Hey there my electric meatball friends, you have arrived at the end of season one of the My Neurodivergent Life Podcast. 

I’m a child that grew up on American sitcoms, and their seasons are usually 24 episodes, I can’t help but follow that rule.  Gabby and I reflect briefly on what we’ve learned this season, and I reveal something I never ever thought I would do again in a million years.  Really. 

I do have a quick ask, if you have enjoyed this podcast please take a sec to rate us.  It’ll really help us reach more people. 

Now, as always,

This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes, it is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, therapist, or other qualified professional.

Please reach out via our contact page on our new website www.myneurodivergent.life we would love to hear your stories and feedback.

Keywords - neurodivergent, counseling, mental health, education, therapy, podcast, personal growth, adult education, acting, community

Summary

In this final episode of the first season of the My Neurodivergent Podcast, hosts Rick MacIvor and Gabby Nistico reflect on their journey, discussing the importance of understanding neurodivergence, the need for more neurodivergent counselors, and the challenges of adult education. They explore the intersection of acting and counseling, emphasizing the shared skills in understanding human behavior. The episode concludes with excitement for the future and the upcoming second season.

Takeaways

The podcast has been a great learning experience.

Neurodivergence is not a trend; it's a long-standing reality.

Every great mind in history has been neurodivergent.

There is a significant shortage of counselors in the mental health field.

Access to mental health professionals is a global issue.

Only a few educational programs specialize in neurodivergence.

The need for neurodivergent counselors is critical.

Adult education systems can be outdated and cumbersome.

The intersection of acting and counseling reveals shared skills.

The hosts are excited for the future of the podcast.

Sound bites

"It has been a great learning experience."

"Why can't I just show up and learn?"

"There's a lot of heavy gatekeeping."

Chapters

00:00 Reflections on Season One

02:50 The Journey to Counseling

05:52 The Need for Neurodivergent Counselors

08:51 Educational Gaps in Neurodivergent Therapy

11:47 The Challenges of Adult Education

14:44 The Intersection of Acting and Counseling

17:34 Looking Ahead to Season Two

Hey there my electric meatball friends, you have arrived at the My Neurodivergent Life Podcast.  I’m Rick Macivor and today Gabby and I talk about clutter. I learn all about something called goat trails, and the poop rule.  We dive into the why of stuff, is it just for sentimental reasons or is there more to it.  Oh and Gabby shares her tried and true method for de-cluttering. This one is a ride, so jump on!

This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes, it is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.

Ok meatballs, today’s story is positive and inspiring, mostly. Imagine a world where it’s ok to advocate for yourself at work. It’s ok to the people around you and to your customers to talk about what’s really going on, what you’re needs are, and to have the support of management, HR, leadership.  It’d be nice.  Well, today Gabby and I talk about an experience where that absolutely was the case.

This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes, it is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.

This week on the My neurodivergent life podcast Gabby and I dive into bottom up vs top down.  No not if you are a bottom or a top, no. We talk about how neurodivergent folks tend to have sensory first experiences rather than situational first experiences.  Don’t worry it’ll make sense in the first 3 minutes.  Also how our sensory first view of the world can drive so many of our choices, and how we can also use that as a superpower.  So…

As always I want to remind you

This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes, it is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.

“Why do I always feel like I’m in trouble?”  Is it a learned behavior or is it part of how our neurodivergent brains are wired?  It’s a chicken and egg scenario.  We dig into how neurodivergent negative patterns are formed and reinforced and how that affects us throughout our lives.

Today’s episode is all about pattern recognition.  Current events, music, geometry, relationships, all of these things have patterns in some form or another. Sometimes it’s a superpower, and other times, well, it can cause us a whole bunch of stress.  The trick is, when can you trust it and when might it be driven by fear?  An awareness is the first step. 

Today we explore negativity bias.  Also known as catastrophising, the downward spiral, worst case scenario.  Why do we do it?  Where does it come from?  What are the coping skills we tend to use to stop doing it. Some are healthier than others.  Maybe if we can understand it a bit better, we can recognize it faster and pull up before we hit the ground.

Today, gabby Nistico and I pull apart how us neurodivergent folks relate to time.  What is time anyway?  How do we deal with the phenomenon of time blindness?  What’s behind that little quirk?  I know that when I hyper fixate I can easily lose hours in my day.  And sometimes, often times actually, I’m completely unaware it’s happening.  I do have a few strategies to deal with my time blindness that help me stay on track.  And actually my smart phone has nothing to do with it, in fact in a way my smartphone actually took away one of my best stratigies.  We get into all of that.

Oh my dear meatballs have we got a doozy today.  Gabby and I unpack RFK Jr.’s diabolical attack on the neurodivergent community.  Specifically Autism.  He has held a series of press conferences full of disinformation, outlandish claims and poor methodology all centered around finding the cause of the disease of autism.  And all by September of 2025. So what about this crusade is so damaging?  What could be the harm in researching Autism?  Isn’t that a good thing? Well, that’s the subject of our conversation today.  Spoiler alert, it’s not a good thing, at all. 

Today’s episode is all about college degrees. We talk about the current college experience, and what new graduates are experiencing when they leave and start looking for work.  Also, how college today is so expensive that it leaves little time to explore different subjects, varied interests, and some things that you might not even know you wanted to know.  What happens if you don’t get an undergraduate degree, or if you don’t get a graduate degree.  Do you hit a paper ceiling?  According to the website Tearthepaperceiling.org, there are more than 70 million american workers who are restricted not because of a lack of skills, but because they don’t have a piece of paper from an institution.