The Neurodivergent Experience

In this week’s Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon do things a little differently, turning to some of Reddit’s funniest and most wholesome pet stories after Jordan shares the sad news that his beloved Sheepadoodle, Milo, has passed away. First, a woman who deliberately got a cat because she doesn’t like dogs discovers that her new companion apparently missed the memo and behaves exactly like one. From constant licking to greeting people at the door, Jordan and Simon talk about the weird personalities our pets develop, sensory sensitivities around animals, misophonia and why neurodivergent relationships with pets can be so powerful. Then, a husband asks whether he was wrong to veto his wife’s choice of name for their new Golden Retriever: "Bitch". What follows is a spectacular detour through inappropriate pet names, questionable baby names, the strange nicknames we give our animals and whether telling someone they can name a dog “anything they want” really means anything . Next, a woman accidentally trains her dog Molly to respond almost exclusively to the nickname "Poopypants". Jordan and Simon discuss the ridiculous language we develop around our pets, echolalia, quotes that become permanent parts of our vocabulary and the mildly embarrassing consequences when a private nickname has to be shouted in public. Finally, a cat owner reveals the strange bedtime ritual her boyfriend has developed with his cat Magoo: letting him lick the inside of his mouth. Jordan and Simon attempt to understand why anyone would willingly participate in this arrangement, before the conversation descends into cats stealing food, questionable animal hygiene, Robin Hood impressions and general chaos. *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • I got a cat because I don’t like dogs and my cat acts like a dog • AITA for not letting my wife name our dog something stupid? • TIFU calling my dog by a not very mature pet name • TIFU by giving my dog unintentionally the best damn day of his life • TIFU by accidentally teaching my boyfriend’s cat that love means shoving her foot in your mouth • TIFU by petting a dog during a meeting Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy & https://insighttimer.com/AshleyDupuy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy & https://insighttimer.com/AshleyDupuy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon discuss four neurodivergent dilemmas shared by the online community. They begin with a disabled woman whose parents complain about having to drive her places despite doctors advising her not to drive. Jordan and Simon discuss autism, ADHD, disability, independence, family expectations and the difficult balance between needing support and finding ways to build autonomy. Next, a man considers ending a new relationship after the woman he's dating reveals she has a cognitive disability. They explore disability and dating, assumptions about someone's capabilities, hyperfixation, emotional intensity, guilt, masking and whether fear about becoming someone's carer is enough reason to walk away. Then, a drunken student pretends to have a speech impediment after a doorman refuses to let him back into a bar to retrieve his keys and student ID. Jordan and Simon debate impulsivity, disability as an excuse, drunken decision-making and whether the lie was justified when it ultimately got him his belongings back. Finally, an autistic man becomes overwhelmed and leaves a family dinner in tears after accidentally spilling his drink. Jordan and Simon discuss autistic overwhelm, shutdowns, RSD, catastrophising, masking, social expectations and how changing the environment can make meeting a partner's family far more manageable. *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • AITA I told my parents they birthed a disabled child so they just have to live with it. • I (25M) matched with a woman (24F) who later told me she has a cognitive disability • AITA for pretending to have a speech impediment? • My(18F) boyfriend (19M) (has autism) had a breakdown when we are at my family's house for dinner. My parents are understanding but he feels to nervous to face them again Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy & https://insighttimer.com/AshleyDupuy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week marks one full year of Mindful Mondays! And to celebrate, we're going somewhere a little adventurous: the growing research into psychedelics, neuroplasticity, and what it might mean for neurodivergent minds. Ashley explores the idea of a "slow psychedelic" - how From Mask to Map's substance-free process can offer a slower, more integrated version of the revelation psychedelics can provide in a single night. Plus: emerging research on psychedelics and neurodivergence (including autism and ADHD), a few honest words on due diligence, and a brand-new guided practice, Meeting What You Carry. In this episode: - The origin of the word "psychedelic" - and the more poetic meaning behind its Greek roots - Why psychedelic experiences can feel so revealing, and what neuroscience says about prediction, filtering, and neuroplasticity - The "slow psychedelic": how From Mask to Map's Aware, Allow, Align process works without substances - What's genuinely known so far about psychedelics and neurodivergence, including autism and ADHD research - A few honest words on due diligence and care - A guided practice: Meeting What You Carry Links & resources: From Mask to Map - founding cohort begins 15 September, ten places: integrativeiom.co.uk/from-mask-to-map Ashley's psychedelic and mental-health