From the Spectrum: Finding Superpowers with Autism

For today's episode, we will cover B2 (insistence on sameness, inflexible routines, and ritualized behaviors) and B3 (highly restricted, fixated interests with abnormal intensity). It emphasizes the preference for an internal world, where repetition and self-directed learning thrive, contrasting this with societal misunderstandings that label such behaviors as abnormal. The episode critiques societal pressures to conform to broad knowledge expectations, highlighting how Autistics find comfort in their self-driven focus, supported by neurobiological insights like the role of the mesencephalon in attention and environmental interaction.

Further, the episode addresses the challenges Autistics face with external disruptions, like unpredictable social interactions or changes to routines, which can feel debilitating due to the brain’s predictive nature and metabolic energy demands. The discussion ties these struggles to the medial prefrontal cortex’s role in adaptive responses, explaining why Autistics may resist environmental changes to maintain their internal homeostasis. The episode underscores the unique learning style of Autistics, advocating for self-directed interests over externally imposed norms.

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00:00 Daylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $25 discount

02:24 Autism DSM Criteria B, Autism phenotypes, DSM criteria B, restricted repetitive behaviors, focus on B2 and B3, prior episodes (1, 2, 6, 7).

04:42 B2: Insistence on Sameness, DSM B2, insistence on sameness, inflexible routines, distress at small changes, rigid thinking

05:24 B3: Fixated Interests and Autistic Intelligence, DSM B3, Kenner/Asperger kids, autistic intelligence, societal mislabeling.

07:15 Autism and Societal Misunderstandings, Autos (self), societal confusion, discomfort with complexity, Autistics’ comfort in self, internal state shifts.

09:19 Autistic Learning, Love, & Internal World, Autistic intelligence, learning, repetition, professing, self-directed learning, societal pressure.

11:40 Path, Meaning, & Love; “Daimon”

14:42 Neurobiology and Environmental Interaction, Mesencephalon (midbrain), motor movement, sensory integration, attention bias, lack of environmental orientation, social implications, embryogenesis, Autistic resistance to external changes.

17:34 Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount

20:43 Routines, Social Challenges, and Adaptive Responses, B2 routines, external insults, brain as prediction machine, metabolic energy, social interactions, Autistic efficiency, frustration with unpredictability, medial prefrontal cortex, adaptive responses

25:21 Reviews/Ratings & Contact Info

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In this episode, we discuss the mitochondria. You know mitochondria as the "powerhouse" of the cell, but this biological process is biophysics meeting biochemistry. We discuss glycolysis, the TCA cycle (or Citric Acid cycle or Krebs cycle), and Oxidative Phosphorylation. This discussion goes deep inside the atomic molecular level with electrons and protons. Hang in there with the discussion and topic of Autism and understanding of the generational link to a loss of electrons.

Jack Kruse https://www.patreon.com/DrJackKruse/posts

Glycolysis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470170/#:~:text=Glycolysis%20is%20a%20central%20metabolic,use%20in%20other%20metabolic%20pathways.

Citric Acid cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle

Oxidative Phosphorylation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidative_phosphorylation

Dr. Richard Frye, MD, PhD: Understanding the Roles and Sensitivity of Mitochondrial Functioning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wsDkv-dkEU&t=13s

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0:00 Intro; Light, water, magnetism; The "powerhouse" and understanding of healthy living organisms and different cell types; Photosynthesis and Cell Respiration

4:11 Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes, and Cytochrome C Oxidase (CCO)

6:53 Mitochondria and Cellular Respiration 1) Glycolysis, 2) Citric Acid cycle, and 3) Oxidative Phosphorylation (OXPHOS)

8:25 Glycolysis

10:03 Citric Acid cycle

12:02 OXPHOS

13:51 Cytochrome I

15:07 Cytochrome II

16:08 Cytochrome III

17:10 Cytochrome IV and creating water

19:56 Not all water is equal/same; Aging; Light and Melanin and Rates of Autism

29:20 Cytochrome V and ATPase; Chromophores

33:56 Evolution and losing electrons; Autism and modern health complications

37:50 Environmental signals due DNA sequencing; Autism research and Genetic studies

