The Late Discovered Club is a social impact community and podcast, on a mission to give a voice to Late Discovered autistic women and marginalised groups.
The podcast brings you real and empowering stories of late discovered autistic women and people from all walks of life - through an intersectional lens - helping to deconstruct stereotypes, and giving the next generation visibility.
Hosted by Catherine Asta and edited by Caty Ava.
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In this episode we are joined by Kate Boot - a late discovered AuDHD Speech and Language Therapist, Sensory Integration Practitioner and Relationships and Sex Education Practitioner. Since qualifying, it’s fair to say that Kate has found herself on an authentic and original journey which has seen her lean into what she now understands, post discovery to be her autistic and ADHD strengths and identity. Kate talks openly and vulnerably in this episode about her own experiences, and of how she has ...
Marsha Martin, a behavioral therapist and CEO of Black SEN Mamas, shares her deeply personal journey of late autism discovery, initially marked by shame but evolving into a source of empowerment. She details the unique challenges Black mothers of neurodivergent children face, including cultural taboos, implicit bias in healthcare, and the pervasive need for masking. Through her organization, she has created a vital, culturally sensitive support network that not only educates and empowers but also addresses the emotional and practical needs of over a thousand mothers.
In this episode we are joined by Lucy Baena - a Mother, Writer & Birthkeeper. Throughout her life Lucy has been given an array of diagnosis the first at age 7 when she was diagnosed as Dyslexic. At 15 she discovered she was Epileptic and a month after her 38th birthday she received her Autistic diagnosis. Lucy has struggled with a variety of complex health (& many mis) diagnosis over her life and learning that she is Autistic has had a profound impact on her understanding of her health a...
In this episode we are joined by Jane Green MBE - an educationalist, former Assistant Headteacher, and former lead for autism education in all phases of education. Jane is disabled, neurodivergent and an autistic parent carer for her eldest neurodivergent autistic adult non-binary child. Jane is the Founder and Chair of SEDSConnective a multi-award, neurodivergent and symptomatic hypermobility user led and voluntary charity transforming neurodivergent health and wellbeing in a community and beyo...
In this episode we are joined Holly Smale - the internationally bestselling, award-winning author of the Geek Girl series, which has sold 3.4 million copies worldwide and is currently being adapted by Netflix. The Cassandra Complex, her adult debut, was the Reese's Book Club pick for June this year. She was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 39, and a lot of things suddenly made sense. Holly is a passionate advocate for neurodiversity and speaks and writes about it regularly. Follow Holly on In...
We're back! In this episode we are joined by Heidi Mavir - a public speaker, autistic advocate, author, podcaster and SEN parent. We explore so much in this episode from Heidi's late autism discovery in her mid 40's, menopause, grief, loss, self-identification, being an autistic parent of an autistic child, what it was like growing up without the knowledge of knowing that you are autistic and ADHD, and of course becoming a Sunday Times best selling author with her book 'Your Child is not Broken'...
CW - This episode talks about Catherine's recent diagnosis of breast cancer. Coppafeel Connect with Catherine Buy Catherine's NEW Book 'Still Living' published April 2026 Buy Catherine's Book 'Rediscovered' Visit Catherine's website Contact Catherine Follow Catherine on Instagram Need Post Discovery Support? Join our next 6 week post discovery support circle Join our Late Disco...
In this episode we are joined by Laura Claxton - a comedy writer who has written gags for some of the biggest names and programmes in British Comedy. We explore Laura's late autism discovery as a 30 something woman, and her lifetime of struggles that she has never shared publicly, until now. Laura discovered very early on her life that if she could be 'the funny one' and make people laugh that she would be ok. Little did she know that her trauma response would see her decades later rapidly makin...
In this episode we are joined by Samar Waqar who describes discovering that she is autistic and ADHD in her 30’s a s life changing discovery. Samar's childhood was inherently spent knowing and believing within her heart that she was different, and her diagnosis served as validation for her - she could finally put her guard down. Or could she? She founded Kind Theory to cultivate acceptance, inclusion and celebration of neurodiversity, and her hope is to do it globally beyond the US. Samar has wo...
