinician You Needed (Part 1)

In this heartfelt Part 1 conversation, Frances sits down with Jayme Teplin, Clinical Director of The Play Base Toronto, for a powerful episode that blends lived experience with professional insight.Jayme shares her personal story of growing up neurodivergent in Toronto navigating early diagnoses, struggling in an under-resourced public school system, and eventually thriving thanks to a life-changing private school designed for neurodivergent learners. She opens up about what it meant to learn self-advocacy, understand her brain, and build the strategies that carried her through high school, college, a top-tier master’s program, and ultimately passing the BCBA exam on the first try.This episode isn’t just about credentials. It’s about resilience, identity, and the deep healing that can come from turning pain into purpose, especially when you dedicate your life to supporting children, families, and systems in ways you once needed yourself.In this episode, you’ll hear about:Jayme’s early experience with diagnoses, labels, and feeling like a “misfit” in the school systemThe private school that helped her “love school again” and the sacrifices her family made to get her thereWhy learning how your brain works can change everything (even when you’re 12 and don’t want to hear it)How Jayme learned to self-advocate early: attending IEP meetings, booking accommodations, and owning her supportsFinding ABA “by accident” through a Section 23 classroom model (academics + ABA embedded in school)