Uniquely Human: The Podcast

Exploring the challenges of obtaining an accurate autism diagnosis for women, the debilitating impact of not being diagnosed, and the importance of tailored diagnostic criteria. Also delving into the empowering effects of receiving a diagnosis on mental health and self-determination, and the unique traits of autistic partners in relationships.

From each of us at Uniquely Human: The Podcast, thank you for listening and contributing to this show. As we look back on our first 50 episodes, Barry and Dave share some of their favorite moments.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An issue of increasing interest and concern in the autism community is that of masking. Masking or camouflaging is when an autistic person or neurodivergent person consciously, or subconsciously seeks to hide or minimize their autism or neurodivergent traits to fit in with the neurotypical world. Individuals with autism, especially ones who have a history of trauma, frequently feel they need to mask their autistic traits in order to fit in. Dr. Devon Price, a social psychologist and transgender autistic man shares his personal experiences as well as his expertise as a researcher and psychologist in exploring many issues related to masking. Drawing from his critically acclaimed book, Unmasking Autism, he provides understanding and practical guidance related to masking that will be of great value to autistic and neurodivergent individuals, and neurotypical individuals as well.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Debbie Steinberg-Kuntz, a marriage and family therapist and parent, discusses the development of the Bright and Quirky community, that she founded to support 2E children who are twice exceptional, and their families. That is, they excel in some aspects of development, typically verbal and cognitive abilities, but may also experience challenges in social-emotional development and specific areas of learning. These children may receive various neurodevelopmental diagnoses including autism, ADHD, anxiety disorders and sensory processing difficulties. Debbie offers guidance for understanding and supporting 2E children and their families.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Interoception is a relatively new concept as it pertains to the experiences of autistic children and adults. Described as the eighth sense, it has to do with being able to understand and interpret sensations that come from one’s own body. There is increasing evidence that problems related to interoception are common in autism, and are related to capacities in the development of self-regulation. In this episode, Kelly Mahler, an OT and a leader in bringing awareness of interception to autism, and Chloe Rothschild, an autistic woman, discuss the implications of interoception for supporting and understanding the experiences of autistic people.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Michael Hannon is an Associate Professor of Counseling at Montclair State University. Dr. Hannon earned his doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from The Pennsylvania State University. As an award-winning counselor educator and scholar, Dr. Hannon is a highly sought after lecturer, consultant, and collaborator. He also is the father of a teen-age son on the autism spectrum, and co-facilitates support meetings for Fathers of autistic children through Drexel University. Dr. Hannon’s research primarily focuses on Black men’s wellness, with a focus on the value they derive from their roles as fathers, community leaders, clients, and counselor educators. He takes great pride in leveraging his lived experiences and his professional counseling experience in K-12, student affairs, and clinical settings to the classroom and to his research He has been a featured contributor to media outlets and organizations such as Autism Speaks, Thrive Global, Fusion, Neurodiversity Experts, and Huffington Post. His forthcoming book, Black Fathering and Mental Health will be published in March, 2022.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Echolalia has a very special place in Barry’s life. It became a topic of fascination and an enthusiasm in his very early work with a group of wonderful young autistic boys. His deep interest resulted in a federally funded dissertation that challenged and overturned misinformed and disrespectful views of echolalia disseminated by Ivar Lovaas, the father of ABA. Rather than seeing echolalia as meaningless parroting and psychotic speech that needed to be “extinguished”, Barry’s research demonstrated that it could serve multiple communicative functions and reflected a “gestalt style” of learning language, a different strategy of language acquisition closely tied to differences in cognitive development. Barry and Dave discuss this history and how echolalia must be considered when understanding language of autistic people. They are joined by Rebecca Rosenzweig, a young autistic woman who shares her experiences with echolalia.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Barry and Dave have a lively discussion with Yasmine White, music therapist, and Jonathan Chase, autistic professional musician and self advocate. Yasmine discusses her approach to music therapy and the VOICSSⓇ together model, and her new book focusing on helping parents connecting with their children through music. Jonathan talks about his journey as a person with autism, career as a professional musician, and his current career focus on providing supports in various ways to autistic individuals and their families.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anlor Davin, an autistic Zen meditation practitioner discusses her journey to finding her authentic self from her upbringing in France, to her immigration, autistic diagnosis and life in the United States. Since she has found her calling, she shares how she now provides the gift of meditation to autistic individuals through online service and weekend retreats.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Amy Laurent, a Development Psychologist and OT, and her autistic colleague, Dr. Jacquelyn Fede, a Developmental Psychologist discuss how their relationship led to the development and evolution of Autism Level Up, a joint venture that provides a variety of services and supports to the autism community nationally and internationally. As a SCERTS Model Collaborator, Amy describes how Dr. Jacquelyn’s perspective as an autistic self-advocate encouraged them to build on the foundation of SCERTS, with extensive input from autistic people, to develop progressive autistic driven initiatives and transactional supports with the goal of improving quality of life for all, autistic people, families and allies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.