Embrace Autism Podcast Embrace ASD

In our fifth and final episode of season 1 of our podcast, Matt Medina talks with Riah Person, an autism advocate that focuses on topics including sensory processing, stimming, and the black autistic experience. She also runs the website riahsweirdjourney.com, where she shares her life experiences and knowledge she has gained along the way. One of her presentations explores play, stimming, and sensory processing in relation to autistics and divergent human experiences.
Follow Riah:
Website: riahsweirdjourney.com
Twitter: @lilririah
Topics of discussion:
0:00:18 Intro0:01:23 Blackness and autism0:02:47 Racism0:04:28 Cycle of racism0:05:26 George Floyd0:07:01 Peaceful protest0:08:04 Non-violent methods0:09:33 Jon Stewart0:10:48 Kenneth Clarke0:11:50 No action0:13:24 Blackness & diagnosis0:15:11 School difficulties0:16:17 Masking0:17:09 ADHD0:17:58 Military brat0:18:49 Living in Guam0:19:49 Not my fault0:21:06 1st grade fight0:24:01 School issues0:26:27 Misread0:28:43 YMCA abuse0:31:20 Being a parent0:32:55 Threatening appearance0:34:54 Enter advocacy0:38:19 Here together0:41:47 Space for being0:45:00 Stim-dancing0:46:41 Mind–body connection0:47:42 Ballroom dance0:51:07 Western-ayurvedic0:52:39 What is dance0:56:15 Special interests0:59:11 Neurodivergent friends1:03:20 Diagnostic support1:04:43 Stims1:07:54 Squeaking teeth1:10:27 Jamaica thanksgiving1:13:40 Riah’s contact information

In our fourth episode, we talk with Christine Condo, who runs the blog This Great Ape, and writes for NeuroClastic. She is a late-diagnosed autistic woman living with chronic pain, and writes her blog as a way to process her experiences.
Follow Christine:
Websites: ThisGreatApe.com
Twitter: @ThisGreatApe
Topics of discussion:
0:24 Christine’s diagnosis1:45 Matt’s diagnosis2:45 Christine’s early career4:21 Autistic characteristics and school5:34 Christine and school6:31 Work experiences and limitation7:45 Difficulties in school9:17 Christine can’t remember faces10:07 Spiky skills profile12:33 Alexithymia & visual skills13:36 Autism obscured15:47 Pathologizing conditions16:34 Labels17:19 High & low-functioning autism18:57 Savant myth & stereotypes20:42 Masking22:03 Autistic burnout24:03 Socially ostracized25:55 Great Ape blog excerpt27:44 Empathy28:40 Alexithymia & empathy29:35 Depression, anxiety, PTSD30:14 Trusting people32:46 Support from neurodiverse friends33:09 Trust & manipulation36:02 Honesty & masking36:54 Introversion & extraversion38:16 Neurodiversity movement39:18 Women on the spectrum42:30 American Disabilities Act44:30 Autism & employment47:10 Double empathy problem49:44 Parents of autistic children51:03 Autistics need social connection52:10 Autistic extravert53:15 Masking53:37 Autism paradox54:38 Accommodations55:38 High & low-functioning dichotomy56:58 Sensory sensitivity58:34 Definitions of intelligence1:00:06 Labels1:01:02 Autism experts1:03:57 Disability model: deficits1:04:54 Communication and empathy1:09:29 Direct communication on the job1:11:38 Dispel stereotypes about autism1:12:32 Great Ape Blog’s name origins1:14:47 The autism experience1:16:51 Where to find Christine1:18:36 Christine’s Washington Post article

