Autistic Tidbits & Tangents

In this episode, Kara, Bruce, and Maja talk to Prof. Tony Attwood and Dr. Michelle Garnett about each of their journeys with late diagnosis, the role of autistic friendships in self-acceptance, and the impact of discovery on clinical practice (and vice versa). We talk about normalizing spaces, paradigm shifts, and epistemic injustice, as well as connecting to our own nervous systems and autistic j...

Ep. 56 - Change, Conjunctions, and ComplexitiesBruce, Kara, and Maja catch up after a long absence, and discuss changes to societal understandings of autism, the epistemic injustice of whose voices matter in attributing meaning to autistic lives, problems in existing structures and categorizations, and the recent comments about autism by Uta Frith. Also: basketball anthropology. Thing(s) of the Da...

Ep. 55 - Choice, Cats, and Canon with Your AT&T TeamBruce and Kara have a late-night chat about autonomy vs. independence, autistic-related literature (and what is missing!), and many other thoughts. We briefly have a third guest co-host who does little besides meow and knock things over. This may (or may not?) be the final episode for 2025 - sorry for the sporadic recordings! Thing(s) of the...

Ep. 54 - Dublin and Dynamic Discussions Kara, Maja, and Bruce talk about their recent goings-ons, in particular the recent Autism Europe International Autism Congress, at which both Maja and Kara gave keynotes! They also met IN PERSON for the first time! (We forgot to record and re-recorded after about 30 mins, so may not have said everything we said the first time and meant to say!) Thing(s) of t...

Kara and Bruce talk with Dr. Paula Holmes-Rodman, who developed a self-advocacy guide for autistic cancer patients together with her sister, Lindsey Holmes, who was an autistic cancer patient. We talk about Lindsey’s memory, consent and autonomy in medical care, neurohumility, as well as Paula’s earlier work as an anthropologist. Build a bigger boat! Guest Bio: Dr. Paula Elizabeth Holmes-Rodman is...

Ep. 52 - Narratives, Nostalgia, & Neuroaffirmative Research (with Mishel Alexandrovsky) Bruce and Kara sit down with autistic autism researcher Mishel Alexandrovsky to talk about problems with existing research on/about autistic people, diagnostic tools, epistemological framing of autism in the media, and more. For fun, we talk about collections, crayons, and things that elicit nostalgia! Gues...

Ep. 51 - Cinema, Casting, ... and to be continued Part II (with Mitch Kosterman) Bruce, Kara, and Mitch continue last episode's conversation, delving into the artistic process, how being autistic impacted his career, the impact of late diagnosis on self-understanding, and much more. Kara shares an embarrassing moment on stage and Bruce makes a joke! Guest Bio: Mitch Kosterman has worked in the...

Ep. 50 - Cinema, Casting, ... and to be continued Part 1 (with Mitch Kosterman) Bruce, Kara, and Maja sit down for a conversation with Mitch Kosterman about his late diagnosis, challenges accessing support as an older autistic, as well as retrospective look at early school experiences, and aspects of his career in the film and tv industry. This is the first part of two episodes with Mitch! Guest B...

Ep. 49 - Autistic Intersectional Experiences (with Ryan Perez) Bruce and Kara chat with Ryan Perez about navigating life, the diagnostic process, accessing resources, and barriers experienced as a black bi/demisexual/poly autistic man. We also talk about disassociation, anti-miscenegation laws, the intertwined nature of racism, ableism, and other forms of oppression, and the King of Pop.  This epi...

Bruce and Kara chat with Julianna Maggrah about Indigenous ways of being, doing, and knowing; her late diagnosis; exploring Indigenous views of autism; thoughts on creativity and expression; and the interplay of all of these topics, together. Guest Bio: Julianna Maggrah is a 2 Spirit, neurodivergent Indigenous woman born and raised in northern Saskatchewan. Her family were trappers and hunters and...

Ep. 47 - Kara's New Book Maja interviews Kara about her new book, Creating a Neurodiversity-Affirming Classroom . Maja gets to the root of Kara's process, inspiration, teaching experiences at various levels of education, and the strengths and potential impacts of this book. Hear Kara fangirl about her favourite researchers and Maja fangirl about Kara. Mutual fan club!! Thing(s) of the Day: Dymond,...

Ep. 46 - Competing needs, Communication, & Community Support Bruce, Kara, and Maja are back! In the first episode of Season 4, they catch up, share what they’ve been up to, and discuss the need for collective advocacy within the autistic community, as well as some of the associated challenges such as competing needs, stressful environments, immediate access to communication and self-insight. W...

