Autism Stories

"What is your responsibility to your community? [...] One thing I often say is you have the right to ask for help and the duty to assist when possible. I think that really creates what this whole program is for", says Percy De La Luna. Percy joins this episode to discuss a volunteer program he created for adolescents and  teens as well as  the intersection of being indigenous and autistic. To lear...

"I think the first thing people need to remember is that their experiences aren't one size fits all. The autistic community is incredibly diverse. So just because someone's experience is different than yours doesn't make it good, bad or less than", says Charlotte Bachelor. Charlotte joins this episode to discuss the impact of storytelling  and how comic con has been a healing experience. to learn...

"I co-wrote the opera with my partner Zane, who wrote the words. And it was very important to both of us that we both capture my experience as an autistic adult [...], but also to create an opera that embraces this idea that no matter who we are [...], exactly who we are, is enough," says Amy Scurria . Amy joins this episode to discuss being an opera singer and how music has helped her to communic...

"Within the drag community I just see [people] struggling to be themselves and they're too worried about what everyone else thinks of them, which is why I create spaces so people can know that they are loved and can just let go and be themselves on stage and perform", says Rachel Caton. Rachel joins this episode to discuss  being a drag show performer and organizer. We also discuss Rachels experie...

"Tone tags have taught me the importance of advocating for my needs, while also accepting that not everyone will understand or accommodate them. When people do respect that request though, it makes communication so much easier and less anxiety inducing for me," says Mykie Mubarak. Mykie joins this episode to discuss how being Arab impacts their autistic experience,  competitive gaming, and  tone t...

"Maybe I could say I'm autistic out loud at a meeting at work. So I'm finding that as I stand up and talk about autism a lot of people at work are reaching out to me discreetly saying, hey I don't want anybody to know this, but you know what should I do here, so just being visible as simple as that sounds can be big," says David Gunter. David joins this episode to discuss disclosing his autism in...

 "I used to encounter burnout a lot when I was undiagnosed because I was a bit of a perfectionist. Everything had to be perfect all the time. And I had to, you know, you hear that people tell you, give 100%. Well, for me, 100% was 150%," says Bridgette Hamstead. Bridgette joins this episode to discuss supporting and empowering autistic women and how she supports organizations to develop neuro-incl...

"There's a lot of neurodivergent scientists that are [...] becoming more confident in calling ourselves neurodivergent scientists. We are, you know, leaving academia. We are operating outside of the system that doesn't want to support us," says Dr. Miyabe Shields. Miyabe joins this episode to discuss her research of Cannabis use for neurodivergent people and the impact of the endoendocannabinoid s...

"I'm going to make the claim. We want to be creative. We want to have agency over our lives. [...] But if you're in a workplace or a home life or whatever kind of environment where those options aren't open to you because of punishment or whatever, then that's going to make you miserable. And so that is what [this] book's about," says Katie Rose Guest Pryal. Katie joins this episode to discuss cre...

""You know, I think [NASCAR is] doing a pretty good job right now when it comes to sensory needs, because you go to the tracks and you'll see earbuds for children. I've seen some tracks that have full sensory sets," says Michael Klein. Michael joins this episode to discuss being a race car driver and voice actor. To learn more about Michael visit https://www.facebook.com/michaelkleinracing/ . If y...

"One of the biggest parts of how I move through my life is when I deal with stress or overwhelm, is to have some sort of practice to channel that energy forward instead of letting it spin into anxiety. And I think tarot is one of those things [for me]", says Neisha Hirsch. Neisha returns to Autism Stories to discuss being a coach at Autism Personal Coach and how her experience as a tarot reader ma...

"With online learning, I can concentrate better on what truly matters, which is my academics. In fact, for junior and senior year of college, I'm doing fully online, not necessarily to save money, but so I can concentrate on academics," says Kadin McElwain. Kadin joins us to discuss what has been helpful to him as a college student and the importance of writing in his life. To learn more about Kad...

"One of the skills that I realized that I had early on is I could read text written by one person. And if I had enough of it, I could mimic their style. I could mimic their vocabulary, their cadence, and basically duplicate their writing style, " says J.D. Barker. J.D.  joins us to discuss being a New York Times Bestseller, how his autism impacts his creativity, and how collaboration helps his wri...

"My goal is to have us be a part of, not exclusionary. I think that there is a way that we could have everything be sensory safe across the board", says Joanna Cetaj. Joanna joins this episode to discuss making environments more sensory safe and how therapy has been helpful to her. To learn more about Joanna visit please visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannabelievesinu/

"But traveling is definitely instrumental in me dealing with the burnout and sensory overload because when I travel, [...] the experiences [of] not only the nonstop responsibilities that I have every day, but the nonstop noise and traffic, I don't ever deal with that in most of the places that I go to", says Darnell Lowe. Darnell joins this episode to discuss raveling around the world and the over...

"I've gotten a lot better at recognizing when I'm feeling overwhelmed and like trying to address it before it gets to [elopement]. And it's just like learning other ways to cope on, you know, using my headphones and fidgets and weighted vests," says Olivia Debortoli. Olivia joins us to discuss elopement as an adult, writing her memoir, and being an identical twin. To learn mo...

"I believe, and my guides revealed to me, that in all that 240,000 years of existence, it was the autistic people who were the people other people came to for help in communicating with the divine. That's just our natural role", says Leah Welborn. Leah joins this episode to discuss reiki, spirit guides, and the importance of  celebrating each season. To learn more about Leah and her...

"We all like rest and relaxation. [...] So the changes that I made were really about trying to say, OK, well, what are the [stressful] things that we might not think are going to regular retreat? And how can I lower that stress level and make it welcoming and inclusive to everyone who comes?", says Sam Stein. Sam joins this episode to discuss her YouTube channel Yo Samady Sam and creatin...

"So emotions as an empath can get heightened when we are uncertain if they are, as you said, ours or those of others. But when we put emotional boundaries in place, we can definitely use this gift to our advantage", says Gaby Desmarais. Gaby joins this episode to discuss being an empath, getting her sensory needs met, and living in South Africa. To learn more about Gaby visit https://ins...

"I mean, we obviously talk about autism being this spectrum, so when you're coming from a Caribbean background or an African background or an Asian background, there were definitely cultural similarities in being autistic that we may have in common that say someone from an Irish or Scottish or American background may not have", says Tee Cee Johnson. To learn more about Tee Cee visit https://www.te...

Peter Jung joins this episode to discuss facilitating D & D social skills groups, silos in the autism community, and routines in socially demanding situations. To learn more about Peter and his blog visit https://rollforkindness.com . If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for extraordinary support support to live self-suf...

Russ Coleman joins this episode to discuss accessibility in art and creating one million drawings over the next five years. To learn more about Russ visit https://russcolemanstone.com If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for extraordinary support support to live self-sufficient and purpose-driven lives through customized coa...

Jade Stuart joins this episode to discuss the journey of unmasking and healing from trauma. To learn more about Jade visit ⁠https://jmswellbeing.co.uk⁠ . If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for extraordinary support support to live self-sufficient and purpose-driven lives through customized coaching then visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Vince Rinicella joins this episode to discuss energy and its connection to apraxia. We also talk about hosting his first Christmas party for his closest non speaking friends. To learn more about Vince and his blog visit https://theunfilteredmindofvincent.wordpress.com . If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for extraordinary...

Sam Brandsen joins this episode  to discuss bias in AI , starting a playgroup for autistic children, and supporting those with high support needs. To learn more about Sam and All Neurotypes visit https://www.allneurotypes.com If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for extraordinary support support to live self-sufficient and p...