40:23 Reviews/Ratings and contact info

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In this episode, we explore the concept of supplementing relationships in Autism, focusing on the vivid internal dialogues and imaginative "movies" that feel profoundly real. These self-directed monologues and conversations with imagination create a safe, predictable space for social engagement, contrasting with the chaotic external world. We dive into Kanner’s and Asperger’s insights on self-directed speech, used for self-soothing or processing thoughts, not communication. Kanner observed children muttering during solitary play, while Asperger noted lecture-like monologues reflecting autistic intelligence.

I will share personal experiences of vivid internal dialogues emerging soon after waking, free of external speech issues but disrupted by real-world interactions. These internal relationships, as frequent as an extrovert’s, pose challenges when balancing with social expectations, offering a predictable haven for exploring restricted interests

Supplementing Relationships with Visual Thinking https://youtu.be/lglEGQ7pSlc?si=TgwuMMFGRPmAcCwk

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0:00 Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount

03:11 Supplementing Relationships and Autism: Supplementing relationships, autism, internal dialogue, monologue, imagination, vivid movies, real-like, accelerator.

04:14 Historical Context of Autism Start Time: Autism history, autos, self, dreamlike states, Eugen Bleuler, 1900s, schizophrenia, late 1950s.

05:14 Shared Phenotypes and Kanner/Asperger Contributions: Autism, schizophrenia, phenotypes, speech, language, motor control, intensity, Kanner, Asperger, self-directed communication.

05:55 Autism, Isolation, and Speech/Language Challenges: Isolation, chaotic world, speech issues, language issues, biology, socialness, negative experiences.

07:12 Kanner’s Observations on Self-Directed Speech: Kanner, self-directed speech, internal needs, self-soothing, narrating thoughts, solitary play, no listener, repetitive activities.

09:33 Asperger’s Insights on Monologues and Autistic Intelligence: Asperger, monologues, obsessions, academic style, self-satisfaction, autistic intelligence, accelerated learning, solitary activities.

12:23 Personal Experience with Internal Dialogues and Disruptions: Personal experience, internal dialogues, vivid movies, waking fixation, motor movements, silent speaking, listening dissonance, medial prefrontal cortex.

15:00 Internal Socialness, Supplementing Relationships, and Real-World Challenges: Internal socialness, extrovert comparison, no speech issues, supplementing relationships, vivid imagination, real-world social challenges, predictability, restricted interests, early memories.

19:08 Reviews/Ratings & Contact Info

19:50 Daylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $25 discount

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My guest today is Samantha Fox. Sam is a Speech-Language Pathologist with a Master’s from Kent State University and the founder of, Beyond Speech Therapy Center, where they focus on personalized therapy and building meaningful connections with clients. As a registered Spelling to Communicate practitioner with deep expertise in Early Intervention, Sam brings a unique perspective to supporting non-speaking and minimally speaking individuals with Autism, Apraxia, and speech sound disorders. Today’s episode is all about Speech-Language Pathology and Spelling to Communicate interventions. By the end, you’ll have a deeper understanding of these powerful protocols.

Sam Fox https://www.beyondspeechtherapycenter.com/our-team

Beyond Speech Therapy Center https://www.beyondspeechtherapycenter.com/home

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BeyondSpeech

I-ASC https://i-asc.org

Other episodes:

Dr. Reza Shadmehr: Computational Motor Control & The Cerebellum https://youtu.be/LoklISzlXK8?si=AoVKbHRZ0hDDtdY0

Katie Asher: Understanding Communication, Telepathy, and Spiritual Existence https://youtu.be/7FJ52cyfShg?si=gmf7PxrCajcXHkUS

