Aisha Edwards is a somatic trauma therapist, podcaster and writer from Vancouver, Washington, USA, and was diagnosed autistic last year, aged 39. Somatic trauma therapy is a body-centred approach to treating post-traumatic stress disorder that rather than focusing...
Squarepeg podcast episodes
Season 6
[79] S6, Ep12: Safety, success and shaping neurodivergent stories: reflections on intersectional autism
30 Jul, 2022
Diane J Wright is an autistic advocate and the founder of Autastic, an online community that aims to help late diagnosed autistic adults, particularly those from minority communities, and is the only resource of its size founded by a woman of colour. Diane was...
[78] S6, Ep11: The challenges of being autistic at work, and exploring the link between autistic trauma and our health
23 Jul, 2022
Claire Gardener is a homeopath and primary school teacher in London in the UK. She is 45 and self diagnosed as autistic five years ago, after experiencing burnout in her teaching role. A special interest in children’s literature lead to her first career in book...
[77] S6, Ep10: Burnout, survival and feeling stuck: the intersection of autism, privilege and poverty
16 Jul, 2022
Alma is an unemployed forager, food designer, artist, craftswoman and permaculture gardener from the Netherlands. She was diagnosed autistic in 2019 after self identifying the year before; she has also since been diagnosed with ADHD. When her then undiagnosed autistic...
[76] S6, Ep9: Autism, psychotherapy and trauma: why many autistic people need a different approach
9 Jul, 2022
Cloie Parfitt is a psychotherapist, originally from Tennessee in the United States, now living in Norwich in the UK. A former nurse, she switched to psychotherapy when she realised that she found the hospital environment and long shifts too much of a sensory...
[75] S6, Ep8: Unlearning the script: coming to terms with a late autism diagnosis and finding a voice in the community
2 Jul, 2022
Nadia Dillon is a software engineer and entrepreneur from London in the UK. Diagnosed autistic at 27, after experiencing a burnout, she is now 30, and her brilliantly insightful - and beautiful - Instagram account about her post-diagnosis journey has grown to over 25K...
[74] S6, Ep7: Finding the right fit: autism, health and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
25 Jun, 2022
Elizabeth Williams is an acupuncturist from South Carolina, USA. She is 43 and was diagnosed autistic just a few months ago, in February this year. Like me, she started out her career as a teacher, before switching to acupuncture, which she says is a much better fit...
[73] S6, Ep6: Building a more authentic autistic life and relationships, and managing health and energy.
18 Jun, 2022
Solgunn is a life coach from Oslo in Norway. She is 45 and was diagnosed autistic very recently, in April, following her husband's diagnosis last year. She has spent most of her working life in IT, web design, project management and consultancy, but after an unusual...
[72] S6, Ep5: Autism, energy and the body: somatic healing for autistic trauma
11 Jun, 2022
Dr Vanissar Tarakali is a Somatic and Intuitive Trauma Coach from British Columbia in Canada. She was diagnosed in 2017, when she was in her mid 50s. She describes herself as ‘a queer autistic mystic misfit’, and says she loves to work with people who embody...
[71] S6, Ep4: Resculpting our lives post-diagnosis: autism, art and connecting with ourselves and each other
4 Jun, 2022
Heather Peak is an artist who lives near Hay on Wye in the UK. She came from a working class background, and was discouraged from making a career as an artist, but decided to go to art school in Brighton where she found a place she finally felt she fit. Now 48, she...
[70] S6, Ep3: ‘Not autistic enough’: disability discrimination and intersectionality
28 May, 2022
Aishah-Nyeta is an advocate for climate, race, and disability justice from Virginia in the USA. She says she grew up feeling ‘stupid’ and different from her peers due to her dyscalculia and the social challenges of her undiagnosed autism. Now 25, she was diagnosed...
[69] S6, Ep2: Finding the right adventure: autism, resilience, sport and support
21 May, 2022
Allie Mason is a talent coordinator and author from Cheltenham in the UK. She has a keen interest in sports – especially solo sports – and her children’s non-fiction debut, The Autistic Guide to Adventure, is due to be published in 2023. Allie is 25 and was diagnosed...
[68] S6, Ep1: Writing it out: autism and shame, memory, sexuality and self expression
14 May, 2022
Amy Lee Lillard is co-host of a feminist book podcast, and also an author; her first book, Dig Me Out, a collection of short stories, was published in 2021. Now 44, she lives in Des Moines, Iowa in the USA and was diagnosed autistic just last year. She wrote her book...