It was just after her first birthday that the parents of Journee Perry noticed that she was not verbalizing as expected for a one-year-old. Her father, Ira Perry, comes to The Offshoot Podcast to tell what it was like learning that his youngest child of nine was on the spectrum for autism. There was a lot of waiting for professional assistance and a lack of resources, so instead of passing the time waiting for appointments, he turned to artificial intelligence.

Perry is utilizing his entrepreneurial expertise to mitigate the time it takes to determine if and where children are on the spectrum for autism. He has launched an AI platform, https://klongen.ai, that will assist professionals in diagnosing autism more quickly, and that AI platform, thereby, will help children more easily adapt to social norms and calm traits like anxiety and over stimulation. The holographic technology, Klonggen AI, helps families and their children with autism by keeping consistent the familiarity that those on the spectrum need to calm anxiousness and better understand their surroundings.

On this episode of The Offshoot Podcast, listen to how this one Black father is supporting his daughter, and how he plans to share Klongen AI, with others, professionals, to ensure that children with autism are up to par with their peers. https://klongen.ai.

From Angela Harper, daughter of Archie Harper
Archie Harper is 91 and still hitting the gym three times a week. That tells you something about his approach to life.

Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, he made a decision at 18 that would shape everything: he joined the U.S. Air Force. What followed was three decades in uniform, with deployments that took him across the globe - including service during the Vietnam War. After military retirement, his service continued: first as a procurement specialist, and then in security at the Sacramento International Airport.

He earned a degree in Education from Southern Illinois University, but his real classroom has always been his life experiences and the people he's met along the way. Ask him about his guiding principles and he'll tell you: truth, friendship, spirituality, and treating others the way you want to be treated. Simple ideas that aren't always simple to live by.

His personal motto is "Keep on keeping on"—words that seem to capture his persistence, his positive mindset, and his pragmatism. Looking back, he says joining the military was the best decision he ever made.

But these days, Archie is thinking bigger. His hope is that humanity can figure out how to sit down and talk instead of fight. "We could accomplish so much more," he said, "if we just stopped and listened to each other."

Archie and his wife of 50 years reside in Sacramento, CA.

Emmy nominated and executive producer of movies and television shows like "A Match Made In Heaven," "Call Me Zaddy," "False Advertisement," and "Sorry About That," Lena Jenkins-Smith doesn't give a lot of interviews. She is more comfortable being behind the camera, managing a team of creatives, to produce non-traditional content - films different from typical Hollywood stories. She has been in the game for more than 20 years, having got her big break working for renowned comedian Katt Williams, whom she still does some production work. She would say it started from being at the bottom, but now, she leads her own production company Goldstrand Media with business partner Jonathan Williams.

Coming from behind the camera, Lena sits down for a conversation on this episode of The Offshoot Podcast. From her beginnings as an extra in the classic John Singleton film "Poetic Justice," to her leadership role as a entrepreneur, motherhood, and producer, Lena has taking many pivots in her career but has stayed on the path - through the ups and downs. She is still learning and growing, and with that she is bringing young people along with her. In her conversation with The Offshoot, Lena speaks truthfully about the disappointments, the euphoria, the challenges, and her faith.