In this episode we are joined by Dr Anthea Cree who is a Clinical Oncologist in the NHS. Anthea is the first openly neurodivergent doctor in her organization, and has felt so alone. Anthea's openness at work about her neurodivergence saw her sharing her experiences in a video with her entire Royal College, although she confesses that it has caused much confusion about what to with her. Anthea recognizes that prior to her own late autism and ADHD, as a Doctor, she had no understanding at all of w...
In this episode we are joined by Madge Woollard - a self-employed piano and keyboard teacher who has run their own successful business since 1994. A graduate of Cambridge University, where they were a Peterhouse college’s first female organ scholar. Madge currently works both privately and in schools, and now specializes in teaching neurodivergent students - diagnosed autistic in 2016 at age 44 after a lifetime of wondering why they felt so different, and since then has been passionate about adv...
In this episode we are joined by Dr Rosie Baruah who is an NHS Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anesthesia in Scotland. Rosie has spoken publicly recently in a BBC Interview about her midlife discovery at 46, and her identity as a Late Discovered Autistic Female Doctor. Rosie is determined to further educate and advocate for autistic doctors, widen perceptions about 'what' an autistic doctor looks like, shining a light on the prejudice and challenges they face, and the benefits that aut...
In this episode we are joined by Kirsty Cullen-Campanelli from LA in California who, at 38 years old, is very much at the beginning of her autistic self-discovery journey. We talk misophonia, invalidation, multiple diagnoses preceding her autistic late discovery, sobriety, trauma and the life changing and affirming moment for Kirsty of finding a health professional who understood her. We also talk about self-disclosure in Corporate America, the need for baseline accommodations in the workplace, ...
Raven Gray is a primitive skills practitioner and experimental archaeologist, with more than 25 years’ experience in wilderness living and survival training. Raven was 55 when she discovered that she is autistic, and comes on the show to talk vulnerably and publicly for the first time about her life as an undiscovered autistic woman and her journey to her autistic awakening. The ugly duckling that wasn’t a swan, but actually a Raven, shares the impact of not knowing or understanding who she was ...
Dr Kate West is an autistic and first-generation academic, author and autism activist. Kate read her DPhil (PhD) and MSc at the University of Oxford (funded by one of the UK’s most competitive academic scholarships) and her Law degree at the University of Edinburgh. She has been awarded various academic prizes and an international academic Fellowship. She is now Senior Lecturer in Visual Criminology at Oxford Brookes University. She comes on the show to shine a light on her late discovery and na...
Connect with Catherine Buy Catherine's Book 'Rediscovered' Visit Catherine's website Contact Catherine Follow Catherine on Instagram Need Post Discovery Support? Join our next 6 week post discovery support circle Join our Late Discovered Club Community & our FREE monthly Community Connection Circle. Explore The Asta Community of Profe...
Jennifer Crawford is a chef, pro-wrestler, and feeler of big feelings. They grew up in Nova Scotia’s beautiful Annapolis Valley, and after more than a decade in Toronto and winning MasterChef Canada in 2019, they're home again. When they’re not weaving challah in the kitchen, you might find them as Moon Miss in the wrestling ring at the Lion’s Club Arena, cooking for their experimental pro-wrestling supper club, or giving themselves brain freeze at the local ice cream stand. At 40, they were dia...
In this bonus episode of Season one we have compiled all the compassionate messages our guests would want to tell their younger selves, and we have new music by Allora from their new EP 'Don't Feel it All' with 'Mother'. Connect with Catherine Buy Catherine's NEW Book 'Still Living' published April 2026 Buy Catherine's Book 'Rediscovered' Visit Catherine's website Contact Catherine Follow Catherine on Instagram ...
In our final episode of Season one we have Catherine and Caty , the mum & daughter duo together on the podcast for the first time where they: Unpack season one Talk about the impact it had on them Their stand out moments What it was really like editing and interviewing BTS of the podcast Hopes for season 2 Key takeaways Where we are and what next Connect with Catherine Buy Catherine's NEW Book 'Still Living' published April 2026 Buy Catherine's Book 'Rediscovered' Vi...
Our guest on Episode 15 is Hazel Lim - a leading advocate in the campaign against the stigma associated with autism, with a focus on the cultural stigma within the Chinese community in the UK. Living as a late discovered autistic minority in the UK, Hazel understands the struggles. She moved with her husband and three children to Swansea to study for an MSc in Autism and related Conditions at Swansea University, she then decided to make Wales a permanent home. Hazel founded the Chinese Autism Su...
