Uniquely Human: The Podcast

Nutrition and feeding are common issues of concern for parents of autistic family members, and for autistic people themselves. With appropriate nutrition, quality of life is improved due to enhanced physical and mental health and improved relationships with those who play a role in supporting good nutrition and successful feeding interactions. Yaffi Lvova, a neurodivergent Dietitian Nutritionist provides crucial information and advice for family members and autistic people.

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Kim Clairy is an autistic occupational therapist who brings a variety of perspectives in educating others about autism, eating disorders, and sensory processing conditions. Initially diagnosed with a severe eating disorder, she faced a healthcare system that was ill-prepared to understand the complexities of her conditions, and that prescribed treatments that were not only not helpful, but in some ways, damaging. With the support of her husband, and a passion to be self-educated, she has emerged as a powerful voice and advocate for supporting others with complex conditions co-occurring with their autism. Kim shares details of her journey and provides helpful guidance for families and their autistic family members.

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Tiffany Hammond wears many hats. First, she is the loving mother of two autistic children, a developmental psychologist who provides professional consultation and she has a huge network with her Instagram  following on “Fidgets and Fries”. Based on her experiences as both a professional and a mother, as well as the way she has been treated herself as an autistic person, she has become a fierce, social justice activist. She also is a talented writer. We discuss issues she feels passionately about, as well as her forthcoming book, inspired by her son, “A Day with No Words”.

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One of the most important life decisions for all young people, is whether to consider going to college, and if so, how to deal with the challenges in applying and selecting the best match. For many reasons, this process has additional layers of added complexity for neurodivergent teens and older individuals. Eric Endlich, Ph.D. shares advice from his decades of experience in supporting families and college-bound young adults in helping them to ask the most important questions, and ultimately, making the best decisions for the student and the family.

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The issue of loss and grief reactions of autistic people has only received serious consideration in recent years. Decades of behavioral perspectives about autism, which prohibited serious consideration of feelings and internalized relationships prevented crucial issues such as loss and grief from getting the attention needed to better understand and support people on the autism spectrum. Dr. Ken Doka, a recognized expert and authority on loss and grief, and Lisa Morgan, an autistic professional, take a deep dive into these issues, and how important it is for all of us to have deeper understandings to better support autistic children and adults and their families.

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Accessing support for healthcare and navigating medical and health related services is one of the greatest stressors reported by parents, family members, and autistic people themselves, Future physicians and nurses receive very little, if any training about the best ways to support autistic individuals and their families in healthcare settings. In many cases, the information they receive it is out of date, or based on misunderstandings of the behavior of autistic people, especially under stressful circumstances, and the reactions of parents and family members, trying to do the best in helping their autistic family member. Maura Sullivan, as both a parent and professional, understands such challenges firsthand. In response, she has developed innovative programs for future physicians and healthcare professionals to provide accurate information about autism and neurodivergent conditions in some of the leading medical and nursing schools in the US, with the goal of supporting medical and nursing students to be effective and compassionate providers of care.

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Barry and Dave discuss the process of building trust between autistic and neurotypical people. Barry shares 8 proven strategies to help clinicians, educators, and other professionals earn a trusting relationship with autistic people and their families.

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“My Mother’s Apprentice” – The Special Qualities of my Upbringing. A Discussion with  Gyasi Burks-Abbott

Gyasi Burkes-Abbott has a unique perspective as a late-diagnosed autistic man, who is African-American and raised by his mother in a white-dominated culture. In today’s episode, he discusses how his mother was vigilant about exposing him to role models in black literature and culture, and how his upbringing led to a strong sense of identity, confidence and purpose. He shares the special way his mother accepted and appreciated his differences that all parents could benefit from hearing, and how it motivated him to become a strong advocate in supporting neurodivergent individuals. He also challenges concepts such as lack of “Theory of Mind” that have pathologized the autistic experience.

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Many of you may be aware of the fact that “Avatar: The Way of Water”, the follow up of the 2009 "Avatar", was just released. One of the stars is Sigourney Weaver, and we had the great pleasure of interviewing Sigourney with Ros Blackburn, a great friend of ours who is an autistic women from England. We invite you to listen again, or for the first time, to the episode we did with them.

We have a discussion with Ros Blackburn, an autistic friend, colleague and international speaker from the UK who speaks with great insight about her autistic experience. In Barry’s book, Uniquely Human, he shares so much of what he learned from Ros in their travel and presentations together, and Ros expands on her insights in today’s discussion with great humor and candor. We surprise Ros when we are joined by the world-renowned actress, Sigourney Weaver, who played an autistic woman in the film “Snowcake”. Sigourney modeled her role after Ros, and by sharing time together in the US and UK, they developed a valued friendship. Sigourney and Ros reflect on that time, and all they learned in the process.

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It is now widely accepted that for autistic and neurodivergent individuals to be fully included and successful in educational and vocational settings, the design of such settings must support accessibility and be sensitive to the specific environmental challenges posed by different settings. Such challenges may occur due to the sensory and social demands inherent in schools, vocational settings, and everyday environments. Dr. Magda Mostafa, a leading expert and innovator in architectural design for neurodivergent individuals, discusses her groundbreaking work that is at the forefront of influencing autism friendly design and has helped to improve quality of life for autistic children, adults and their families.

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