I learned in November of 2018, at the age of 57, that I am Aspergers/Autistic.
This has been a very intense experience. My lifelong difficulties with social interactions, inability to cope with bright noisy spaces, my tendency to hyper focus, and many other “quirks” about myself were suddenly explained.
I read everything I could, watched videos, and joined FB groups for Autistic adults. For the first time ever, I found my tribe. Its been wonderful and heartbreaking, as I review every experience I have ever had, with this renewed understanding.
To say it has been life changing is an understatement, and yet, I discovered this vital information by accident, because I happened to see a friend’s FB post that caught my eye. Then I went through several months of shock and confusion as I researched Autism online.
I was unable to find any podcasts to help me with this process, so I decided to apply my experience as a radio host to serve my community, and look for answers from other Autistic adults working to raise understanding and acceptance.
This podcast addresses the needs of a severely underrepresented community, Adult Aspergers/Autistics. It is currently estimated that one in 59 people are Aspergers/Autistic. That figure does not include the massive population of currently undiagnosed adult Autistics.
Adult Autistics, even the “High Functioning” ones, are a population seriously at risk.
“Those with ASD without a learning disability had an average age of death at about 58 years. The leading causes of death in those with ASD in this large study were heart disease, suicide, and epilepsy. The suicide rate among those with ASD was 9 times higher than the general population.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/caring-autism/201810/early-death-in-those-autism-spectrum-disorder
The purpose of this podcast is to:
1. Support the greater Autistic community as a whole by providing, representation, information, and resources.
2. Give a platform to Autistic voices who are working to make the world a better place for our community and the planet.
3. Help people who think they might be Autistic get the resources they need.
4. Counteract harmful ideas about Autism, such as the myth that vaccines cause Autism.
5. Remedy the lack of representation of adult Aspergers/Autistics both in podcasting and the world at large.
“Nothing about us without us.”
# Actually Autistic Podcast 