Our guest on Episode 14 is Ed Jenneson - a leading UK Employment Lawyer and Partner at GunnerCooke . The focus in this episode is a theme that has come up repeatedly in season one, and in our group support circles and in our community, and that is the need for neurodivergent affirming and inclusive workplaces. Workplaces that feel safe places in which to self-disclose and request adjustments. Because without psychologically safe workplaces, we mask, and masking leads to burnout, and burnout mass...
Our guest on Episode 13 is Kate Laine-Toner - an autistic trainer, speaker and author, she is also mother to an amazing neurodivergent child. In 2012, Kate founded the parent support charity Bristol Autism Support when she struggled to find support for her own daughter, and over the following 10 years helped to guide over 3,000 parents and carers on their autism journey, as well as navigating her own autistic self-discovery during that time. We talk on the podcast about her journey over the last...
Our guest on Episode 11 is Krystle McGilvery Krystle McGilvery is the award-winning Founder of Mind Over Money , a finance training and education consultancy, a Behavioural Finance specialist, Podcaster, Mentor and Coach. She combines finance and psychology to improve financial decision-making, confidence, and wellbeing. Krystle has worked with the likes of Equifax, Moonpig, and AllBright, appeared on ITV, featured in several papers such as the Telegraph, on Refinery29, and on BBC Radio. Krystle...
Our guest on Episode 10 is Charlotte Bergslien, AKA 'The Spectrum Girl'. Trigger Warning: This episode discusses self-harm, suicide, abuse, and trauma After hitting a massive autistic (and ADHD) burnout at the age of 36, Charlotte started sharing about her experiences leading up to her burnout and of her current life since being diagnosed at 38. Charlotte always felt different from those around her, and remembers always being very confused about how she could fit in among her peers. She remember...
Our guest on Episode 9 is Laura Kerbey , Co-Founder of NEST Laura received a diagnosis of ADHD in her forties, and comes on the podcast to talk about her autism self-discovery - this being the first time she has spoken publicly about what she’s slowly discovering about herself. She describes herself as a “work in progress” of identifying herself and the realization that her neurodivergence includes autism as well. Laura has been working with autistic children and young people for over 21 years, ...
Our guest in Episode 8 is Morgan Harper Nichols , an acclaimed artist, poet and Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly best-selling author. With nearly 2 million followers on Instagram, Morgan uses her art, her platform, and her experiences to connect with her community. Morgan joins our host Catherine Asta to talk about her late autism discovery, the barriers to accessing an assessment, and her perseverance to finally getting a diagnosis at 31. We talk about what Morgan describes as the proc...
Tee Cee joins our host Catherine Asta for a compassionate conversation to shine a light on her Late Discovered Autism. A presenter, writer, and filmmaker - Tee Cee is known for her colourful style, youthful nature and passion for Caribbean heritage. Diagnosed autistic aged 27, Tee Cee publicly revealed her diagnosis for the first time in her most recent documentary ‘Too Autistic for Black’. Commissioned by Warner Bros. Discovery as part of their Black British Unspoken series for Discovery Plus, ...
Detective Inspector Becky Davies discusses her late autism diagnosis at 38, triggered by professional feedback and observing neurodivergent individuals in police custody. She candidly shares her struggles with masking, sensory sensitivities, and the varied workplace reactions to her disclosure, while also emphasizing how her autistic strengths, like pattern recognition, have enabled her to implement significant improvements in police support services. The episode champions reframing neurodivergence as a valuable societal asset.
Victoria Matthews discusses her profound journey from years of mental and physical ill health, culminating in a breakdown, to her late discovery of autism and ADHD at age 51. She explains how professional help unveiled hidden trauma, leading her to reconcile her past experiences with her neurodivergent identity. Victoria now champions women from emotionally dysfunctional families, leveraging her story and new book to inspire self-compassion, advocacy, and a life of authentic joy.
Andrea Anderson shares her journey of late autism discovery at age 45, prompted by her son's diagnosis and amplified during the pandemic lockdown. She discusses her past career burnout in fast-paced environments, the challenges of masking, and how she now consciously designs a life that supports her neurodivergence. Andrea is an advocate for neurodiversity, working to change perceptions, provide tools for other autistic women, and will publish a book on thriving with late-life autism discovery.
