Our guest this week is Paige Krystal Wilcox. Paige is an award-winning activist and author, and she uses the Intentional Storytelling method to create compelling stories that counter unhealthy or unhelpful bias, tropes, and stereotypes in mainstream media. Paige is a neurodivergent woman who was assigned male at birth, and she does not use the labels trans or transgender.   In this episode we discuss the power of stories as a communication tool and the importance of representation in media. Paige shares with us her method for creating complex and diverse characters. We unpack ‘intersectionality’ and what this has meant for Paige throughout her life, and the personal strengths and challenges that have come from her neurodivergences and life experiences. Finally, Paige shares some of the accommodations she has in the workplace and she extols the benefits of spreadsheets and walking!  Paige’s books: My Life Most Memoirable  Before We Pulled The Trigger    Paige’s podcasts: Listen More with Page Krystal Wilcox  Paisal: A True RomCom Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com Michelle's website: www.michellelivock.com Monique's website: www.moniquemitchelson.com.au   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To find out more about Michelle’s upcoming online webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groups See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monique and Michelle discuss some of the strengths and challenges in parenting neurodivergent kids, whilst being neurodivergent yourself. We talk through the heritability of neurodivergence, intergenerational impacts of this, and the importance of knowing yourself to best know and support your child. We address boundary setting, managing conflicting sensory needs, teaching interoception, and managing expectations.   Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To find out more about Michelle’s upcoming online webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode Monique and Michelle interview clinical psychologist, Amanda Donnet. Amanda works at the intersection of infant feeding, mental health, and early parenting, and she works from a Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) framework. She champions finding solutions that honour the needs of both parents and baby, bringing fierce compassion to perinatal mental health.   In this episode we discuss common mental health challenges in the perinatal period and the intersection of society, gender, and neurodiversity in the perinatal mental health space. We unpack some common CFT-based frameworks and approaches in this space, and talk though loads of practical strategies, coving maternal rage in the perinatal period, managing sensory and executive functioning load, and how to manage both mother and baby’s needs during this time.   This episode is packed with information! This month our Patreon subscribers receive a tip sheet detailing many of the great strategies mentioned in the episode. Check out our Patreon page for this and more exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   To find out more about Michelle’s upcoming online webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This podcast delves into the complexities of chronic disordered sleep, discussing its impact on emotional regulation and its connection to trauma, anxiety, depression, and pain conditions. Monique explains how sleep disorders are assessed and treated, touching on the sleep drive and sleep consolidation for better sleep. Strategies for overcoming insomnia, managing arousal state, enhancing sleep quality, and seeking professional help are also explored.

This week Monique and Michelle interview neurodivergent woman, epidemiologist, and mental health researcher, Dr Holly Erskine. Holly’s PhD research focussed on the global epidemiology of ADHD and conduct disorder as well as the long-term outcomes associated with these. She now leads an international project looking at mental health in adolescents in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam.   In this episode we discuss with Holly her experience of synaesthesia and she explains to us just how grapheme-colour synaesthesia works. Holly also describes her research on ADHD epidemiology, including prevalence data, long term outcomes for ADHDers, and the surprising (or maybe not!) connection between ADHD and driving accidents. We discuss disability and disorder terminology versus ‘difference’, and unpack some of the intricacies and inadequacies of language.   To explore more about GBD data visit GBD compare at: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/   A caveat: Dr Holly Erskine is not associated with the Deloitte report mentioned in the episode.   Please excuse some of the audio bumps – this was our first attempt at recording over Zoom!   Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To find out more about Michelle’s upcoming online webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Monique and Michelle discuss the overlap between neurodivergence, chronic pain, and autoimmune conditions. We review information on the prevalence of chronic pain and autoimmune conditions in neurodivergent women and discuss what can contribute to these conditions in neurodivergent women. Finally, we go through some strategies on how to manage the ‘boom and bust’ of chronic health conditions.   Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To find out more about Michelle’s upcoming online webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is part 1 of a two-part sleep series. Monique and Michelle discuss sleep cycles, common sleep issues and sleep disorders in neurodivergent people, and what can contribute to or cause sleeping issues. We go through some strategies to support healthy sleep, and what to do if you’re worried about your sleep.   In part 2 of the sleep series, to be released on 21st March, we will dive into clinical sleep disorders and how to treat them.   Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To find out more about Michelle’s upcoming online webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Monique and Michelle interview schizophrenia and psychosis researcher, Dr Ilvana Dzafic. We unpack how psychosis and schizophrenia fit into the neurodiversity framework, what is the psychosis continuum, and how psychosis and schizophrenia are experienced and perceived cross culturally. We also explore some underlying biological mechanisms of psychosis, including the predictive coding theory, and chat about differences between men and women experiencing psychosis. Ilvana shares her own experiences of psychotic-like perceptions.   Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To sign up for Michelle’s online webinar on Understanding Autism on 24th February 2022, or to find out more about this and other upcoming webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Monique and Michelle unpack executive functioning – our brain’s ‘admin team’. We talk about how neurodivergent brains manage and act on information, covering working memory, planning and organising, and getting started on tasks. We also discuss differences between executive functioning in ADHD and Autism, and strategies to support executive functioning.     Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com   We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod   To sign up for Michelle’s online webinar on Understanding Autism on 24th February 2022, or to find out more about this and other upcoming webinars, visit www.redlandspsychologists.com.au/groupsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kicking off our second season, Monique and Michelle explore the history of neurodivergence. In this episode we discuss the idea of a ‘normal’ brain, the adaptive functions of various neurodivergencies, how cultural narratives can impact how we see our effectiveness in society, and the historical evolution of Autism and ADHD.  Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com We are on Patreon! Check out our Patreon page for exclusive additional content: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpodSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.