⚠️ CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes open discussion of suicide, bereavement by suicide, mental health crisis and hospitalisation. Please take care while listening - pause or skip if you need to. Support resources are listed below.
Jon Salmon kept his mental health experience hidden for almost 20 years - but the shame he felt about being dyslexic was even harder to talk about. Host Meryem Hassan is joined by award-winning Executive Producer Jon Salmon to explore dyslexia, late diagnosis, masking, grief, recovery, and what becomes possible when we remove shame and stigma from the conversation.
🔎 What This Episode Covers
A late dyslexia diagnosis and the "I must be thick" years; masking as survival at school; how education still fails neurodivergent children; losing his father to suicide at 17; "man up" culture and buried emotions; being sectioned early in his career; shame and stigma as the barrier to asking for help; speaking publicly for the first time through Heads Together; diverse teams and showing up as your true self at work; the "dyslexic thinking as a superpower" debate; and Listen Out, his new project using music to signpost people to support.
👤 Guest: Jon Salmon
Award-winning Executive Producer, Co-Founder of social impact agency Byte Entertainment, and Co-CEO of lived experience community Speakers Collective. Dyslexic, Jon has built his career by thinking differently - 25+ years leading digital and creative projects across entertainment, health, sport, government and the charity sector, from the first Reading Festival livestreams and the launch of BFI Player to NHS England's Opening Doors suicide prevention resources. Trustee of Let's Talk About Loss.
Find Jon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcsalmon | https://www.instagram.com/j0nsalmon | https://www.twitter.com/jonsalmon | https://www.tiktok.com/@jonsalmon
https://www.byteentertainment.com | https://www.speakerscollective.org |
https://www.jon-salmon.com | https://www.letstalkaboutloss.org
⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Introduction & welcome
00:57 Early school years & dyslexia
01:19 A late diagnosis - "thinking you're thick"
04:06 Masking and hiding in the classroom
05:00 "Man up" - boys don't cry
07:27 Exclusion & the pre-prescribed mould
09:34 Jon's father - decline and loss
10:16 Losing his dad at 17
10:54 Stigma around how he died
12:05 Internalising & heightened sensory response
14:29 1999, AOL & the dot-com boom
15:51 From work to hospital - being sectioned
17:11 A year off work & the road to recovery
17:51 Shame, stigma & fear of judgement
19:45 Getting through - the role of friends
20:52 Asking the question - suicide prevention
22:28 Men, internalising & safe environments
24:27 The mental health campaign
26:06 Losing a friend to postnatal depression
27:16 Heads Together - a watershed moment
28:50 Sharing his story for the first time
30:39 Diverse teams & different neurostyles
31:52 Showing up as your true self at work
32:42 Is "dyslexic thinking" a superpower?
35:04 Listen Out - Jon's new project
38:10 Finding help & support pathways
40:00 Closing thoughts
💜 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in this episode affects you, please reach out. You don't have to be in crisis to ask for help.
Listen Out: https://www.byteentertainment.com/listen-out
Hub of Hope — the UK's largest mental health directory: https://hubofhope.co.uk Samaritans — call 116 123, free, any time: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
Shout — text SHOUT to 85258: https://crisistextline.uk
🌍 These services are UK-based. If you are outside the UK, please seek support local to you — findahelpline.com lists free, confidential support in over 100 countries.
📌 About The Neurodivergent Lens
A video podcast exploring neurodivergence through conversations with lived and professional experience. Brought to you by Dyscourse - empowering neurodivergent individuals and organisations: https://dyscourse.org
🧠 Keywords
Dyslexia and stigma | Men's mental health | Mental health stigma | Dyslexic thinking | Late diagnosis | Neurodivergent masking | Shame and neurodivergence | Suicide prevention | Heads Together | Made By Dyslexia | Neurodiversity at work | Jon Salmon | Lived experience
👏🏻 Special Thanks:
Sue McMillan - Strumhum Creatives (production, filming, editing, music), Jon Salmon (guest)
Watch, Listen & Connect
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Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional support. Please seek qualified guidance where needed.
