Autism Advocate

Harm reduction standard disclaimer:  If you're autistic and considering psilocybin, please get screened for epilepsy first - approximately 20-30% of autistic people have epilepsy (often undiagnosed). Psychedelics can affect seizure threshold. For harm reduction information, see my follow-up video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa_3xZ5vTDY


In this episode, I examine all the ways that autism disabled my life - ways that I was never aware of until they were gone.

Texture issues from autism restricted my deep breathing and impacted my sleep as well because I was unable to filter out noises.

Now - I'm breathing deeply, I can sleep at night because my brain can filter out noises finally.

My entire life has changed from this experience and I have hope for hundreds of thousands of other suffering autistic people.

And above all - a new level of emotional human connection is available to me and I can feel the emotions from other people's faces.

Mushrooms - Psilocybin - is truly the medicine to cure the disabling aspects of autism without changing the underlying personality or the autistic strengths.

I hope to create a new world from the inside out where both autism and Psilocybin are actively studied, legalized, analyzed, and fairly understood.

UPDATE: I created a follow-up video addressing harm reduction and the risks I didn't discuss here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa_3xZ5vTDY

Please watch that before trying psilocybin and preferably before this episode. I was likely in a hypomanic state when I recorded this, and I've since learned important safety information.

In this episode, I share my miraculous success story of how just 1 gram of psylocibin mushrooms has changed the course of the rest of my life, relieved 95% of my most disabling autism symptoms, and given me a framework for what freedom truly feels like.

Life is so beautiful, such a gift for us to experience ourselves. :)

Today I interview an autistic lady named Rel.

She grew up from a very different background and culture from me; yet we share many similar struggles with autism.

In this podcast, we explore some of these similarities and differences to illustrate what autism in women truly looks like and how to advocate for oneself.

We discussed many topics like masking, fitting in, the social stigma of being autistic, sensory issues and how it affects her life.

She also grew up undiagnosed like me, and it wasn't until the age of 26 that she received a diagnosis.

I hope our conversation teaches you more about what autism looks like, the differences in communication style between two autistic women, and a renewed understanding about what autism acceptance entails.

Her Youtube channel is listed below if you'd like to hear more from her perspective!
https://youtube.com/channel/UCUCmwzzNa5u3HibgVT25rXg

Autistics people very often have heightened affective empathy & sometimes there is a disconnect between feeling what others are feeling and knowing why they are feeling that way.

I challenge the notion that autistic people have reduced cognitive empathy - because cognitive empathy can exist independently of facial analysis, social cues, and a display of empathy.

In this episode, I list the myriad of linked comorbidities from a physical perspective caused by autism.

Autism affects more than just the brain.  Everything that affects the brain also affects the body.

I absolutely encourage you to learn to become more aware of your body states - and gain an emotional awareness of self in doing so.

There are a lot of internal physical things that doctors ignore and don't understand when it comes to autism - especially autism in women.

A few of the most notable, besides sensory issues which I've spoken about in detail in previous podcasts:

1) Digestive Issues / IBS

2) Delayed reaction time, delayed emotional processing

3) Increased inflammatory biomarkers / joint pain

4) Sleep terrors / Sleep issues

5) Increased prostaglandins

In this episode, I cover the following topics:

- NT Socialization vs ND - my experience with my best friend

- power of autistic visual focus, attention to detail, neuroscience of how this is structured - my experience with how I see the world, daily life.  It's like a small circle that can be moved around to look at different things, whereas NT see the entire square.

- autistic people actively take in more information and it can be overwhelming

- autistic hyper focus & hypersensitivity

- how sensory issues are at the root of most autism symptoms

- how a manager can successfully work with an autistic employee:

Takeaway:  Written expectations, written feedbacks, clearly defined requirements, routines and consistency, and individual projects.

In this episode, I go over the most common responses I get to telling people I'm autistic, along with what NOT to say and why you shouldn't say it.

One that I forgot is - never tell someone they don't look autistic.  Autism does not have a look.  People seem to think it is like Downs Syndrome when it isn't. 

CRITICAL UPDATE: I've since learned that Wim Hof breathing can trigger seizures in people with epilepsy or certain neurological conditions like migraine. I was unknowingly experiencing migraine activity during this practice. Approximately 20-30% of autistic people have epilepsy (often undiagnosed).  and many autistic people have migraine issues as well. Please consult a neurologist before trying extreme breathing practices, especially if you're autistic.

The research insights about the right anterior insula and social rewards still stand, but DISREGARD the Wim Hof recommendations. What I thought was 'healing' was actually inducing migraine states.

If you've tried Wim Hof and experienced: hallucinations, altered consciousness, 'sensory overstimulation times a million,' time distortion, or dissociation - please get screened for epilepsy or migraine.

In this episode, I talk about the many biases against autism research, and I do a deep dive explanation of how the right anterior insula ties into orbitofrontal cortex, along with some inspiring stories of healing and rewiring the brain.

You are enough already as you are in this moment.

Do not believe the many biased researchers who tell you that you're deficient.

Yes, autistic people struggle.  Yes, sometimes life can be harder for us than it is for others.

But you have the power to be the best version of yourself and you're not bound by the way others perceive you.

How do you know if you're neurodivergent or neurotypical?

In autism, the cerebellum is hypoactive and does not have as many purkinje cells and this impacts motor skill development, emotional regulation, short term memory, spatial awareness, and many other things.

In this episode, I talk about what I've struggled with and acknowledge these struggles and vulnerabilities that I experience and likely will continue to experience in my life.