series on Tenacious Be: https://youtu.be/HKrEN6-3-r4?si=F9687B3CbrsBOcH7 - the show itself is also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Next week: revisiting a favourite from the archive - Episode 24, How Gratitude Rewires the Neurodivergent Brain Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan and Simon are joined by the show’s in-house therapist and Mindful Mondays host Ashley Dupuy for four Reddit stories exploring therapy, parenting, disability, neurodivergence and the complicated line between support and autonomy. First, a father questions why his teenage daughter needs to continue therapy when, in his eyes, she should have already dealt with her trauma. The conversation explores why healing doesn’t work to somebody else’s timetable, the importance of trusting the therapeutic process, and what happens when financial concerns collide with a young person asking for help. Then, a parent wonders whether speech therapy is really worth paying for when their fast-talking nine-year-old can technically be understood. Jordan, Simon and Ashley discuss communication differences, the danger of defining support purely around whether other people find someone inconvenient, and why “there’s nothing wrong with her” doesn’t necessarily mean there’s nothing she could benefit from support with. The third story introduces a much more complicated question: can too much support hold a neurodivergent child back? A parent declines an IEP for their six-year-old autistic daughter after feeling that her previous school was “coddling” her. The discussion looks at independence versus accommodation, learned helplessness, individualised support, parental fear about the future and why the answer doesn’t have to be either support them with everything or make them cope alone . Finally, the conversation turns to a raw TrueOffMyChest post from a parent who loves her significantly disabled son but hates what their lives have become. It opens up a difficult discussion around caregiver exhaustion, grief, resentment, guilt and the uncomfortable feelings parents and carers may experience but feel they are never allowed to say aloud. Plus, Ashley introduces From Mask to Map , her new eight-week programme exploring late neurodivergent discovery, identity, masking, nervous-system regulation and finding out who you are underneath the roles you’ve learned to play. https://www.integrativeiom.co.uk/from-mask-to-map *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • AITA for telling my daughter to limit her therapy sessions • AITA for not wanting to waste money on speech therapy for my daughter • AITA for declining an IEP for my child? • My son has significant disabilities, and I hate that this is my life Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We please. We rescue. We perform. We hold everything together - until sometimes we disappear or reach for escape. But what if these familiar responses are not fixed identities? What if they are intelligent adaptations: ways we learned to secure safety, belonging, continuity or relief? Following last week’s introduction to From Mask to Map, Ashley explores the Nine Adaptation Patterns at the heart of this developing body of work: the Pleaser, Rescuer, Performer, Chameleon, Strong One, Perfectionist, Controller, Vanisher and Escaper. Moving through the different ways we reach towards belonging, attempt to hold ourselves and the world together, or create distance from overwhelming intensity, Ashley considers the protective purpose, genuine strengths and present-day costs carried within each pattern. These are not diagnoses, personality types or nine new boxes in which to place ourselves. With careful attention to Neurodivergent Nuance, Ashley explores why the behaviour alone cannot reveal the whole pattern. Structure may be an essential accommodation rather than control. Solitude may be restoration rather than disappearance. Social fluency may be joyful expression rather than compulsory performance. What matters is the job the behaviour is performing, the freedom we have around it and the price we may now be paying. Ashley also returns to the work of Jungian analyst Dr James Hollis and his question of what, beyond survival, may be seeking expression through us as meaning and purpose. Through recollection, Shakespeare’s “ravelled sleave of care” and the image of the Weaver, the episode becomes an invitation to gather every thread of our experience without mistaking any single pattern for the whole design. The episode closes with a brief guided practice, The Weaver and the Thread. The complete guided exploration of the Nine Adaptation Patterns - including discovering your own configuration and mapping the way forward - will be exclusive to the founding From Mask to Map group coaching and hypnotherapy cohort beginning on 15 September. The programme is fully online, limited to ten people and available worldwide, with replays provided for those unable to attend live. Spaces are still available. Visit integrativeiom.co.uk/from-mask-to-map for full details. