Autistic Techie

Being neurodivergent on the job can sometimes feel alienating. Other times you'll find your tribe and think to yourself "Where was this my entire life?" Veronica Yao is the manager of the Neurodivergent Careers Facebook group, boasting more than eighty thousand neurodivergent folks all looking to help each other be more confident and supported in their jobs. Veronica is also a neurodivergent caree...

What's it like to be a goose enthusiast at the intersection of art, autism, and AI creativity? I could think of no one better to answer these burning questions than Schuyler Dragoo. She is the Chief Strategy Officer of Kiingo AI, a recent graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and a neurodiversity self advocate! Our conversation dove into the fusion of art with creative strategy, and h...

I'm back! I've been training for the Boston Marathon for the last few months. Preparing for this race has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own state of mind: Being prepared with the right tools to succeed, having to manage unknown and unpredictable situations, creating resilience when things go sideways, and developing a plan to ace the course. If this sounds familiar to your personal wor...

Receiving therapy and coaching is good for the mind & soul! But what if the practitioner really knew what it was like to be you? Jordan Schatz is the ADHD Guru, a licensed therapist and coach helping neurodivergent people like us unpack their lives and take it all back. Jordan and I had the chance to talk about un-sticking our lives and getting out of those ruts we carve out of need. You have them...

Software engineer and accessibility advocate Meenakshi Das joins Shea to talk about integrating accessibility into tech, regardless of your job title. As a Software Engineer 2 at Microsoft and vice chair of Teach Access, Meenakshi shares how she brings a disability lens to everything she works on, even when accessibility isn’t part of the formal job description. They discuss her journey with a spe...

Learning strategist and neuroinclusion expert Tracy King joins Shea to explore how training, education, and professional development can be reimagined with cognitive diversity in mind. As CEO of InspireEd and chair of the IACET neuroinclusion working group, Tracy breaks down what it really means to design learning experiences that include neurodivergent people from the start, not just through acco...

Blake Baumann and Pickens Calhoun of ASPIE-R (pronounced "aspire") join Shea to talk about what it means to truly support autistic individuals; not just with accommodations, but with purpose and pride. Blake shares the personal journey that led him to found ASPIE-R, a coaching and mentoring platform built by and for the autistic community, while Pickens reflects on what it takes to be an authentic...

What do you need - not just what you want? It's a challenge to unpack the often-messy intersection between personal needs, social expectations, and workplace dynamics. Don't force yourself to go to that event if you don't have the spoons for it. The LAST thing you want to do is crash and burn and stay at home the next day because you've got nothing left to give. Whether it's navigating sensory ove...

You shouldn't have to fit a square peg through a round hole! Do you feel like a square peg constantly being forced into a hole you cannot fit through, no matter what? ADHD coach Sue Day joins us to explore how neurodivergent people can find structure, self-compassion, and success...without masking who they are. As the founder of Pathway Forward Coaching and a graduate of the ADHD Coaching Academy,...

Author, filmmaker, and award-winning journalist Kristof Morrow joins Shea to talk about creativity, masking, and resilience as a multiply neurodivergent and disabled person. Kristof shares his journey through abuse, self-discovery, and artistic expression while living with autism, ADHD, and Tourette Syndrome. From bestselling books to film direction, he opens up about how his lived experience shap...

Working on your resume can feel like watching paint dry. Neurodivergent brains have it even worse off than our neurotypical peers: Getting hung up on the words, formatting, it can take an hour just to jot down a paragraph or two. Then there's the impostor syndrome: What if recruiters don't like it, or the ATS just spits it out? This episode covers some actionable steps you can take to improve the...

Clinical psychologist and UX researcher Dr. Alison Greco joins Shea to talk about Parathera, her innovative platform that bridges the gap between “I’m fine” and full-scale therapy. With a background in anxiety treatment, user experience leadership, and parenting a neurodivergent son, Alison brings a multidimensional lens to mental health support. Together, they explore how neurodivergent professio...