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0:00 Sam Fox

2:15 Learning about Spellers; Kaden

8:55 Beyond Speech Therapy Center; Spelling 2 Communicate; I-ASC

18:06 Non-Verbal, Motor Control, Apraxia, & Communication

23:03 Presuming Competence in Non Speaking Individuals

31:10 Impact of Communication on Behavior; The use of Spelling; Self-Injurious Behaviors

40:08 Understanding Apraxia

43:56 The Process of Spelling 2 Communicate

50:40 Building Motor Skills for Communication

57:27 Overcoming Barriers in Spelling

1:02:29 The Importance of Consistency, Practice, Reasonable Expectations & Patience; Insurance Coverage

1:11:58 The Leap of Faith in Spelling

1:16:56 The Future of Spelling 2 Communicate

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For today's episode, we will expand on Autism & Relationships and introduce a very fascinating phenomena of "Supplementing" relationships. We will cover what Autism means, intense, "dream" like states, visual thinking & seeing movies. This might be hard for you to understand and you cannot verify any of this. In addition, you cannot see this thinking style, you can only guess.

See previous episodes:

Autism and Relationships

Understanding the Rates of Autism

Part 1 Origins of Autism: The Kanner Kids & Part 2 Origins of Autism: Asperger's "little professors"

JD Barker

Autism and Neurulation (two episodes)

Part 2: Autism & Sensory Processing

Temple Grandin books https://www.templegrandin.com/templegrandinbooks.html

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0:00 Chroma

3:10 Relationships, Supplementing Relationships & Visual Thinking

4:49 Kids of Kanner and Asperger's primary concerns

6:02 What Autism means; Schizophrenia & Autism

8:15 Attention to the environment & Mesencephalon roles; Neuroplasticity

10:18 Social Norms

11:52 Supplementing Relationships; Visual Thinking; JD Barker

13:42 Temple Grandin material

14:32 Visual Thinking & Processing Information/Sensations; The How of Supplementing Relationships

18:17 Reviews/Ratings

19:04 Daylight Computer Company

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Relationships are challenging.

In this episode, we explore some of the Autistic phenotype challenges in relationships. We discuss symptoms from criteria A are external and criteria B are internal, and how criteria B complicates the symptoms in criteria A. In addition, Autism is a comparison to social-norms, and this is a problem. Some environments/relationships discussed include peer-to-peer, romantic, and parent-child. To begin, we explain the mechanisms behind the speaker-receiver and the use of conveying speech in socialness.

Before we begin, we cover a brief explanation of Speaker-Receiver and human communication.

Dr. Theresa Regan episode https://youtu.be/aUhIreFd5sw

Autism and Adaptive Responses https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-spectrum-finding-superpowers-with-autism/id1737499562?i=1000658438095

What is Autism: Criteria A https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-spectrum-finding-superpowers-with-autism/id1737499562?i=1000651048705

The Roles of Oxytocin and Vasopressin in the Autistic Phenotype https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-spectrum-finding-superpowers-with-autism/id1737499562?i=1000660031273

(0:00) Intro; Speaker-Receiver explanation when conveying speech

(3:55) Unpredicableness in socialness; black and white thinking and context-dependent and adaptive responses; Metabolic energy/resources; Oxytocin and Serotonin

(7:10) Biology that gives us Autism gives us complications to socialness and relationships; Sex-differences and socialness

(8:40) Criteria A is external, Criteria B is internal; Sensory-Processing

(10:32) B.2 and B.3 implicates socialness

(16:58) Direct social interactions

(22:26) Autism versus social norms; Romantic relationships

(26:51) Do Autistics outgrow Autism?

(28:04) Parenting

(31:30) Cohabitating

(32:28) Wrap Up

(32:45) Reviews/Ratings and contact info

Links: hopp.bio/fromthespectrum

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For today's episode, John Coates from RF Safe returns to provide valuable and needed information about the harms of Radio Frequency Radiation and our modern environments.