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon unpack another selection of dilemmas involving autism, ADHD, relationships and the realities of being neurodivergent. They begin with a parent who invites an entire class to her son's birthday party — except for one autistic child. Jordan and Simon discuss exclusion, ableism, reasonable accommodations and the lasting impact of being the child who is always left out. Next, they explore another neurodivergent dilemma and the assumptions people make about behaviour, asking where personal responsibility ends and understanding someone's disability begins. The conversation then turns to the complicated ways neurodivergent traits can be interpreted by the people around us, including executive dysfunction, forgetfulness and behaviours that can easily be mistaken for laziness or a lack of care. Finally, a woman takes to Reddit to describe her husband as stupid, prompting a discussion about ADHD, dyslexia, executive dysfunction, relationships, resentment and what happens when the person you love doesn't understand the way your brain works. *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • AITA for inviting my sons entire class except for one child because of his autism? • AITA for disagreeing with my daughter’s ADHD diagnosis? • My speech disability has ruined my life and I think I will never amount to anything. • My husband is so dumb and I think I need to leave him because of it Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Ashley explores the ideas that gave rise to From Mask to Map: her developing body of work, book and coaching cohort for late-discovered neurodivergent adults. Drawing on Dr Andrew Huberman’s conversation with Jungian analyst Dr James Hollis, she considers meaning, purpose and the deeper intelligence within us that may be continually trying to bring us back into relationship with ourselves. She also returns to the question of State or Trait? - and asks what changes when we stop assuming that every familiar response reveals something fixed about who we are. Ashley revisits the Transactional Analysis Drivers, a framework that remains immensely valuable within her work, while explaining why something more was needed to reflect the Neurodivergent Nuance of lived experience. Through six years of research, client work and personal exploration, the Nine Adaptation Patterns began to emerge - not as diagnoses, labels or another set of boxes, but as a compassionate way of recognising the protective roles we may have mistaken for identity. This episode introduces the patterns and tells the story of how they came into being. Next week, we will meet all nine more fully. The episode closes with a short guided practice, The Part That Learned the Way - an invitation to approach one of your adaptations with curiosity rather than judgement, honour the intelligence within it and begin reading the survival directions written for earlier terrain. Ashley’s eight-week From Mask to Map group coaching programme begins on 15 September 2026 and is limited to ten people. Find out more at integrativeiom.co.uk. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon discuss four neurodivergent dilemmas shared by the online community. They begin with a mother who admits she hates her eight-year-old son with ADHD and ODD, sparking a conversation about parenting, challenging behaviour, boundaries, meltdowns, and the impact of growing up feeling like you're always doing something wrong. They then unpack a post describing ADHD as a "living fucking nightmare", exploring the disabling reality of ADHD, depression, addiction, medication, and whether portraying neurodivergence as quirky or desirable risks minimising the people who genuinely struggle with it. Next, a holidaymaker becomes uncomfortable with a disabled child's behaviour and hygiene at an all-inclusive hotel. Jordan and Simon discuss disability, parenting, accommodations, personal boundaries, and the difference between explaining someone's behaviour and excusing it. Finally, an autistic woman's carefully planned day at a Disney theme park falls apart, resulting in a meltdown and her friend leaving her behind. They explore autistic planning, sensory overload, friendship, personal responsibility, and whether someone should ever be left alone during a meltdown. *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • I hate my ADHD son. • ADHD is a living fucking nightmare and most people think it's only a silly mental disorder for kids • AITAH - kid with special needs keeps bothering me. I’ve spoken to the mum and she won’t do anything about it. • AITAH for Leaving my Autistic Friend at Disney during a Meltdown? Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seeing your life clearly doesn’t mean seeing it harshly. In this episode of Mindful Mondays, we explore how mindset and reframing shape not just how we think - but how our nervous system experiences the world. Many neurodivergent and highly sensitive people live with a loud inner commentary. Thoughts can feel convincing, critical, and fixed - yet thoughts are not facts. Together, we explore: * Growth mindset through a neurodivergent lens * Why reframing supports nervous system safety (not toxic positivity) * How meaning - not circumstances - shapes our experience * Why challenges often deepen, rather than diminish, a meaningful life Drawing on wisdom from thinkers and creatives including William James, Hugh Mackay, Tina Turner, Joan Rivers, Kurt Vonnegut, and Michael Jordan, this episode invites a gentler, truer way of seeing yourself. You’ll also be guided through a reflective visualisation - The Gallery of Your Life - offering a new relationship with past moments, old judgments, and the stories you live inside. This is not about fixing yourself. It’s about learning to see yourself in a way that supports you. