Chantal Gagnon is the founder of SOCOLO (Splash Of Color), an inclusive stationary company in London, England, that makes notebooks for adults with Neurodiversity and visual stress. Chantal has Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome. Chantal has her mother, Yvonne, to thank for supporting and encouraging her through her tough years of adjusting to her disabilities. A graphic designer, artist and meditation teacher, who does her best "to help fill that gap by creating community and shining a comical light on workplace culture and social norms as a neurodiverse individual."
"Mom never allowed me to shy away from the challenges," says Chantal who refers to herself as a neurodiversity advocate.
At a young age, Chantal's mom picked up that that her daughter's learning abilities seemed off. It was clear that Chantal's behavior at home didn't reflect correctly with her report cards. Chantal struggled in school, in part due to her learning difficulties plus the social pressures from her piers and bullying. But again, it was Yvonne who continually encouraged her daughter to "not worry about it. You'll always run your own business."
Chantal wishes she had seen her mom's sensibility earlier on instead of putting more pressure on herself to tackle fields of study that were too rigorous, ie, sciences and graphic design. According to my guest, "my mother taught me how to manage and look out for my burnout."
One of the most important messages that Chantal wants to get across is " no one should ever be ashamed of the tools or the accommodations they need because of neurodiversity disabilities."
Now, starting her own business has lessened the pressure on Chantal. SOCOLO came about because of the difficulties she had when reading and focusing on words specifically on white paper or causing 'visual stress.' "50% of the people with Autism and 50% of the people with Dyslexia also have visual stress or Irlin Syndrome. So white paper doesn't quite work with our group. The whole idea behind SOCOLO was to deal with the emotional side of Dyslexia."
Chantal has a wonderful story to tell of the strength of her mother and how important it was that her mother never faulted her daughter for her challenges, yet lifter her up and encouraged her every step of the way.
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