Ep. 45 - Autism Mythbusting, Misdiagnosis, & Math Brains Your trio of hosts -- Kara, Maja, and Bruce -- discuss the myths that most bother them about autism and their own experiences of emotions processing, empathy, and rejection sensitivity and/or resistance to compliments. Maja makes excellent points about the need for professionals to stay current in the knowledge about presentations of aut...

Ep. 44 - Countries, Concussions, & Kinship (with Jason Leaver) In this episode, Kara, Maja, and Bruce talk about the diagnostic process and personal impact on guest Jason Leaver, a professional filmmaker and video game designer - who is also Kara's pseudo cousin! They discuss medical ableism and common misconceptions about autism, the journey of reconceptualizing one's life and self in light o...

Ep. 43 - Conflict Resolution, Compassion, & the Neurodiversity Club (with Lindsay Ryan, RP) Kara is so excited to introduce her two close friends! Kara and Maja chat with registered psychotherapist, Lindsay Ryan, about coming to understand one's own needs with self-compassion, processing a diagnosis, imposter syndrome, unmasking, and communicating with partners and loved ones. Lindsay also giv...

Ep. 42 - Environment, Eudaimonia, & Energy Accounting (Yay, Maja Wrote Another Book!!!) Kara and Bruce embarrass Maja by asking all about her new book, Energy Accounting. This is an approach that Maja has developed for over a decade and shares her personal journey with burnout, anxiety, and depression which led to this concept of stress management and self-care. We also talk about the gatekeep...

Ep. 41 - Online Community, Ibelin, and Individual Growth In this episode Kara and Maja talk about the documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin; how gaming, roleplaying, and online communities can be difficult and beautiful; and why this matters for autistic people. Thing of the Day: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81759420 __________ Autistic Tidbits & Tangents...

Bruce and Kara chat with New York Times and international bestselling author, J.D. Barker, who writes suspense thrillers with dashes of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural. J.D. illuminates us on autistic writing strengths, his process, challenges and benefits of co-writing, and...the suspense is killing us...his connection to Dracula! GUEST BIO: Barker spent the first 14...

Ep. 39 - [Outer] Space, [Spiritual] Space, & [Cultural] Space! (with Pugal Sivasankar) Bruce, Kara, and guest Pugal Sivasankar, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering, talk about a wide range of subjects, from the big bang, the Big Bang Theory, another big bang (the atom bomb), bottom-up thinking, and much more! Pugal shares his personal discovery of being autistic; how his understanding...

Bonus Episode! We tried recording an episode and got into too many tangents that we decided to release it as a bonus! Bruce, Kara, and Maja discuss genealogy, creepie crawlies, zombie apocalypse plans, and much more! __________ Autistic Tidbits & Tangents is a biweekly podcast, co-hosted by Kara Dymond, Maja Toudal, and Bruce Petherick. It is centered around topics relevant to autism and the l...

Ep. 38 - Comedy, Confusion, & Communication Differences In this episode, Bruce, Kara, and Maja discuss contemporary use of language, visuals, and symbols in internet communication and how that can be exlusive to those without the contextual knowledge. This conversation extends to in person communication, humour, and the elements that can impact whether you get or enjoy the joke. They discuss h...

Ep. 37 - Neurodivergent Exercise Myths, Motivations, & Joyful Movement (with Micaelah Barb) Kara and Maja are joined by our guest, ADHD habit & wellness coach Micaelah Barb, to talk about neurodivergence, exercise, and long-term motivation -- and why it doesn't always work the way you've probably been told. We discuss why starting and sticking to exercised routines can be so hard f...

Ep. 36 - Changing the Normative Narrative with Nuance Kara and Bruce dream of better ways of talking about autism, including autistic voices, and embracing our differences. We specifically examine the notion of black and white thinking and consider its broader implications. Tangents include: time machines, DnD, and postmodernity. Thing of the Day : Assessing Student Writing Through An Appreciative...

Ep. 35 - Cathartic Consumption, Capacity for Consumption, & K-Pop! The third episode of Season is the second part of our look at artistic expression. In this episode, Kara, Maja and Bruce talk about the consumption of Art(s) of all types, and how an autistic consumption may (or may not) differ from a neurotypical consumption. In this wide-ranging discussion, they bring unique perspectives to t...

Ep. 34 - Sleep, Synchronicities, & How to End a Podcast? (with Dr. Megan Anna Neff) Inspired by a conversation between Bruce and Kara around Kara’s horrible sleeping patterns, the Autistic Tidbits & Tangents team invited guest Dr. Megan Anna Neff, a neurodivergent psychologist and co-host of the Divergent Conversations podcast, to deep-dive into common neurodivergent experiences related to...