John Coates Episode 1 https://youtu.be/KgLj0X4AJh4?si=QS8KM6FUfASqpzTs

RF Safe https://www.rfsafe.com

John's X https://x.com/rfsafe

Section 704 https://www.rfsafe.com/section-704-and-fcc-guidelines-cemented-a-dangerous-wireless-monopoly-at-the-expense-of-health-and-innovation/

FCC https://www.fcc.gov/engineering-technology/electromagnetic-compatibility-division/radio-frequency-safety/faq/rf-safety

Public Law 90-602 https://www.congress.gov/90/statute/STATUTE-82/STATUTE-82-Pg1173.pdf

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0:00 John Coates

1:17 Trump Phone

4:29 Impact of 600 MHz on Health

7:27 Antenna History & Safety

10:15 WIFI vs. LIFI, The Future of Wireless

13:07 Public Awareness

16:25 Historical Context of RF Regulation; Public Law 90-602, Section 704

19:07 Cellular Communication & Health

22:31 The Need for Wireless Change

39:46 Public Law 90-602, Health Trends, FCC

49:21 Radiation & Regulation

51:14 LIFI Technology; Infrared Light

53:57 Microwave Cartel, Control, & Lack of Safety

57:51 Government's Role

1:01:30 The Future of Data Transfer & Bandwidth

1:05:48 The Need for Unified Action & Change

1:11:50 Light & Health

1:14:54 Approaching the Government for Change

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In this episode we explore spindle neurons, also known as von Economo neurons (VENs), discovered by Constantine von Economo in the 1920s. These large, cylinder-shaped cells, found in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), anterior (or called frontoinsula) insula, and rarely the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), are crucial for rapid communication in social behaviors. Three key points stand out: first, spindle neurons are located exclusively in the ACC and insula, the core hubs of the salience network, which is disrupted in autism as early as six weeks of age, as shown in a UCLA study. Second, these neurons are primarily involved in social behaviors, underpinning complex interactions in humans and other social species. Third, they are rare, found only in highly social animals like great apes, cetaceans, and possibly elephants, highlighting their evolutionary significance. In autism, increased spindle neuron density in the insula of children aged 4–14 is linked to early brain overgrowth, though this normalizes in adulthood due to pruning.

The salience network, driven by the ACC and anterior insula, relies on spindle neurons to process relevant stimuli, integrate sensory data, and guide social-emotional responses. In autism, hyper-connectivity between the insula and sensory regions causes sensory hypersensitivity, while hypo-connectivity with prefrontal areas, including the DLPFC, impairs social cognition and adaptive behaviors. This disrupts the network’s ability to switch between the default mode network and executive functions, often trapping autistic individuals in an internal world. Spindle neurons are also linked to disorders like frontotemporal dementia, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and emotional dysregulation.

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0:00 Chroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount

3:10 Spindle Neurons; Interesting Point #1: Salience Network

6:03 Interesting Point #2: Rapid Communication & Social Behaviors

7:11 "rediscovery" of Spindle Neurons in 1990s by John Allman

8:30 Interesting Point #3: Highly Social Species

10:57 Neuropeptide Y & Monoamine- Dopamine & Serotonin

11:45 Morphology of Spindle Neurons & In Utero-Children; Social Learning

12:54 Species with Spindle Neurons

14:47 Small Clusters within the dlPFC

15:08 Salience Network, ACC, Anterior Insula; Fulcrum for Default Mode and Executive Networks

22:48 Daylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $25 discount

27:08 Diseases/Conditions associated with Spindle Neurons

29:26 The Autistic Phenotype (!!) -- The Whole Reason for the Podcast

32:25 Reviews/Ratings, Contact Info

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In this episode, we discuss Autism with Dr. Catherine Lord. Dr. Lord is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Education at UCLA and one of the foremost researchers in Autism. Dr. Lord provides tremendous insights into her roles in Autism and Autism Assessment.

