The Other Autism

Helena, Diagnosed As Autistic and Schizophrenic

July 20, 2024

Autism and Co-Occurring Conditions, Autistic Experience, Interview With An Autistic Person, Late-Diagnosed Autism

Episode #35 is here: Helena, Diagnosed As Autistic and Schizophrenic

Today, I’m speaking with Helena, a retail worker and soon-to-be college student and fiction author. Helena came to Canada as a child, but wasn’t assessed for autism or schizophrenia until her 20s. She talks about who the biggest bullies were in school and shares some activities that have helped her.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Check out Helena’s Instagram.

Transcript

Kristen Hovet: 1:06

Today I’m speaking with Helena, a late-diagnosed autistic and schizophrenic individual. I’d like to thank David for your one-time show of support to The Other Autism podcast. David used the Buy Me a Coffee link not once but twice to send in a donation. Thank you so much, David. If you’d like to do the same, please check out the link in the show notes that says Buy Me a Coffee. I’d also like to thank the patrons over on Patreon who sponsor the show and, in return, get some bonus content. I really appreciate their ongoing support and interest in the show. If you’re curious to see what’s going on over there, head on over to patreon.com/TheOtherAutism all one word. For a few dollars a month, you can become a patron of The Other Autism as well. And with that, please say hello to my guest for today, Helena.
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Is It Autism or Trauma? Or Both?

April 27, 2024

Adult Autism, Autism and Co-Occurring Conditions, Late-Diagnosed Autism

Episode #34 is here: Is It Autism or Trauma? Or Both?

Don’t miss out on this deep dive into trauma, attachment disorders, and autism! Join me as we explore how these intertwine and differ, with a focus on familial mental health challenges and their impacts.

Send in your questions or thoughts via audio recording for a chance to be featured on the show! Email your audio clips to kristen.hovet@gmail.com through WeTransfer. Your voice matters.

Get clarity on trauma, autism, and PTSD with insights from researchers and therapists working in the field. Understand the overlapping traits and characteristics between these conditions and gain a deeper understanding of attachment disorders like reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) in children.

Delve into the impact of mental health challenges in families, explore the connection between autism and attachment disorders, and uncover the unique traumas that autistic individuals may face. Learn about the resilience displayed by autistic individuals in the face of adversity.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

If you’d like to know more about topics discussed in this episode, check out:

“Autism and Attachment Disorders — How Do We Tell the Difference?” by Claire Davidson et al.

“Parental Psychiatric Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Elina Jokiranta et al.

“The Long-Term Impact of Parental Mental Health on Children’s Distress Trajectories in Adulthood” by Christina Kamis

“Exploring Potential Sources of Childhood Trauma: A Qualitative Study With Autistic Adults and Caregivers” by Connor M. Kerns et al.

“Autism and Reactive Attachment/Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorders: Co-occurrence and Differentiation” by Susan Dickerson Mayes et al.

“Genetic Overlap Among Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders” by Yoshiro Morimoto et al.

“PTSD and Autism” by Megan Anna Neff

“Family History of Mental and Neurological Disorders and Risk of Autism” by Sherlly Xie et al.

Transcript

Kristen Hovet: 1:06

Today I’m talking about trauma, attachment disorders, and autism; how they overlap and how they differ; as well as familial mental health challenges or the mental health diagnoses that often run in families where there is autism. I’ve touched on some of these topics before, but mainly as parts of episodes on other topics, so I wanted to do a deeper dive this time around. While you’ll find a lot of content about all of this on YouTube, on podcasts, and in other locations online, there’s always new information coming out and always new ways of synthesizing or putting the information together, so I wanted to try my hand at covering it. Before we get into this topic, you’ll probably notice I don’t have my Other Autism neon sign behind me. I’ve packed it away. I’m getting ready to move in June and I’ve just started doing a lot of packing beforehand in preparation, because I know it’s going to be a really busy time.
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Why I Don’t Do Trigger Warnings on My Podcast

March 26, 2024

Admin Update

Episode #33 is here: Why I Don’t Do Trigger Warnings on My Podcast

Here’s a deep dive into the controversial topic of trigger warnings. I explore the ongoing debate surrounding the effectiveness and potential dangers of trigger warnings, particularly for those who have experienced complex trauma. I highlight the latest research on trigger warnings, their impact on emotional responses, learning outcomes, and more.

Don’t miss this episode where I challenge the common usage of trigger warnings and explore trigger warnings’ influence on those they’re supposed to protect most.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

If you’d like to know more about topics discussed in this episode, check out:

“Trigger Warning Efficacy: The Impact of Warnings on Affect, Attitudes, and Learning” by Guy Boysen et al.

“A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Trigger Warnings, Content Warnings, and Content Notes” by Victoria Bridgland et al.

“I Was Wrong About Trigger Warnings” by Jill Filipovic

“Helping or Harming? The Effect of Trigger Warnings on Individuals With Trauma Histories” by Payton Jones et al.

