Autism Stories

" I think the reason I’m drawn to governance or being on boards is because they’re often within a structured environment… it’s about making sure that the voices of autistic people who are often overlooked have their voices or perspectives heard", says Cyndi Gerlach. Cyndi joins this episode to discuss her experience regarding being a board of director and how public school can be improve...

"A conventional virtual assistant will go off and do the things you delegate. But when you’re neurodivergent, there is so much nuance. There is so much other stuff going on which is impacting you", says James Cleves. James joins this episode to discuss his work as a virtual assistant for neurodivergent entrepreneurs. If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would rea...

"When I first saw  Love on the Spectrum , I said, I want to do that show someday… years later, I did the show, and I’m so happy about it", says Dylan Aguilar. Dylan and Dr. Laurie Stephens  joins us to discuss Love on The Spectrum and how The Help Group is supporting 25,000 neurodivergent people and their families each year. To learn more about Dylan visit https://www.instagram.com/king_...

"She’s already feeling that pressure of, I need to be as performant as my male colleagues. But to add on to that, she’s struggling with ADHD symptoms, autism symptoms, sensory overload… that forces neurodivergent women in tech to be extremely high-functioning to the point of exhaustion", says Amirtha Sureshbabu. Amirtha joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss being software engin...

"It amazes me, the resilience [autistic people] have, that we’ve built over these decades of awful experiences… we’re incredibly tough in so many ways. We keep on going", says Alex Morgan. Alex joins us  to discuss her new book, being a journalist, and learning about her autism at 60 years old. To learn more about Alex and her new book Mothertongue visit https://theautisticwoman.co.uk/books-on-aut...

"Getting to make this show [about The Beatles] is the greatest joy and privilege of my life. A lot of people misunderstand non-speakers with autism, or may not know we exist. Some people may think if we don’t speak, we’re not smart. But we have thoughts and feelings and passions like anyone else", says Aiden Levy. Aiden joins this episode to discuss co-hosting a Sirius XM radio show and...

"You can be into kink, you can be into the idea of sex, you can even enjoy certain actions related to it and still be on the asexuality spectrum. And that [fact] widened my view", says Sabrina and Kade. Sabrina and Kade join us to discuss their podcast, Aces Up Your Sleeve , and the intersection of asexuality and autism. To learn more about Sabrina and Kade and their podcast visit www.patreon.com/...

"My] books don’t have that clinical language. I’m not a therapist, I’m not a professional. I just have the experience of actually living autism every single day with my kids… this is from one parent to another, from one autistic mother to maybe another autistic mother", says Dalisse Sequeiros. Dalisse joins this episode to discuss being the author of a book series designed for autistic r...

"It’s hard enough for most autistic people to connect in the first place. There’s such a hunger to meet other people like ourselves… What I’ve learned is that it’s a lonely journey. People are figuring it out themselves, and they desperately want community", says Jonathan Domsky. Jonathan joins this episode to discuss his experiences as an autistic entrepreneur. To learn more about Jonat...

"They enable autistic and other adaptive athletes to run a Boston Marathon with slightly different requirements. [I thought] I’d love to be a part of it. And then a year later, I ran with them", says Shea Belsky. Shea returns to Autism Stories to discuss running in the Boston Marathon. To learn more about Shea visit https://www.sheabelsky.com/ . If you could subscribe on your favorite li...

"Kids can look at [Hans Christian Andersen's] story and say, oh wow, here’s this famous author, and he went through this. Oh, there’s hope… not only make it through, but do something that I really love doing", says Sandra Nickel. Sandra joins this epsiode to discuss her new book about  Hans Chrisitan Andersen and how he was likely autistic. To learn more about Sandra and her books vi...

"No one can truly wrap their head around the horror of living in silence. Finding spelling was the first step to healing", says Talia Zimmerman. Tailia joins this episode to discuss how life changes for non-speakers when spelling comes into their lives. If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for customized coaching b...

