Neurodivergent Report

This episode completely validates the bidirectional relationship between our bodies, our environments, and the stories we tell ourselves about what we can or cannot do. We got into how our external climate can completely change someone's experience of disability, chronic pain, and neurodivergent health. And honestly, I am still wondering if many of us are trying to fix ourselves instead of ask...

This episode is full of instructions and strategies for creating an accessible art therapy practice. We got into the fundamentals of art therapy and its intersection with radical acceptance; this will be especially valuable for anyone curious about how various creative modalities can help us process what talk therapy sometimes misses. Curious what else is inside:  Why creating "intentionally...

This convo has me thinking about how often we size up those we interact with, be it subconscious or intentional. We talk gender identity, intersectionality, and autism; imagine the freedom that comes from approaching confusion with curiosity instead of trying to force compliance. Curious what else is inside: • What is anti-fat bias and why it's harmful for every body size • How identity exploratio...

This episode really made me think about my bendy body in a new way. We got into how the body and mind are connected through fascia, and honestly it transformed how I understand things like stress, ADHD, and nervous system healing. We talk about fascia, embodiment, and neurodivergence, especially for people who feel stuck in their heads or overwhelmed by their feelings. Curious what else is inside:...

Featuring: Kelly Smith, meditation teacher, author, and host of Mindful in Minutes We've all been told to try meditation. But some of our brains rebel against us when we try: your brain won’t slow down, your thoughts get louder, and it feels impossible. What if the problem isn’t you… but how meditation has been taught? In this episode, we explore: The “I Can’t Meditate” Moment: Sarah and Kelly...

Featuring: Matthew Seneshen , clinical counselor & educator specializing in neurodiversity and workplace mental health How do you survive at work when the system expects you to prove you’re struggling before it offers help? In this episode, we explore: Neurodiversity & Identity Early diagnosis, dysgraphia, and processing differences Shifting from “broken” to understanding neurodivergence a...

Featuring: Janet Jay, writer and advocate exploring intersection of chronic pain, ADHD, and community care How do you navigate life when your body and your brain aren’t cooperating & there’s no system in place to provide support? In this episode, we explore: Chronic Pain & ADHD Overlap between chronic pain and ADHD Adult ADHD diagnosis and identity shift Navigating Systems Barriers within...

What happens when your softness isn’t perceived as a weakness but your strategy for sustainability? This episode challenges the idea that activism has to be loud, dangerous, or perfect to make a difference. In this episode, we explore: Women’s Work is Political: Jocie breaks down how reclaiming knitting as activism is both intentional and disruptive. Small Impact Still Counts: From classrooms to c...

Featuring: Peter Shankman , entrepreneur, founder of Source of Sources, and early architect of the AOL newsroom Before the internet became corporate and slow, it was chaos... and a lot of it was built by neurodivergent brains moving fast and breaking things. Peter Shankman joins Sarah to talk about helping build the AOL newsroom , quitting the corporate meeting machine, and accidentally creating o...

Featuring: Cate Osborn & Eric Gude, authors of The ADHD Field Guide for Adults What happens when you finally get the thing you’ve worked toward for years before you suddenly realize you can’t sustain it? This conversation explores the grief, identity shifts, and radical self-honesty at the heart of the ADHD experience. In this episode, we explore: The Tower Moment: Cate’s 2018 medical crisis a...

Featuring: Dr. Melisa Moore, licensed psychologist & board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist If you’ve ever whispered “why can’t I get my kid to sleep?” at 10:47 p.m., this episode dismantles the guilt and replaces it with biology, nuance, and real-life flexibility. In this episode, we explore: You’re Not a Bad Parent: Is there a rational reason why I struggle with sleep routines...

Diagnosed at four. Told what she “wouldn’t” do. Now she’s training for triathlons while juggling college, sensory needs, and full-time endurance sport. In this episode, we explore: Importance of Parental Support: Doctors predicted limits. Her parents built a support network instead. Running Changed My Life :  Medication made her feel flat and lethargic. Running regulated her nervous system & f...

Featuring: Struan Mackenzie , former UK civil servant & creator of the YouTube channel Am I Neurodivergent? This is a conversation about burnout, identity collapse, and rebuilding from the inside out. In this episode, we explore: The Late Diagnosis: From stress breakdown to rabbit-hole of autism research... suddenly realized his entire life made sense. The Identity Reformation: Another non-lin...

