Meet My Autistic Brain

When you can’t respond to an email or phone call, when you don’t move forward on a project, when you feel stuck in any area of your life you’re facing a “Wall of Awful.” Brendan Mahan, author of Overcoming The Wall of Awful; Why It's Hard to Get Things Done with ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety (and How to Do Them Anyway) has uncovered the reasons we face the wall. He offers solutions and tips that will get you going. He shares helpful insights and stories that you haven’t heard before. You’re not “lazy” and you don’t lack willpower. Find out what the wall is really about so you can finally do the things you want to do. 
What we talk about in this episode includes:
Why everyday tasks can feel overwhelming
How to recognize the Wall of Awful
Why thinking you’re “lazy” is a dead end
Why the ways people respond to the Wall of Awful don’t work 
How to reduce the barrier to getting started
How to meet your brain's basic needs to create lasting change
Preorder/buy the book (out September 1, 2026): Overcoming The Wall of Awful; Why It's Hard to Get Things Done with ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety (and How to Do Them Anyway) 
Brendan Mahan’s website 
Twitter 
LinkedIn 

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If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
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If you missed this one be sure to listen now. Or if you remember how great it was, how about another listen? In this episode you’ll hear author Jaime A. Heidel, The Articulate Autistic, talk about her book What Did I Do Wrong? An Accessible Guide to Preventing Traumatic Misunderstandings Between You and Your Autistic Loved One. Jamie has great insight into what it’s like to be autistic and how/why people misunderstand us. 
This episode has been remastered.
Jaime’s website: thearticulateautistic.com
Direct link to book on Amazon
Jamie's Instagram
Support the show
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
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Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
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This is probably not the first time you’re hearing that many autistic and ADHD adults struggle on the job and not just due to sensory issues, although that’s a factor for sure. The bigger problem may be something else entirely. Something that has a solution. 
In this episode David Raynor tells his own story about a career path of jobs frequently won then lost and how he tired of hearing he had “so much potential.” After getting lots of failed advice from people who meant well, David turned inward and found answers. And he knows you can, too and that you don’t have to do it alone.
David talks about Professionally Neurospicy, a community for neurodivergents to get the support they need in their jobs and careers. You’ll hear David’s advice about the one thing we can do to get the satisfaction we want.
In this episode you’ll also learn:
Why many neurodivergent careers follow a cycle of success, burnout, and starting over
How to make better career decisions
Why workplaces benefit when neurodivergent employees are supported to thrive
How accommodations are actually workplace upgrades
Managing hyperfocus without relying on willpower
A different way of thinking about imposter syndrome
Building the confidence to advocate for yourself at work
What you'll find inside the Professionally NeuroSpicy community, including its Discord events, practical resources, and peer support for neurodivergent professionals
David’s website: Professionally Neurospicy 
Substack 
Discord 
LinkedIn 

Support the show
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
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Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
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We’ve waited for decades for an autism assessment tool that reflects the experiences of adult women. The older diagnostic tools based on research of autistic boys left many of us misdiagnosed, overlooked, or completely missed. 
Dr. Rebecca Evanko set out to change that. After her own diagnosis at age 47, she used her background in cognitive linguistics, clinical practice and research to create an autism screening instrument developed specifically for adult women. It’s based on women’s personal experiences. It’s called WRADIANCE© Instrument and Protocol and is going into Phase III Clinical Trial.
In this episode Rebecca also explains why the words clinicians choose can dramatically change an assessment outcome, how autistic burnout is often mistaken for personality disorders, and why traits like heightened pattern recognition and focused persistence deserve recognition as autistic strengths rather than symptoms to be explained away.
The conversation also turns to identity after diagnosis, the grief many late-diagnosed women experience, and why therapies that include the body—not just the intellect—can play an important role in healing. Rebecca shares how equine-assisted therapy can help autistic women connect thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in ways that traditional talk therapy often cannot.
In this episode:
The words a real psych evaluation used to describe an autistic woman and what they actually mean
Why cognitive linguistics — the study of how thought and language shape each other — explains so much of why women get missed
What existing autism assessments overlook about adult women
How autistic pattern recognition can appear as "intuition"
The women’s autistic strengths that deserve greater recognition
What horses can reveal about emotional regulation that talk-therapy alone cannot
And more that would make this list much too long
Dr. Rebecca Evanko’s website 

  

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RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
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Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
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In this episode you’ll hear from Tanya Roberts about Mindfulness Done Differently. For those of us who find meditation and mindfulness difficult Tanya has a solution. She teaches a method that works for autistic people by taking sensory needs into account. She also created a supportive community of other autistics who are learning and practicing these skills.
Next, Tanya answers four unique questions about being an autistic woman. She shares deeply personal insights about her life now and before knowing she is autistic. 
Website: Mindfulness Done Differently

Support the show
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
Instagram
Ko-fi, PayPal, Patreon
Linktree
Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
Website