"I want to build things that last… I want to make sustainable systems. And I want it to be beyond me, that it doesn’t rely on me", says Mandy Pinckley. Mandy joins us to discuss launching neurodivergent peer support groups and advocating to make sustainable systems that support our communities. To learn more about Mandy visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-pinckley-a67658250/ Thank yo...

"I always take a lot of breaks, have a lot of snacks, have a lot of fidget toys… in order to prevent that from happening and having a meltdown… I always tell my agency and my managers that my needs have to be met", says Glamorous Glitzy. Glamorous Glitzy joins this episode to discuss   joins us to discuss the intersection of beauty, glamour, and her autism. To learn more about Glamorous...

"This project I’ve been working on recently was actually specifically intended to help leverage AI to bridge communication between neuro types... That’s the idea that AI could potentially help with communication, but I realized that it was actually alienating", says Sam Hiatt. Sam joins this episode to discuss how AI impacts communication and his experience of going to Burning Man each y...

"I would like you all to understand that I am a non-speaker and I spent many years in silence. Many people believed I had very low cognition. I was unable to prove my intelligence up until I was introduced to S2C at the age of 19. This opportunity to be on a podcast is truly a dream", says Charlie Volotta. Charlie joins this episode to discuss having his voice heard through spelling to c...

"Games really do not have to be that way, or at least they do not have to be inaccessible in ways that feel unnecessary. Accessibility is not about taking something away from gaming. It is about giving more people a way into games", says Michael from CtrlAble. Michael joins us to discuss  the community he built for disabled gamers who believe gaming should be accessible for everyone. Tha...

"When I started doing comedy, it happened after my autism diagnosis. So that was like a brief grieving period of, oh, you mean to tell me that I was never normal? Like I wasted all this time of my life just struggling to do that. So the diagnosis gave me a way out", says Min Lin. Min joins this episode to discuss being a stand up comic. To learn more about Min visit https://www.instagram...

"There have been many stories that captured the essence of my experiences, but I haven't found a singular form of representation where it's like all parts of me in one character because I'm so many things", says Tre Wilson. Tre joins this episode to discuss his work as film director, director of photography, and video colorist. To learn more about Tre visit https://martrese14...

"Sometimes when we accidentally find sensory self-care, it can actually lead to shame. Stimming would be a perfect example of accidental sensory self-care. But then if we've got negative feedback around that, we might actually feel shame around our sensory self-care", says Dr. Megan Neff. Megan returns to Autism Stories to discuss her card deck of 100 step by step exercises of Self C...

"And we need to dig and uncover the realities, or we're never going to heal. It's not going to happen. And for me, it's not about a reparation. It's more about a restoration of truths. I want the real truth just to be a matter of record", says Jerome Narramore. Jerome joins this episode to discuss his work as  investigative genetic genealogist, the history of Black and Br...

"Water is a precious resource for all communities and war-affected communities even more so. I think when we talk about disasters, war being one of them, what's a lot more important than the disaster itself is the background to the disaster", says Isaac Gendler. Isaac joins this episode to discuss his work regardinsgclimate change and the impact that war affected areas have on water...

"Peace doesn't arrive like a sunrise. It limps in mud caked hollow eyed curled at the edge of my ribs like a sleeping dog I'm afraid to wake. Peace means owning that I'm autistic and also brilliant and also tired of shrinking so others don't feel small beside me. For the first time in a long time, it doesn't feel out of reach", says Chris Carazas. Chris joins this epi...

"Even some of my classmates and coworkers, they've attended colleges for the entertainment industry and learned more here at Exceptional Minds than going through college", says Rafael Rodriguez. Rafael joins this episode to discuss being a graduate of Exceptional Minds Academy where he learned visual effects techniques and his work on various Marvel projects. To learn more about Rafa...

“And we need to uplift people who truly understand us and not just attempt to speak for us, but really speak over us, people who really are part of our world, who understand us. And I would be the second openly autistic person in New York City history", says Josh Arnon. Josh joins this episode to discuss  running for political office in New York City as a democratic socialist candidate.  To l...