The Middletown Centre for Autism Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to autistic researcher and science communicator, Rebecca Ellis. Rebecca is a researcher at Swansea University and she’s part of a project looking at the health experiences of people assigned female at birth. The part of her work that we chat about is focused on menstruation. We talk about the impacts of periods, what autistic people wish t...

Send us Fan Mail In the latest episode of the Middletown Podcast, we talk with Helen Edgar from Autistic Realms about monotropism and how a deep, interest-led attention style can bring  joy. We also talk about the challenges in school and daily life in monotropic processing is not supported. We take the theory into the classroom, focusing on practical ways to reduce overload, support learning, and...

Send us Fan Mail On the latest Middletown Podcast, we’re joined by the wonderful students from New-Bridge Integrated College. Logan, Faith, Summer and Molly are part of a post primary peer mentor programme designed to shape an inclusive student culture. They are a neurodiverse group and they all have their own perspective and lived experience. They share their experience and then they take the mic...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’re talking about belonging and inclusion. We chat to Louise King, Middletown staff member, who shares her experience supporting autistic children and young people in lots of different school settings. We talk about the importance of inclusion, where challenges might arise and how to address them. Louise shares really useful examples and practical ideas. 

Send us Fan Mail A pupil walks into a classroom and instantly scans for one thing: am I safe to be myself here? That simple question sits underneath everything we explore with Middletown colleagues Finola McElhatton and Ruth McCausland as we dig into what inclusion really means and why “rightful presence” raises the bar even further. We talk about what happens when autistic students aren’t include...

Send us Fan Mail In the latest episode of the Middletown Podcast, we sit down with Kevin Schaefer, Director of Equity and Inclusive Practices for California’s Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP) project. We ask how we can support students to experience belonging and power in the spaces where they learn? Our conversation centres on the concept of rightful presence, and why it helps schools move aw...

Send us Fan Mail In the latest episode we chat to poet, researcher and advocate, Kayren Hayes. Kayren has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She was very keen to share her journey as an autistic person, navigating a very serious health condition and navigating the healthcare system.  Kayren is very honest about her experiences in cancer treatment, so if you feel like you can't hear about can...

Send us Fan Mail We have another episode with Clinical Specialist OT, Susan Madigan. Susan brings a wealth of knowledge through working with university students. This episode is for students who are heading back to college or university but are feeling some dread about it.  You can find out more about Susan's work here: https://www.susanmadigan.ie/  

Send us Fan Mail In the first of two back-to-university episodes, we chat to Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, Susan Madigan. Susan has years of experience working with autistic students in universities. In this episode we discuss the challenges and many joys that autistic students might experience when they are just starting out in their college or university life. Susan shares lots of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we share time with Oisin, a young autistic advocate who is working to improve the education system for all autistic people. Oisin is non-speaking, so Noel, Oisin’s carer, read the answers that Oisin wrote to our questions. Oisin shares his thoughts on advocacy for non-speaking people and how we should all challenge our assumptions about people who communicate in di...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with Deirdre O’Shea about educator burnout and why so many teachers are running on empty while being asked to deliver major change. We explore how space, compassion, and neuroaffirming practice can protect both staff wellbeing and autistic pupils’ experience of school.

Break time can look like freedom from the outside, but for many autistic students it can feel like the most demanding part of the day: unstructured social rules, sensory overload, and nowhere obvious to recharge or recover. In this episode, we're joined by Jenny Gibson, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, to get specific about why play matters and what schools can do to make playtime...

In the latest episode of the Middletown Podcast, we chat to Elaine McGoldrick and Aoife Munroe about how they have adapted the SPACE Framework for an education setting. The framework is a neuroaffirming guide for professionals that are supporting autistic people. They share practical tips founded in the framework to guide educators to better understand and support autistic experience. 

In the latest episode of the Middletown Podcast we chat to Niamh Mellerick from AsIAm about their recent report focusing on consent and sex education in Ireland. They collaborated with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to learn more about how autistic people learn about and understand consent. Niamh shares their findings and practical ideas to support an un...

In the latest episode of the Middletown Podcast, we chat to Dr Amy Pearson about her research on autistic people’s experiences of relationships. She and her team at Durham University created a guide to help autistic people recognise healthy and unhealthy relationship traits.   Find out more about the Autistic Guide to Healthy Relationships here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/latest-news/202...

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat about sexual wellbeing for autistic people. Dr Jeroen Dewinter shares his research on community perspectives to better understand and support sexual wellbeing.   In this episode we mention the support service BelongTo  

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to Dr Brett Heasman about his research into Autistic Flow. He explains how it can be a helpful model for understanding autistic experience and how beneficial flow states can be for wellbeing.   Find out more about the work that Brett and his team are doing at the Heasman Flow Lab .  

In latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to autistic advocate Niamh Biddulph. Niamh has been an advocate for many issues faced by the community, including inclusive employment.  We talk about how she’s navigated anxiety to achieve so much.  

On the latest Middletown Podcast chat to autistic parent and advocate, Amanda McGuinness. We talk about Christmas and how Amanda and her family navigate pressure, excitement and expectations around the holiday season. We try very hard not to spoil any of the magic of Christmas in our chat, but you might want to listen to this one away from the ears of little believers.  More about Amanda:  Amanda...

On the Middletown Podcast we chat to playwright, accessibility consultant and community activist, Jody O’Neill. She discusses Neuroconvergence, a new initiative that is building community and celebrating autistic creativity.    You can find out more about Neuroconvergence here: https://www.neuroconvergence.ie/  

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to autistic teacher, lecturer and author Dr Kara Dymond. Kara is passionate about creating truly inclusive classrooms and she shares her experience and her philosophy around teaching. We also discuss Kara’s new book “Creating a Neurodiversity-Affirming Classroom”.  You can find out more about Kara’s work here  

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to researcher, Dr Sinead McNally about recent DCU research focused on the experiences that young, Irish autistic people have of bullying. We talk about how the team supported young people to feel comfortable enough to share their experiences and what we can learn from them.  You can find out more about the bullying study here .  Find out more about the Aut...

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to Occupational Therapist, Sorcha Rice. Sorcha brings her expertise and lived experience to discuss PDA (Persistent Drive for Autonomy). We discuss what PDA feels like and what supports might be useful at school and at home.   You can find out more about Sorcha and her work here

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to play therapist Gráinne Warren about building authentic connections rather than “training” social skills. Gráinne brings years of practice, research and lived experience to her work, and she has created a resource focused on supporting young people to create connections that make them comfortable.  You can find Gráinne’s resources here: https://grainnewa...

In the latest Middletown Podcast, we chat to Australian authors Clem Bastow and Jo Case about “Someone Like Me”, a new anthology of autistic writing that they have edited. We talk about how the book came about and the importance of real representation.   📚You can find out more about the book here: https://www.vervebooks.co.uk/bookpage.php?isbn=9780857309266