“What Does It Mean to Be Triggered?” By Zawn Villines

Transcript

Kristen Hovet: 1:07

Today I’m doing something a bit different. I’m going to be discussing trigger warnings. While this topic isn’t directly related to autism or autism research, it does come up a lot in content related to autism and neurodiversity. It’s actually almost a given these days that any content that includes discussion of sensitive topics will have trigger warnings. But just because something is pervasive doesn’t make it best practice, nor does it make it safe, specifically psychologically safe in this case.
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Zoe, a Jiu Jitsu Instructor Diagnosed As Autistic at 38

February 23, 2024

After Autism Diagnosis, Autistic Experience, Interview With An Autistic Person, Late-Diagnosed Autism

Episode #32 is here: Zoe, a Jiu Jitsu Instructor Diagnosed As Autistic at 38.

Today, I’m speaking with Zoe Alexandra Glass, a Jiu Jitsu instructor and artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Zoe went from listening to The Other Autism while working in a warehouse to being a guest on the show almost a year after her own diagnosis. She shares the story of receiving her autism diagnosis after nearly losing her home and having considerable mental health challenges during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zoe also discusses her stance on going undiagnosed for nearly four decades, the types of pragmatic successes she’s experiencing in occupational therapy, and the disability assistance and tax credits that are available to autistic folks (with a focus on those in British Columbia and Canada).

Together, we talk about the overlap of autism and eating disorders, the problems with traditional sitting meditation for some autistics, and much more!

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Check out Zoe’s TikTok, Substack, and YouTube channel.

And links mentioned in this episode:

Disability Assistance (for British Columbians)

Disability Tax Credit (DTC) (for Canadians)

Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) (for Canadians)

Transcript

Kristen Hovet: 1:06

Hey everyone, welcome back to The Other Autism podcast. Today I’m speaking with Zoe, a martial arts instructor based in Vancouver, British Columbia, but before I share our conversation, I’d like to thank Carol and an anonymous donor, who both used the Buy Me a Coffee link to send in a one-time donation.
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Exclusive Content Coming Soon via Patreon

January 31, 2024

Admin Update
I’ve just launched a Patreon account, so you can soon have access to member-only content. As I prepare exclusive content, I’d love to hear from you. Please answer this quick poll: What exclusive content do you want?

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Neural Pruning, Synesthesia, and Autism

January 31, 2024

Autism and Co-Occurring Conditions, Autism News, Autistic Experience, Deficit Model of Autism

Episode #31 is here: Neural Pruning, Synesthesia, and Autism

What aspects of the brain differ between autistic people and non-autistic people? Do these brain differences lead to things like synesthesia in autistic people? Synesthesia is when your senses or perceptions overlap, like when you think of a number and see waves of red or some other colour. Or when you can feel in your own body the sensations and physical pain of another, just by looking at them!

In this episode, I also talk about ableist perspectives in autism research, secondary autism, neurons, glial cells, early brain development, mirror-touch synesthesia as the basis of deep empathy, and much more!

Watch this episode on YouTube.

If you’d like to know more about topics discussed in this episode, check out:

“What Is Synaptic Pruning?” By Jacquelyn Cafasso

“Astroglia in Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Kinga Gzielo and Agnieszka Nikiforuk

“Regional Differences in Synaptogenesis in Human Cerebral Cortex” by Peter Huttenlocher and Arun Dabholkar

“Microglia in the Pathogenesis of Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Ryuta Koyama and Yuji Ikegaya

“Astrocytes and Microglia and Their Potential Link With Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Francesco Petrelli et al.

“Balancing Excitation and Inhibition in the Autistic Brain” by Charlotte Pretzsch and Dorothea Floris

“Synaptic Growth, Synesthesia and Savant Abilities” by Martin Silvertant

“Neuroinflammation, Mast Cells, and Glia: Dangerous Liaisons” by Stephen D. Skaper et al.

“Lack of Neuron ‘Pruning’ May Be Behind Many Brain-Related Conditions” by Clare Wilson

“Microglia and Astrocytes Underlie Neuroinflammation and Synaptic Susceptibility in Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Yue Xiong et al.

“Convergent Evidence for mGluR5 in Synaptic and Neuroinflammatory Pathways Implicated in ASD” by Daniela Zantomio et al.

Transcript

Kristen Hovet: 1:06

Today we’re talking about neural pruning and how it differs in the brains of autistics versus the brains of neurotypicals. I’ll also discuss synesthesia. I don’t know if I’m saying that right. I’m saying it. I think I tried getting Google Translate to help me and I’m still not saying it right. Actually, speaking of Google Translate, I think she’s going to help me in this episode, so I’m going to need her here. One sec, okay, synesthesia. Synesthesia, yeah, where one sensory or cognitive pathway activates a second or maybe even third sensory or cognitive pathway.
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Helena, Diagnosed As Autistic and Schizophrenic

Transcript

Is It Autism or Trauma? Or Both?

Transcript

Why I Don’t Do Trigger Warnings on My Podcast

Transcript

Zoe, a Jiu Jitsu Instructor Diagnosed As Autistic at 38

Transcript

Exclusive Content Coming Soon via Patreon

Never miss a post. Subscribe to receive an email update every time a new post is published:

Neural Pruning, Synesthesia, and Autism

Transcript