In our third episode, we talk with Aaron Orsini, co-founder of the Autistic Psychedelic Community, collaborator with neuroscientists, and author of the book Autism on Acid, about how LSD helped him understand, navigate, alter, and appreciate his autistic perceptions.
Follow Aaron:
Websites: AutisticPsychedelic.com & AutismOnAcid.com
Twitter: @AutisticPsyched & @AutismOnAcid
Aaron’s book: Autism on Acid
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Psychedelic research websites:
MAPS website: MAPS.org
Heffter website: Heffter.org
Topics of discussion:
01:16 Aaron’s diagnosis04:20 Aaron coming out as autistic05:15 Wrestling with the pood, the bad, and the ugly of autism06:35 The stages of grief and autism diagnosis09:20 Dealing with depression and other blocks in personal development10:36 Neurological contact lens15:00 Autism, psychedelics, and neural rewiring17:50 Alexithymia and autism21:00 Autistic Roomba23:25 Martin’s tree experience26:26 Hypersensitivity and trauma31:35 Synesthesia33:40 Psychedelics aiding a person with overwhelming synesthesia35:00 Comparing and contrasting conscious experiences in NTs and autistics36:47 Serotonin is (seemingly) ubiquitous: the model neurotransmitter39:10 Parallels between infant brains and adult brains on psychedelics40:10 Aaron’s role as a bridge between autism and psychedelic neuroscience42:40 Other autistics’ positive experiences with psychedelics43:44 Meditation and then mushrooms help Matt with his alexithymia45:10 Martin embraces empathy on MDMA45:40 Aaron’s first LSD trip49:00 Dissolving the mask: LSD improves Aaron’s social intuition50:55 Attempting to explain the ineffable, such as falling in love for the first time52:48 Aaron takes control of his meta-programming54:10 Aaron’s struggle to manifest his goals55:55 PSA on doing and acquiring psychedelic substances57:15 Collabs & more collabs: Aaron’s goals for autism and psychedelic research59:45 Psychedelics’ medicinal uses1:00:00 Lessons learned1:04:00 LSD saves Aaron’s life1:05:00 Taking interest in others1:07:20 Research on psychedelics as disorder treatment1:08:45 Psychedelics easing defense mechanisms and facilitating trauma resolution1:09:56 Aaron embraces his autism post-LSD trip1:11:30 Founding Embrace ASD1:11:57 Love yourself1:12:30 Knowing an experience vs. knowing about an experience1:13:32 Insights don’t come for free1:16:00 Aaron makes binaural beats1:16:30 Set and setting1:17:55 Alicia Danforth’s study on MDMA to alleviate social anxiety in autistic subjects((Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study (Danforth et al., 2018)))1:18:55 Aaron’s vision for psychedelic-assisted therapy for autistic people1:21:10 Aaron finds his calling in life1:22:40 Weekly autistic meetup group1:23:00 Tempering expectations1:23:30 Growing support and Aaron’s identity as a community-grower1:24:18 Aaron’s social media/wrapping up

In our second episode, we talk with Arik Marmostein; he is a serial entrepreneur who’s founded Mimoona, RefreshBox, and most recently Spectroomz, a remote freelance blog for autistic talent. Arik lives in Israel with his wife and his autistic son.
Follow Arik:
Website: Spectroomz.com
Facebook: AutismJobsBlog
Twitter: @Spectroomz
Topics of discussion:
0:38 Greetings and quarantine1:11 Arik as a serial entrepreneur3:00 How Arik manages all of his projects4:43 Ro’im Rachok: Autistics in the Israeli Defense Force6:40 Major corporations specifically hiring autistics8:15 Corporations resist neurodiversity10:14 Autistic work preferences11:16 Matt’s bad work experience11:46 Martin’s work preferences12:00 Arik loved studying law but not practicing it14:35 Arik’s aspie traits and broad autism phenotype15:15 Rare mutation turns Arik’s son into an autistic X-Men16:23 Arik’s son suffers a seizure17:45 Arik embraces his son’s autism18:35 Autistics speak on the torture of ABA therapy19:35 Eye contact can be tough20:45 Arik’s son’s diagnosis21:22 Verbal, high IQ autistic kids dig older folks but struggle with other kids23:10 The issue of a lack of knowledge on autism24:50 Autism had awful public relations26:22 Matt’s 25-year-long journey to receive an autism diagnosis28:23 River otters spotted!29:18 Autism research focused on children (particularly boys) at the expense of adults30:00 Gatekeeping achievements31:40 “If he didn’t have that mutation, he’d be a genius”32:50 Googling for hope: Autistic geniuses34:00 Autistics withheld from showing off their talents34:46 Remote work to help autistics and NTs35:17 Autistics are more than code monkeys38:23 The variety of behaviors on the spectrum39:53 Autistics prefer detailed instructions and minimal social interactions41:20 The sociological issues of the treatments of autistics42:55 MDMA reduces anxiety in autistic study participants46:22 Supposed empathy deficits in autism really caused by co-occurring alexithymia47:25 Coming out as autistic at work48:22 Everyday discrimination50:02 The Moses of neurotypes: How Arik bridges the autistic–NT divide54:00 Neurodiversity isn’t a priority at most organizations56:00 Fluorescent lighting sucks56:26 Accommodations at work57:36 Bigger organizations lack flexibility58:45 The mission of Spectroomz1:00:17 What Arik’s learned from working with autistic people1:02:08 Nevo’s (Arik’s son) special interests1:05:38 Arik doesn’t dig the Foo Fighters1:06:46 Arik and Nevo’s Infinite Playlist1:08:18 Two very important questions1:08:51 The best hummus in Israel1:09:53 The great US hummus hoax1:10:39 More on Sonya Bot1:12:00 How Arik created Sonya Bot1:13:18 Sonya Bot is universal1:14:28 Sign up for Spectroomz!1:15:10 Arik’s social media