"What grief really is, isn't a getting over the loss, but an adjusting to a life that encapsulates the loss. And I think that that's a lot of what sometimes happens when we come to terms with our autism and the things that we did or didn't get a chance to do", says Brandy Schillace. Brandy joins this episode to discuss her book about the world’s first center for homosexual and transgender rights. To learn more about Brandy visit https://brandyschillace.com Thank you to TR Sun for their song “All...
Jul 07, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 414
"Many people] don't care as much about, okay, these are the statistics of what percentage of people get deported actually commited any crimes. It's very, very low. [...] They care about their neighbor who is Mexican, who they like, who has a family who got deported. [...] They only care about the personal connection. Which is why I feel like books like The Broposal hopefully can start a conversation", says Sonora Reyes. Sonora joins this episode to discuss storytelling, immigration, and much mor...
Jun 30, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 413
"Anytime you have a default, anyone whose brain learns things, processes, communicates differently is going to feel othered. The idea with universal design is not having any defaults, and to have a menu to all people", says Dr. Mel Houser. Mel joins this episode to discuss universal design in healthcare, her non profit All Brains Belong VT, and what she wished medical school and medical training had taught her. To learn more about Dr. Houser and All Brains Belong VT visit https://allbrainsbelong...
Jun 23, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 412
"I was going down the rabbit hole of adult play and the benefits of that could bring to a corporate environment when it comes to things like communication, creativity, innovation and ingenuity. I came across this concept of Lego Serious Play that started in the mid 90s [...]", says Rolondo Talbott. Rolando joins this episode to discuss the benefits of play for adults and his book of poetry about his corporate career. Learn more about Rolando by visiting https://www.linkedin.com/in/rolondotalbott...
Jun 16, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 411
"The veils are perceptual filters and autistic people have fewer filters. And so they're receiving a lot of information. [...] Bright lights, the way things sound, the way textures feel. And we say, their filters are lowered that way. But also the filters are lower for the invisible world", says Wendy Roff. Wendy joins us to discuss her new book about her new book about the connection of science and mysticism. To learn more about Wendy visit https://www.tiktok.com/@darling_bubbles Thank you to T...
Jun 09, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 410
"I want to feel connected to you, but if you're talking at me or if I'm bored with the conversation, then we have to adjust and your feelings being hurt isn't really my responsibility anymore. [...]. My responsibility is to myself and I'd love to be connected, but we really have to find somewhere to connect", says Lee Hopkins. Lee joins this episode to discuss meaningful relationships for autistic people. To learn more about Lee visit https://www.patternsofpossibility.com . Thank you to TR Sun f...
Jun 02, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 409
"I'm hoping that what is happening with AI can go down a path that ultimately allows more people to tell their stories more effectively and with less limitations and with less gatekeeping than ever before", says Anthony Leckie. Anthony joins this episode to discuss being the editor for Autism Stories and ethical uses of AI. To learn more about Anthony visit https://www.anthonyleckie.com . Thank you to TR Sun for their song “All Good” on todays episode. if you would like to follow along or if you...
May 26, 2025•46 min•Season 1Ep. 408
"Autistic women, especially those of us who are late identified, have spent our entire lives performing outside of our comfort zones just to survive, just to pass, to feel safe. [...] And that caused us chronic burnout, sensory overload, and a disconnection from our authentic selves. So telling us to get out of our comfort zone, it's like pouring water on someone who's already drowning", says Carole Jean Whittington. Carole returns to Autism Stories to discuss her new book Living Unmasked An Aut...
May 19, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 407
"[My book's] about the generational trauma that can come from masking for generations and the complexity of neurodivergence and the complexity of how it can manifest, how it can present, how we can all have this thing in common, but all treat it in really different ways", says Meg Eden Kuyatt. Meg joins us to discuss generational trauma, writing poetry, and her new book The Girl in the Walls. To learn more about Meg and The Girl in the Walls visit https://www.megedenbooks.com/girl-in-the-wall-mg...
May 12, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 406
"I would go so far as to say that there is a distinct form of people pleasing that autistic people engage in[...]. [...] It's like, this is my personality because it's my mask. I've created this person that whose worth is entirely dependent on how other people perceive me and how useful and how little needs I have, how much I can provide for other people, because [I feel] so strange and unacceptable", says Josselyn Crane. Josselyn joins this episode to discuss masking, fluctuating capacity, and ...
May 05, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 405
"A huge part of my early discovery and then building a life that's more resilient to burnout has been understanding my sensory profile, getting to know what actually works for my sensory system, what soothes it, what comforts it, what triggers it", says Dr. Megan Neff. Dr. Neff joins this episode to discuss her Autistic Burnout Workbook . To learn more about Dr. Neff and her workbook visit https://neurodivergentinsights.com/autistic-burnout-workbook/ For bulk order discount information: https://...
Apr 28, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 404
"But for me, at least, music has always emphasized my emotions with an internal soundtrack, if that makes any sense, it's as much a part of my brain and internal dialogue as anything else, really", says Mitch Boucher. Mitch joins this episode to discuss rejection sensitive dysphoria and his love of baroque music. To learn more about Mitch and his music visit https://www.youtube.com/@MitchBoucherComposer . Thank you to TR Sun for their song “All Good” on todays episode. if you would like to follo...
Apr 21, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 403
"That's kind of where I stepped in with, yes, if I want to help people to improve their quality of life, I need to understand what quality of life looks like for autistic people", says Becca Lory Hector. Becca makes her return to Autism Stories to discuss the research from her and her team regarding quality of life for autistic people. To learn more about Becca and her research visit https://beccalory.com/publications-research/ Thank you to TR Sun for their song “All Good” on todays episode. if ...