Featuring: Jonathan Katz-Ouziel, autistic accessibility consultant and founder of Opossum House Accessibility What happens when autism is diagnosed early, supported well, and allowed to stay joyful — and how OCD complicates (and sometimes sharpens) everything that comes after In this episode, we explore: Early Diagnosis Moment:  what it was like being diagnosed autistic at age three in the 1990s,...

Ft:  Karen Kossow, disability advocate, neurodivergent parent, and co-founder of Faircare Idaho What happens when parenting, disability, hormones, and burnout collide — and the systems meant to support you quietly disappear? In this episode, we explore: Brain Fog + Burnout = Breaking Point Sarah gets vulnerable about worsening brain fog and fatigue, opening a larger conversation about perimenopaus...

Featuring: Lucy — Art therapist based in Melbourne, Australia , working at the intersection of creativity, neurodivergence, sensory regulation, and relational healing. People rarely heal by talking alone; this week, Lucy joins me to explain that slow and soft sensory practices can be the most powerful tools for nervous system repair, especially for neurodivergent people who’ve built up trauma just...

Featuring: Ryan Baker-Barrett , BCBA — ADHD clinician, parent of neurodivergent kids, and adult diagnosed with ADHD later in life. I keep hearing stories of adults who don’t receive diagnosis until after their relationships fall apart.    In this episode, Ryan Baker-Barrett shares his late ADHD diagnosis, experience with inattentive ADHD, barriers to medication access, and what it’s like to parent...

Most neurodivergent people have a story of collapse before success. Neurodivergent Rebel - Lyric Rivera - joins me to talk about the rite-of-passage crises that force us to confront burnout, identity, capitalism, and the quiet self-abandonment we were taught to survive with. Curious what’s inside? The “Rite of Passage” Crisis: Why so many neurodivergent people hit collapse? The “Queer-Adjacent Wit...

How does it feel to spend 20 years masking in the corporate world, only to have the rug pulled out the moment you finally ask for help? Romina Massa joins us to discuss her resilience story still being written as we speak. Curious what's inside? The "Reasonable" Request: Romina reveals the shockingly simple workplace accommodation she requested that led to her corporate exit—and why...

This is the most emotionally honest episode I’ve ever recorded.  In today’s conversation, Shaun Arora returns to The Neurodivergent Report to discuss Microsoft research on work–life balance, but the fullness of what really happened is way more useful. Listen now to co-regulate with me from all things overwhelm, chronic illness, and executive dysfunction. If you feel dizzy surviving a world that wo...

Jonathan Bernstein [ investigative journalist, crisis-management expert, and founder of The Snark Knight ] joins us to talk late-life autism diagnosis, justice-driven activism, intuition as a superpower, and why everyone is “big enough to do something.” Jonathan shares his unconventional path—from military intelligence to investigative journalism to 40 years in crisis-management PR—before receivin...

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Report , we had an energetic chat with Ryann from @Support_The_Spectrum , a speech-language pathologist specializing in neurodivergent communication! Curious what’s inside? What is Gestalt Language Processing? & how is it different from analytic language processing? What does PDA [Persistent Drive for Autonomy | aka Pathological Demand Avoidance] have to d...

Meet Rebecca Irby, Founder of PEAC Institute ! What can we learn from her story of cross-cultural connection? Together, we chat about cultural identity, empathy, and the neurodivergent experience through her lens as educator and UN peace advocate. ( P eace, E ducation, A rt & C ulture). Curious what’s inside? - Empathy must be taught — but how? - Psychological safety is the foundation for grow...

Do our brains and guts actually talk to each other??? In this episode, we’re sitting down with Annika from Nutrimind Lab to unpack how nutrition plays a pivotal role in ADHD & behavioral health . We explore everything from omega-3s and inflammation to interoception and hunger signals. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed with ADHD or have been navigating this your whole life, this conversation i...

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Report , Sarah and JQ welcome back Sol Smith , certified autism specialist, author of The Autistic’s Guide to Self-Discovery , and founder of the NeuroSpicy Community ! Curious what’s inside: Autonomy and choice are essential for neurodivergent learners PDA as a drive for autonomy rather than “demand avoidance” “There’s no such thing as an academic emergency…”...