Organizational psychologist and workplace inclusion expert Dr. Victoria Mattingly joins Shea to explore what real allyship looks like - especially for neurodivergent professionals. From her early work in leadership development to launching "Men as Allies" training, Dr. V shares how data-driven empathy can transform workplace culture. They discuss her books Inclusalytics and the upcoming "Act Like...

Getting distracted can be one of the worst things to happen to neurodivergent folks trying to get work done. Fortunately, there's an app for that: Focus Bear! Designed and developed by AuDHD founder Jeremy Nagel, Focus Bear blocks distractions from biting you at the worst possible times so that you can get back to doing real work. With an incredible team of neurodivergent people behind him, Jeremy...

If you need a moment to take in a conversation before replying, you're far from alone. Figuring out the right kinds of styles for you to communicate in take time and effort. Let's talk about how to empower YOU to be more thoughtful about your own terms for meetings & communication. Whether you need a meeting agenda, captions, or just to ask people to slow down, I encourage you to reflect on what y...

Hyperfocus - Sounds exciting and a bit scary, right? You might be familiar with the feeling of spending hours on a particular task, or accomplishing lots of little tasks. But what expense does hyperfocus incur on neurodivergent people? How can you protect yourself and recognize when you're on the tip of burning out from a hyperfocus streak? And how can people around you actually HELP you hyperfocu...

What even is ADHD hacking? Is it possible to stick joysticks in your brain like Plankton did in that Spongebob episode and actually do everything that has to happen? Jennifer Chou has done that and more, cultivating more than 80 thousand social media followers across Instagram and TikTok. Sure we can all indulge in some doom scrolling, and to be honest, who doesn't these days? Jennifer has figured...

"Spelling it out" for people doesn't have to be hard. On the contrary, you can get into as much detail about your brain and working style as you want. The trick is to do so in a way that actually empowers your boss and team to help you, and not feel inundated with information. Enter the Working with Me document: An excellent method for communicating how to work with you. What helps you do your job...

What's your internal "script" that you follow when dealing with troublesome situations? If you have to consciously remember to keep a straight face when confronted with something stressful, you are far from alone. Nicola Knobel spent most of her life masking, frustrated with having to defend her actions and expend significant amounts of energy just to be like everyone else. "But you're so extrover...

Special crossover episode! I had the honor of joining forces Sean Gill from Neurodiversity in the Workplace for their podcast. Together, we dove deep into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by neurodivergent people in and out of the workplace. Landing a job isn't just about surviving and getting by - We talked about how to thrive, supporting both neurodivergent peers and their employers...

Do you want to build a mask? It's summer in the USA, so no snowmen here. But you're always going to be wearing a mask to get through tough situations. Interviews? Networking events? Parties? Snowman building parties with corporate matchmaking afterwards? Our newest episode talks about the process of building a mask thoughtfully, not just bruteforcing a social setting and hoping that you'll be OK a...

In this episode of Autistic Techie, I sit down with Adam Compton, a principal software engineer with over two decades of experience at top tech companies. We explore Adam's journey from a childhood fascination with computers to mastering complex systems at companies like Slack and Quantcast. Adam shares insights into navigating workplace politics and the unique challenges faced by neurodivergent i...

Coding interviews are one of the most difficult things a neurodivergent software engineer can go through. Whiteboarding, coding challenges, and explaining technical concepts are tough for everyone, especially for those whose don't express ideas in quite the same way as everyone else. Mihai Todor has gone through hundreds of coding interviews, and he has some incredible insights to share! We talked...

Does your brain freeze up when you hear this question? "Tell me about a time when..." Yeah, mine too. And for many other neurodivergent people, having to come up with an answer to questions like this can feel like running into a brick wall. But there's good news: Providing a meaningful answer to this kind of question doesn't have to be as scary or impossible as you might think. Let's get the insid...

Neurodivergent people are no strangers to sensory dysregulation - This is a fancy term which, in short, means "I am not able to regulate your emotions and/or my sensory environment." Your sensory struggles can and often do impact your emotions and vice versa. When you're in a tough environment and find yourself in an overwhelming situation, what can you do? Let's dive into these feelings together,...