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Hot Topic Today! Hi everyone! Just a very quick update to let you know that unfortunately there won't be a Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience today. Sorry to anyone who was expecting one in their feed this morning. We'll be back with a new episode of The Neurodivergent Experience next Thursday, and I'll also have a little update for you about the show next week. Thanks, as always, for listening and supporting us, and we'll speak to you soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon discuss four neurodivergent dilemmas shared by the online community. They begin with a man who accuses his sister-in-law of lying after discovering the "Jeep" she promised him isn't technically a Jeep, sparking a conversation about autistic pedantry, the need to be correct, and why being technically right doesn't always mean you're in the right. They then unpack a story about an autistic man struggling with dating after his sister tells him that his behaviour towards women can come across as demeaning and sexist. Jordan and Simon discuss autism, honesty, accountability, parenting, and why neurodivergence shouldn't be used as an excuse to treat other people badly. Next, a husband wants his wife's autistic friend to stop visiting their home so often. They explore friendship, accommodations, autistic social differences, judgement, and why his wife's willingness to understand and support her friend might actually be the most heart warming part of the story. Finally, a brother hides a month's worth of ADHD medication as a prank—only to lose it. From medication stigma and family dynamics to revenge, responsibility and Reddit's more suspicious theories about where the missing pills went, Jordan and Simon ask: who's actually the arsehole? *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • AITA for Calling My Sister-in-Law a Liar? • AITA for Telling My Autistic Brother the Truth? • AITA for Asking My Wife to Stop Bringing Her Autistic Friend Over? • AITA for Not Giving My Brother a Ride to Work? Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inspired by the extraordinary way a young swallow drops from its nest into flight, Ashley explores what it means to meet the present moment before certainty arrives. Through a childhood trust fall that ended on the kitchen floor, her struggle to surrender to the flow of dancing, Ram Dass’s invitation to Be Here Now and Alan Watts’s unforgettable falling cat, this episode asks whether trust is really about knowing we will be caught - or remaining soft enough to respond when we don’t yet know what will hold us. For neurodivergent minds accustomed to analysing the past, rehearsing the future and consciously predicting the next move, presence can feel far less peaceful than wellness culture often suggests. But perhaps presence is not the absence of uncertainty. Perhaps it is the moment uncertainty becomes usable. This week’s Microdosing Meaning practice invites you to walk in on yourself worrying, ruminating or simply wandering through the ongoing stream of thought - and then walk in on the moment itself. What might become available when you meet it through awe, curiosity and play? The episode closes with a gentle Yoga Nidra for cultivating trust: a loving homage to one of Ashley’s favourite Yoga Nidra teachers, Ally Boothroyd. Settle into the support beneath you, follow the swallow into open air and take a trust fall into the medicine of presence itself. Ashley’s eight-week From Mask to Map group coaching programme begins on 15 September 2026 and is limited to ten people. Find out more at integrativeiom.co.uk. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could Long COVID be making ADHD symptoms worse? In this Hot Topic, Jordan and Simon explore emerging research into the link between Long COVID, brain fog and ADHD medication. As they discuss the science, Jordan begins connecting it to his own experiences with burnout, chronic pain and executive dysfunction after the pandemic. A fascinating conversation about an area of research that's raising more questions than answers. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon discuss three thought-provoking neurodivergent dilemmas shared by the online community. They begin with a discussion around whether it's wrong to hope your future children aren't neurodivergent, exploring disability, parenting, acceptance, and whether it's society—not neurodivergence itself—that creates many of the challenges autistic and ADHD people face. They then unpack a story about a young man who refuses to eat in front of other people, leading to a wider conversation about ARFID, sensory differences, eating disorders, and why curiosity is often more helpful than judgement. Finally, they discuss a chaotic birthday party where an autistic guest delivers a 45-minute presentation about Five Nights at Freddy's , exploring masking, alcohol, family dynamics, special interests, and the importance of understanding behaviour before jumping to conclusions. *The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • I Don't Want My Kids to Be Neurodivergent • AITA for Asking My Daughter's Boyfriend to Stop Having Dinner With Us? • AITA for Walking Out of an Autistic Man's 45-Minute Five Nights at Freddy's Presentation? Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What becomes possible when we stop demanding that every moment lead somewhere predictable? In this episode of Mindful Mondays, Ashley explores the neurodivergent nuance of play as a powerful state of openness, learning and nervous-system flexibility. For many neurodivergent adults, life can become tightly organised around prediction, responsibility and holding everything together. Play offers a different atmosphere. The outcome remains open. Mistakes become information. The body is given permission to experiment without needing to perform. Drawing on ideas from Dr Andrew Huberman, movement specialist Ido Portal and basketball great Kobe Bryant, Ashley explores play as low-stakes possibility, active softness and a doorway into neuroplasticity. She reflects on the healing power of silliness, the surprising intelligence of the subconscious, the freedom of being misunderstood without abandoning yourself - and one deeply judgemental little plushie toy dog. This week’s Bite-Sized Buddhism considers the balance between strings held too tightly and too loosely, while Microdosing Meaning invites you to make one ordinary moment just five per cent more playful. The episode closes with Wild and Wise, a guided visualisation bringing together the part of you that creates safety and the part that remains willing to explore, laugh and be surprised. Perhaps play is what happens when wisdom creates enough safety for wildness to come alive. The eight-week From Mask to Map group coaching cohort begins on 15 September and is limited to ten people. Details are available at integrativeiom.co.uk. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A BBC News article about an ADHD employment tribunal sparks a wider conversation about what it means to be neurodivergent at work. Jordan and Simon discuss reasonable adjustments, why communication differences are often misunderstood, and whether employers are keeping up with growing awareness of ADHD and autism. They also explore the difficult question many neurodivergent people now face: should you disclose your diagnosis during the hiring process, or could honesty work against you? BBC News Article: ADHD has rewired the workplace. This is what it means for bosses and workers Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our first Reddit Stories episode, Jordan and Simon discuss four real-life neurodivergent dilemmas shared by the online community. They begin with a heartfelt post from a 16-year-old worried he's "becoming an incel" after years of rejection and social isolation, exploring autism, rejection sensitivity, masking and why school can feel so overwhelming. They also discuss why so many people with ADHD struggle to finish video games despite genuinely wanting to, before unpacking a workplace story about someone being mocked for their special interest—and why accepting people's passions matters more than we often realise. Finally, they explore a refreshing first date between two neurodivergent adults and discuss authenticity, relationships and finding people who truly understand you. The stories discussed in this episode are public Reddit posts. Titles may be shortened for readability, and all opinions expressed are those of the original posters. • I'm Becoming An Incel, Help! https://reddit.com/ ... • How Do You Actually Finish Games with ADHD? https://reddit.com/ ... • AITA for Telling My Co-worker I'm Tired of Hearing About Her Nerdy Obsession? https://reddit.com/ ... • I Went on a Date with a Neurodivergent Guy https://reddit.com/ ... Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What changes when we stop trying to force an answer and become genuinely curious about what is happening? In this episode of Mindful Mondays, Ashley explores curiosity as one of the most powerful ways we can shift the context of a difficult moment - moving from frustration, judgement and fixed conclusions into pattern, relationship and possibility. After discovering that she had mentioned curiosity in more than 600 emails to clients, Ashley reflects on why this quality runs so deeply through her work. She shares the deceptively simple moment that brought it all into focus: trying to untangle a knotted wire and suddenly asking: “What is the relationship here?” That question changed the entire experience. The knot became a pattern, her hands began to move more intuitively, and the solution seemed to emerge through a deeper intelligence than conscious effort alone. Through a neurodivergent and From Mask to Map lens, the episode explores how natural curiosity may become hidden beneath masking, how judgement can disguise itself as a question, and why compassionate inquiry helps us see the relationships between our nervous system, environment, beliefs and behaviour. Ashley also introduces three living prompts: What is the relationship here? I’m learning. They’re learning. Where’s the gift? The episode closes with The Living Question, a guided practice using body awareness, breath and imagery to explore how attention changes experience - and how one spacious question can create room for the deeper mind to respond. Perhaps curiosity’s greatest gift is that it allows reality to remain more interesting than our first conclusion. Mindful Mondays is part of The Neurodivergent Experience on the Autistic Culture Podcast Network. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could a simple zinc supplement help with ADHD symptoms? In this Hot Topic, Jordan shares his personal experience after taking zinc for over two months, while Simon explores the latest research into zinc, dopamine and brain health. They discuss what the science says, how zinc may support ADHD alongside medication, and why it's no replacement for medical advice—plus plenty of laughs along the way. Our Sponsors: 🧘‍♀️ Ashley Dupuy – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy 🤝 Sophie James - Neurodivergent Mentoring: sophiejamesndmentoring.com 🔗 Stay Connected Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience 🎧 The Neurodivergent Experience is available on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and all major platforms. ⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes 🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com 🌐 Visit www.autisticculturepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.