What happens when the people closest to you have never seen the parts of you you've spent a lifetime hiding?

In this episode of Brain Club®: The Podcast, we explore masking in the context of relationships — romantic, familial, social. Masking is automatic and involuntary, a survival strategy built up over years of environments that signaled it wasn't safe to show up as yourself. It looks different for everyone, and it isn't accessible to everyone — some people have never been able to mask, and some lose that ability in burnout. We talk about what all of that means inside our closest relationships, where the gap between who we are and who we've learned to perform can feel the most painful.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong's Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Panelists: 

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it's an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Transcript here:

What does it feel like to be believed — and why does it matter so much?

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Laura Lewis, Sarah Knutson and Zeph  about their research on the healthcare experiences of autistic adults with multiple chronic conditions. In this episode, we reflect on the harm described in Part 1 and explore the impact of being believed — not just emotionally, but physiologically. We talk about what shifts in the relationship between patient and provider when clinicians stop trying to control the interaction and start truly listening.

If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, we encourage you to start there.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Guests:

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Transcript here: https://allbrainsbelong.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Brain-Club®_-The-Podcast-S1E10-The-Best-Way-to-Support-My-Health-is-to-Believe-Me-Part-2-TRANSCRIPT.pdf

What do autistic adults with multiple chronic conditions want healthcare providers to know — and what happens when no one listens?

In this episode, Dr. Mel Houser talks with Dr. Laura Lewis  from the University of Vermont, a researcher studying the experiences of Autisitc adults, along with members of her research team, Sarah Knutson and Zeph Lodestone, about findings from a study of autistic adults with complex medical needs. Part 1 focuses on what participants shared about their healthcare experiences: being disbelieved, having their communication misunderstood, and the impact of those encounters on their physical and emotional health.

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of healthcare trauma, ableism, fatphobia, and discrimination. Please take care while listening.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Guests:

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Transcript here: https://allbrainsbelong.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Brain-Club®_-The-Podcast-S1E9-The-Best-Way-to-Support-My-Health-is-to-Believe-Me-Part-1-TRANSCRIPT.pdf

What would you do with a new understanding of yourself — one that changed the way your entire life made sense?

In this episode, autistic adults from the All Brains Belong community share reflections on being diagnosed for the first time in adulthood, from their 20s to their 60s. They talk about what it was like to live without knowing, how they made sense of the discovery, and what changed once they had language for their experience. This is a conversation about unmasking, grief, relief, and beginning again — and about how discovering you’re autistic can also mean discovering what you’ve always needed.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Panelists:

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Transcript below:

What if systems change didn’t start with policy or permission — but with people?

In this episode, Dr. Winnie Looby shares reflections on community-centered design, co-creation, and the power of building change alongside those most impacted. We talk about what it means to shift power structures by sharing power, to model new possibilities without waiting for large institutions to catch up, and to build systems that reflect the needs, wisdom, and leadership of the community. This is a conversation about what’s possible when change begins from the ground up.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Guest:

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Click here for transcript: https://allbrainsbelong.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Brain-Club®_-The-Podcast-S1E5-Systems-Change-from-the-Ground-Up-TRANSCRIPT.pdf

What does it look like to create change by centering the people most impacted?

In this episode, organizational leaders reflect on what it means to build community transformation from the ground up. We talk about partnering with those closest to the problem, offering many ways to participate, and recognizing how small, intentional shifts can create meaningful impact. This is a conversation about moving beyond individual scarcity — and into collective abundance and a shared sense of possibility.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

What happens when the structure of work itself becomes a barrier to regulation, safety, or thriving?

In this episode, Dr. Mel Houser talks with Annie Crowe — neuroaffirming workplace advocate and human rights and disability rights attorney based in Australia — about the deep nervous system impact of neuro-exclusion at work. We explore how neuronormativity, ableism, and intersectional marginalization show up in everyday work culture, and what it might look like to unlearn internalized pressure, challenge assumptions, and (when safe) start conversations that move us toward something more just. This is a conversation about the lived experience of workplace harm — and the quiet power of reclaiming our needs.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Guest:

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Transcript below:

What happens when the places that are supposed to feel safe — like home — don’t?

In this episode, Dr. Mel Houser talks with Hannah Bloom, pediatric occupational therapist and past Chair of All Brains Belong’s Board of Directors, about what it means to feel dysregulated in our home environments. We explore how safety is cued (or not) through space, tone, and interaction — and how expectations rooted in neuronormativity and ableism impact our nervous systems. This is a conversation about self-regulation, co-regulation, and the lifelong work of unlearning what we’ve been taught to expect from ourselves and others.

This conversation was originally recorded in 2022 as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Guest:

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Transcript: https://allbrainsbelong.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Brain-Club®_-The-Podcast-S1E6-Co-regulation-at-Home-TRANSCRIPT.pdf

What happens when your nervous system is in distress — and you’re at work, where you're expected to keep going anyway?

In this episode, All Brains Belong staff reflect on past and present experiences of dysregulation at work. Many of us have worked in environments where honesty about distress was unsafe — where needing support or rest was punished, pathologized, or ignored. Even in safer workplaces, our nervous systems respond to internal and external cues: present stressors, past environments, and ingrained expectations.

So how do we navigate that? Panelists share how they’ve learned to notice their own cues, communicate with trusted teammates, and support each other in meeting access needs. This is a conversation about building workplace culture where nervous system needs, emotional honesty, and mutual care are part of how we work together.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Panelists:

Sierra Miller DNP, APRN, Family nurse practitioner, All Brains Belong VT

Olivia Tyler, Patient Care Coordinator, All Brains Belong VT

Lizzy Pieratt, Education Programs Coordinator, All Brains Belong VT

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone. Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at https://allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club 

What does it mean to understand your own nervous system — and your access needs — after a lifetime of masking, burnout, or being misunderstood? In this episode, community panelists reflect on the often painful process of unlearning internalized messages and beginning to name what they need. This conversation also explores the power of connection: how healing can begin when we're seen, heard, and surrounded by others on similar paths.

This conversation was originally recorded as part of All Brains Belong’s Brain Club® — a weekly community education program focused on demonstrating neuroinclusive culture in action.

Brain Club is not medical advice or a support group — it’s an invitation to think differently about health, connection, and how we build systems that include everyone.

Join us live most Tuesdays at 6:00 PM ET and explore 4 years of past videos at allbrainsbelong.org/brain-club

Panelists:

Transcript below: