On today's show I have a very special guest, the wonderful Ruby Woods. Ruby is an Autism activist, blogger and a disabled theatre maker who is currently developing her practice in disability arts and inclusive theatre working as a lead practitioner.

You may know Ruby from her wonderful TikTok (where she has over 100,000 followers!) and her Instagram both called @rubyofmyeye. She also has a brilliant youtube channel named Ruby Woods, so I think I'm going to have a lot to chat about with Ruby today!

Ruby's Socials:

My 21andsensory links:

On today's episode we are having another little catch-up, so just me no guests (but keep an eye-out because I've got some exciting guests coming on soon!).

I wanted to chat through some life updates, some autism-related books I have been reading, a Sensory Street project update, and how to make your own DIY Sensory Box.

Links:

Sensory Street (Oxford University Project):

Autistic / Autism related books:

DIY Sensory Box Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcvWxJDM7My/

My 21andsensory links:

On today's episode I am very excited to chat to special guest Dr James Cusack. James is the Chief Executive at Autistica which is the UK’s leading national autism research charity. He joined the charity in September 2015 as Director of Science following a career in autism research at the University of Aberdeen, and he later became Chief Executive there in 2020 and is the first openly autistic CEO of a major charity.

In this episode, James talks about Autistica’s six visionary and ambitious 2030 Goals for the change they want to see in society and how they are trying to use research to understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to changing the public’s attitudes towards autism and autistic people.

Autistica Links:

Dr James Cusack Links:

Welcome back to another 21andsensory Podcast! On this episode I'll be chatting about an Oxford University project called Sensory Street. I am very lucky to be part of the project team and I thought it would be great to base an episode around the project and speak to some lovely people who are on the team! I chat to Becky from Sensory Spectacle, Dr Keren MacLennan and Catherine Woolley about their project roles.

During 2021 we posted a series of questions on our social media pages and ran a series of focus groups with autistic people to learn more about their sensory experiences. We analysed the results of these and wrote up our findings. We will use this information to help us create our immersive event in 2022.

Sensory Street Links:

My podcast guests from the team:

Becky, Sensory Spectacle:

Dr Keren MacLennan:

Catherine Woolley:

Team Links:

Dr Cathy Manning:

Dr Brett Heasman:

Jess Starns

On today's episode I have special guest Dr Camilla Pang. Camilla holds a PhD in Biochemistry from University College London and is a Postdoctoral Scientist specialising in Translational Bioinformatics. At the age of eight, Camilla was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and ADHD at 26-years-old. Her career and studies have been heavily influenced by her diagnosis and she is driven by her passion for understanding humans, our behaviours and how we work. 

Camilla is the award winning author of 'Explaining Humans' which through a set of scientific principles, examines life's everyday interactions. Her book won the Royal Society Insight investment science book award in 2020 - she was the youngest writer ever to win the prize, and the first writer of colour. She has a new children's book out in March 2022 which is super exciting! She is also a speaker and neurodiversity advocate, and does a range of charity and voluntary work.

TW for this episode: We chat about Exercise and Anorexia between 33:43 - 38:20

We chat about:

Camilla's links:

Camilla's books:

On today's episode I have a very special guest...my brother! We chat about his FASD and Autism diagnoses and a bit about his life and growing up. We also chat about his special interests and hobbies. This episode was recorded in mid 2021.

If you haven't heard of FASD it stands for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. It is a term used to describe the permanent impacts on the brain and body of individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol during pregnancy resulting in a spectrum of physical, emotional, behavioural and neurological characteristics. I spoke on the podcast about my experiences growing up with my brother and how he made my parents realise my sensory processing difficulties. 

I mention in this podcast that I was a guest on another podcast called Spotlight on FASD (@spotlightonfasd). We chatted about my brother who is adopted and has diagnoses of FASD and is Autistic. I also spoke about my Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism.

Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/TcQNRbq7FdM

More info on FASD: https://nationalfasd.org.uk/about-fasd/

My 21andsensory links:

Hi everyone! Welcome to another 21andsensory Podcast. On today's episode I have Chris and James from the London Autism Group Charity!

A quick intro to Chris and James:

Dr Chris Papadopoulos is a Principal Lecturer in Public Health at University of Bedfordshire and director of health research in the School of Society, Community and Health. He teaches on a range of post-graduate health courses in particular the MSc in Public Health. He founded the London Autism Group in 2014 and London Autism Group Charity in 2017 and he is the Charity lead. Chris has 3 children, 2 of whom are Autistic.

James Gordon is an Autistic adult and a London Autism Group charity trustee as well as a dad and carer to his own Autistic son. He is also the mastermind behind the London Autism Services Map which I'll get him to chat about in the episode!

London Autism Group Charity links:

On today's episode I have another another fellow Emily on! Today's special guest is Emily Katy who you might know from her Twitter @ItsEmilyKaty. Emily is a 20-year-old autistic student, mental health activist and autism advocate. She is also a Blogger, Trustee for Autistic Girl’s Network, Member of her trust’s CAMHS Young People’s Council, Public Governor for her NHS Trust and a National Autistic Society advisor. She is also a #NotAloneTalk Host on Twitter - all of which I'll be asking her more about. Emily has given talks in many different health settings and written many articles on her own experiences. 

We chat about: 

Emily's Links: 

My 21andsensory links:

EPSIODE 50! WOOP!

To celebrate episode 50 of my podcast it's just me chatting today...

Links to everything I spoke about:

Sensory Street (Oxford University Project):

The Autism Friendly Cookbook:

My BBC Bitesize work:

Megan Rhiannon (Illustrator):

Holly Smale and Sara Gibbs talk:

Borrowmydoggy.co.uk

Books I've read:

London Autism Group:

My Christmas Gift Guide:

My 21andsensory links:

On today's episode I have special guest Sarah O’Brien. Sarah is an autistic writer and engagement professional currently working within the charity sector. She is known for her witty remarks and commitment to giving those who face disadvantage a voice.

Sarah lives and works in London and in her free time she can be found reading, crafting and planning future projects. She is currently writing a post-diagnostic book for Jessica Kingsley publishers which is super exciting and something I am definitely going to ask her more about!

This episode is marked as explicit due to a couple of occasions where we said swear words!

We chat about:

Sarah's Links:

My 21andsensory links: