Draft:Alix Generous

Rochanya Alexandra Charlotte Generous is a behavior analyst, autism neurodiversity activist, writer, entrepreneur, aspiring child psychologist, story-teller, and artist.

Generous fights against the stigma around autism and the mistreatment of the neurodivergent population. Generous herself has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, but it wasn’t an easy journey for her to reach her diagnosis. From age 4-12, Generous saw 25 therapists and received 11 misdiagnoses prior to being correctly diagnosed with asperger syndrome at the age of 13. This extremely difficult time in her life gave her first hand experience in the mistreatment of the neurodivergent population and a personal motivation to raise awareness on neurodivergence. Generous brings the world of science into the topic of autism through her extensive education, research, and heart for those impacted by the condition. She currently lives in Los Angeles and is a graduate student at Pepperdine University studying to become a psychologist.

Achievements
In 2012, at 19 years old, Generous won first place in a nationwide competition called the Citizen Science paper competition for her work in quorum sensing and coral reefs. Her paper titled "Environmental Threats on the Symbiotic Relationship of Coral Reefs and Quorum Sensing", was published in Columbia University’s Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development. The 5 page paper discusses the biological and environmental impacts that are affecting the microbial process of quorum sensing within coral reefs.

In November 2013, she was a youth delegate for the United Nations Convention of Climate Change (COP19). Here, she negotiated technology transfers and issues of medical importance. She has assisted neuroscience researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, Tufts University School of Medicine, and the University of Vermont.

From 2013 to 2016, Generous was co-owner of the app Podium, formerly called AutismSees. Podium utilizes technology tools to help people give engaging presentations. The application Podium was geared towards helping people with autism develop their public speaking skills by improving eye contact, conversation skills, and social skills through technology. Specific areas where Podium’s resources were focused include presentation skills, acceptance to college or university, interview skills, and conversation skills. The software utilized facial tracking that records eye and facial movements and tone of voice.

In August, 2015 Generous gave her Ted talk titled "My inner life" which has since received over 2 million views. In this speech, she discussed the many different interactions an individual with Asperger's Syndrome may encounter. She also described her positive and negative experiences with Asperger's.

In March 2016, Generous spoke at the All About Women event held at the Sydney Opera House. The event discusses gender, justice, and equality for women and takes place during the week of International Women’s Day. During this event, Generous gave her talk titled "ow to Think Big" in which she focused on her belief that we need all the creativity and intellect we can muster to solve our problems, so need to build a culture that accepts mental diversity so everyone can share their talents.

In October 2016, Generous stated that she was no longer affiliated with the Podium app. She resigned her position in order to pursue new technology projects in Los Angeles. She left the company in the hands of her co-founder and CEO Danielle Feerst and COO Alexandria Trombley. Podium is now out of business.

Other career achievements that Generous has accomplished include being a script consultant and an a business consultant in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) aspects. She was a script consultant for the TV show, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay that premiered January 16, 2020. This show is a series about siblings coping with the untimely death of their father. One of the siblings is autistic and the show also addresses navigating autism. As a DEI expert, she provides consulting to companies seeking to improve in neurodivergence inclusion. She does so as part of a team of consultants and speakers at Diversity Crew, a consortium that focuses on equity work.

Advocacy
Through her empathetic heart for neurodivergence, Generous is viewed as an advocate for many different areas of social work. Her goal is to raise awareness on the resources available for those with neurodivergent conditions and how they are treated in everyday life. More often than not, people with various forms of autism spectrum disorder, mental health diagnoses, and other varieties of neurological disorders are treated differently by peers, coworkers, family, and many other people in their lives. Through research and education, she hopes to make an impact in the fight for equal treatment towards the neurodivergent population.