Show Notes

Discover what’s possible when awareness spreads one step at a time. 


Do you ever wonder about the level of autism awareness around the world? Are you curious about what services are available for families in countries like Indonesia? 


If so, you’ll want to listen to this episode with Maharani Putri Kusuma, or Rani for short, where she shares all about the work she does to spread autism awareness in her country. 


Rani is the co-founder and owner of Rumah Tiara, an autism center in Jakarta, Indonesia. A former Global Autism Project Partner, Rani had been receiving training from us since 2013. Over the years, we have sent 13 SkillCorps® volunteer teams to Rumah Tiara to provide sustainable hands-on training. 


SkillCorps® is a carefully curated 10-day journey that includes developing culturally-relevant and sustainable training with our partner staff, listening to local Autistic Self-Advocates and family members to learn about their lived experiences, sharing meals with community members to brainstorm ideas and solutions, and executing a high-impact project to build on existing work being done in the country.


This episode with Rani was first released in July of 2020. We are re-releasing it today because we’re excited to announce that we’ve just sent a team of SkillCorps® volunteers to Peru! 


For this interview, Rani was joined by Vya Mawarni, a former therapist at Rumah Tiara who interpreted from Bahasa to English for us. I want to give a special thank you to Vya for all of the effort she put into making sure Rani’s important message was understood. 


In today’s episode, we discuss:


  • The level of autism awareness in Indonesia and the stigma associated with the diagnosis

  • Types of services available for Indonesian families

  • How Rani began working with children with autism and why she loves her job

  • Some of the challenges she’s had to face as a business owner

  • How knowing that they’re helping children who might otherwise not have access to therapy helps Rani’s staff stay positive

  • Some of Rani’s favorite moments from hosting our SkillCorps® volunteers

  • Aspects of Indonesian culture she is most excited to share with them when they visit


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We’d like to give a shout out to our SkillCorps® 2024 Title Sponsor, Action Behavior Centers. We’re excited to be partnering with businesses to create opportunities for employee development and growth through our SkillCorps® program. 


SkillCorps® Business Partners endorse employee participation in our SkillCorps® program and provide support to selected sponsored employees through granting time-off, providing funds to support team member fundraising, and more! 


Thank you, Action Behavior Centers, for being a model organization in the industry. 


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