Dr. Lord discusses her journey into Autism, the evolution of the Assessment including the ADOS growing from her basement and being overran by demand to the Gold Standard, the Challenges with understanding the Spectrum, updates on the Lancet Commission and Profound Autism, and Barriers in the Medical and Educational Systems.

https://www.semel.ucla.edu/autism/team/catherine-lord-phd

https://childmind.org/bio/catherine-lord-phd/

https://labs.dgsom.ucla.edu/lord/pages/our_team

Autism and Education https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-spectrum-finding-superpowers-with-autism/id1737499562?i=1000656055638

The mention of a recent article on Predicting Profound Autism and Cell Biology and me shying away from saying "Organoids" in real-time https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11127428/

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(0:00) Intro

(3:22) Dr. Lord's journey into Autism and Recognizing a Spectrum

(11:25) The Evolution of Autism Assessment and Discussion on the ADI and ADOS- from making the ADOS in her Basement and being Overran by Demand to the Gold Standard; Revisions of Assessment Instruments

(16:36) Gaps in the Autism Assessment

(23:15) The Challenges with Understanding the Spectrum of Autism

(29:32) Updates on the Lancet Commission and Profound Autism

(35:19) Barriers with Autism and the Medical Field

(39:29) Barriers with Autism and Education- Four Strikes against the Autistic Phenotype: Sensory-Processing, Speech and Language, Social Communication/Interaction, and Subject Switching (understand B3: Fixated Interests)

(44:25) The Future of Autism and Helping Autistics Across the Life Span

(51:03) Reviews/Ratings and Contact Info

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In this episode, we explore the impact of tech use and blue light on circadian biology, exploring how melanopsin and chromophores regulate physiology, mood, and cell functioning. The discussion highlights the leptin-melanocortin pathway, its role in placental physiology, and how ultra-weak biophotons from placental mitochondrial DNA influence fetal development, emphasizing the critical interplay of light and dark cycles in health.

We further examine fetal brain development, focusing on mitochondria, neurogenesis, and the effects of UV light and nitric oxide on the thalamus and sensory integration. The episode connects BH4, tryptophan, and melanin deficits to Autism, discussing how environmental light and electromagnetic fields disrupt biological energy, contributing to neurodevelopmental problems and the Autistic phenotype.

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00:00 Daylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $25 discount

04:17 leptin-melanocortin pathway, biophotons, mitochondria, POMC, nitric oxide, BH4, fetal, placental physiology, fertility, ultra-weak biophotons, maternal blood, quantum biology, melanin, UV

08:00 endocannabinoid, UV light, 380 nanometer, melanopsin, photo switch, brain development, leptin, mTOR, mitochondria, thalamus, sensory integration center, neurogenesis, fetal thalamus

12:00 nitric oxide, autism, BH4, fetal ATP production, tryptophan, cellular redox, BPA, fluoride, deuterium absorption, electromagnetic fields, semiconduction, brain growth, biological energy

16:03 Chroma Lights for Humans, use "autism" for 10% discount

20:04 leptin-melanocortin pathway, leptin, adipose tissue, melanopsin, hypothalamus, POMC, placental physiology, ultra-weak biophotons, melanin, semiconductor, antioxidant, maternal physiology, brain volume

24:23 biophotons, living cells, mitochondrial activity, cellular communication, electromagnetic waves, UV light wavelengths, energy, mitochondria, reactive oxygen species, TCA cycle, placental efficiency, thalamic timing

28:29 mitochondrial DNA, retrograde signaling, gene expression, environmental cues, autism, heteroplasmy, biophoton coherence, calcium release, acetyl coenzyme A, fetal thalamus, neurogenesis, environmental light

32:29 leptin-melanocortin pathway, neurodevelopmental problems, biophotons, somnathogenesis, circadian abnormalities, melanin, neural semiconduction, hyper excitability, hyper connectivity, salience network, attention, autistic phenotype

36:34 Reviews/Ratings, Contact Info

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