Squarepeg podcast episodes
Season 5

[67] S5, Ep12: The vibrant neurodiversity movement: marginalisation, diversity and equity in the autistic community

[67] S5, Ep12: The vibrant neurodiversity movement: marginalisation, diversity and equity in the autistic community

26 Mar, 2022

Rhonda Moore is a medical anthropologist in her early 50s. After self diagnosing as autistic in 2019, she was formally diagnosed in 2020. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and is Program Director in Global Mental Health at NIH. She talks about intergenerational autism, the impact of growing up autistic in an abusive home, autism, trauma and resilience, the intersectionality of autism, gender, age and race, and being neurodivergent at work.

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[66] S5, Ep11: A life-saving autism diagnosis: BPD, eating disorders and an autistic experience of the mental health system

[66] S5, Ep11: A life-saving autism diagnosis: BPD, eating disorders and an autistic experience of the mental health system

19 Mar, 2022

Chloe Slater was diagnosed autistic aged 25, and has been in the mental health system since the age of 16, where she says she has experienced ‘awful treatment, amazing care, and everything in between’. Now 34, she lives in Gloucestershire in the UK, with her two dogs and other pets. Diagnosed first with Borderline Personality Disorder, she describes herself as ‘mostly a happy loner’ who enjoys being surrounded by animals and a select few humans.

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[65] S5, Ep10: Equity for autistic people in recruitment and the workplace – and hearing the voices of all autistic people

[65] S5, Ep10: Equity for autistic people in recruitment and the workplace – and hearing the voices of all autistic people

12 Mar, 2022

Nesceda Blake is a performing arts producer from Melbourne, Australia. She was diagnosed very early, at just three years old. We met on LinkedIn, after I came across a post about her experiences with recruiters which had gone viral. After clashing with the neurotypical standards of professionalism in interview guides and job ads, she passed her feedback on to one recruitment firm, leading to them – and many more recruiters – pledging to change their processes.

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[64] S5, Ep9: Autism and epilepsy, shutdown and dissociation

[64] S5, Ep9: Autism and epilepsy, shutdown and dissociation

5 Mar, 2022

Aisling Walsh is a queer feminist freelance writer, translator and PhD candidate living in Guatemala City. She is 37 and was diagnosed autistic in December 2021. She was also diagnosed with epilepsy at 23, but now suspects that her seizures might actually be dissociative seizures linked to autistic shutdown.

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[61] S5, Ep6: Empowering labels, navigating relationships and advocating for neurodivergent and disabled people

[61] S5, Ep6: Empowering labels, navigating relationships and advocating for neurodivergent and disabled people

12 Feb, 2022

Marie Ralph is a disabled single mum to two neurodivergent sons. She is 48 and was diagnosed five years ago. She lives in Newquay, Cornwall in the UK, where as well as being a full time carer, she is Director of Youth Art Connect and Cornwall Tourettes and Tic Disorder Group. She fights for equality, promotes anti ableism and strives to change perceptions of neurodiversity.

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[60] S5, Ep5: Autism and the intersection of culture, race and gender

[60] S5, Ep5: Autism and the intersection of culture, race and gender

5 Feb, 2022

Suzanna Chen was born in China and raised in Vancouver, Canada. She was diagnosed autistic in her final year of high school. Now 18 she is an undergraduate student at University College London in the UK. Standing at the intersection of gender, racial, and ability minorities, she is passionate about advocating for the overlooked intersectionality of social justice issues.

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[57] S5, Ep2: Dancing with differences: autism and disability empowerment

[57] S5, Ep2: Dancing with differences: autism and disability empowerment

15 Jan, 2022

Disability empowerment coach and poet Amanda Harrinauth was born premature, weighing just 1 pound 7ounces and spent her childhood in and out of hospitals. At 26 she was diagnosed autistic, with an intellectual disability. She began writing poetry as a way to process her thoughts and emotions following her diagnosis, and says it was through her writing that she finally learned how to make her autism work for her. 

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