Apr 14, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 402
"I think that's one of the things that's helped me [...], writing about it, right. Writing about these characters that are not afraid to advocate for themselves. [...] And think about how can I be more like my main character?", says DeAndra Davis. DeAndra joins this episode to talk about her new book All the Noise at once. In this compelling, moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice, a Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unju...
Apr 07, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 401
"It was actually fascinating because going into [The Traitors], I thought the missions would be the thing that I would like the least. [...] But the missions for me in my season were actually great and really exciting because there was always an element of strategy involved in the sense that you could make choices to further your own game in our mission", says Dan Bird. Dan joins this episode to discuss The Traitors and how his autism impacted his experience. To learn more about Dan and The Trai...
Mar 31, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 400
"That diagnosis when I got it, just really floored me, because I've always been verbal, very verbal, and I'm very outgoing, [...] I just have always been what I am, and things just didn't work out right, and I just kept trying", says Marilyn Roy. Marilyn joins this episode to discuss being diagnosed with autism in her sixties. If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for customized coaching by autistics for autistics then visi...
Mar 24, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 399
""The services [Autistic Black Coders] are going to be providing is that it's going to be a business service that is providing people in the black community that are going to be [...] getting into tech and learning the software engineering side to become a full stack developer eventually", says Oluwaseye Ogunfidodo. Oluwaseye joins this episode to discuss founding Autistic Black Coders. To learn more about Oluwaseye visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/mr-oluwaseye-ogunfidodo-91b6a61a9/ If you coul...
Mar 17, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 398
"One of the rules is that you don't discuss certain topics in public. And those topics include things like sex and body parts. So it can be hard to overcome that taboo and realize that a sexual or reproductive health appointment is exactly the appropriate place to discuss these topics", says Stephanie. Stephanie joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss supporting patients with their sexual and reproductive health needs as a registered nurse. If you could subscribe on your favorite listeni...
Mar 10, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 397
"In the film [Sensory Overload], it's based on the premise that 20% of the population has significantly higher sensory processing than everyone else, it's a large proportion of people", says Burnett Grant. Bernard and Burnett return to Autism Stories to discuss their involvement in the documentary Sensory Overload coming to Hulu this week. To learn more about Sensory Overload visit https://www.vox.com/ad/396458/sensory-overload-new-documentary-trailer If you could subscribe on your favorite list...
Mar 03, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 396
"We're still paying [airline] customers, [...] I feel like wheelchair users or people that use mobility aids should still be treated like human beings and seen as valuable as just any other person that is using a service", says Jay Manuel. Jay joins this episode to discuss traveling with mobility aids and his tv show that will be coming to the tv channel TLC. To learn more about Jay visit https://www.instagram.com/miniproducer/ . If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we woul...
Feb 24, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 395
"A place where we spend a lot of time is in front of our laptops, computers and phones, and in many cases those spaces aren't very calming because the colors and other things on websites can be very overwhelming. So [the] calmspaces.org website looks to address this", says Marion Hersh. Marion joins this episode to discuss the creation of the calm spaces website and important research for autistic people. To learn more about the Calm Spaces vist https://calmspaces.org and Marions visiion study a...
Feb 17, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 394
"Many leaders are fearful of coming out, so to speak, with being neurodistinct. That's unfortunate. There is a popular statistic that 20, 25% of Fortune 500 CEOs identify as neurodivergent or specifically dyslexic, but they only talk about that in private circles", says Grant Harris. Grant joins this episode to discuss his work as a certified diversity executive and the way in which he works that best suits his brain. To learn more about Grant visit https://linktr.ee/GTH_Consulting . If you coul...
Feb 10, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 393
"Autism is my divinity, so I am grateful to my mind for being different. I am grateful to my parents for being my support system. Gratitude is my attitude. Always be grateful for this life because this life was lived once", says Navneet Kulkarni. Navneet and Padma Jyothi join this episode to discuss Indian non-speaking autistics and the power of gratitude. To learn more and purchase Talking Fingers books visit https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Fingers-Vol-2-Non-Speaking-Autistics/dp/8196629591 If y...
Feb 03, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 392
""I was the drawing kid, I was the art kid always. And it was part of my regulation is just to draw, and I would get in trouble all the time in school for drawing when actually I could think and hear and understand and learn better if I was actually drawing" says Kaz Windness. Kaz joins this episode to discuss heir children's book that includes multiple autistic characters. To learn more about Kaz and their books please visit https://kazwindness.blog/2023/01/14/bitsy-bat-school-star-media-kit-le...
Jan 27, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 391
""Basically, preventing dysregulation is the biggest lever that we can push to improve the medical and behavioral health. So anything we can do to [...] give [people] a little bit more capacity, a little bit more room to act, take any kind of that cognitive or sensory load off can be really helpful", says Dr. Shannan Palma. Shannan returns to Autism Stories to discuss an app that her organization created to help neurodivergent folks make better decisions in their lives. To learn more about and d...
Jan 20, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 390
"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 learn more about Percy visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/percy-de-la-luna-49a400246/ If you could subscrib...
Jan 13, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 389
"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 more about Charlotte visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-bachelor/. If you could subscribe on...
Jan 06, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 388
"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 communicate and develop community. To learn more about Amy visit https://www.amyscurria.com . If you could s...
Dec 30, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 387
"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 experience as a licensed cosmetologist and artist. To learn more about Rachel visit https://rachelcatonsalon...
Dec 23, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 386
"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 tags. To learn more about Mykie visit https://www.instagram.com/autistic.mykie/ . If you could subscrib...
Dec 21, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 385
