AUTISTIC PEOPLE TALKING Ep. 14 PODCAST ft. Amanda @i.am.mindblind

Welcome to Ep.14 of Autistic People Talking - A #Podcast where #autistic people talk to each other. We celebrate #neurodiversity here.

Hi! I’m Claire, and this is my channel, Woodshed Theory. Here you will find the awkward ramblings of an adult autist. I love being creative and sharing my experiences with you. Subscribe to see more DIYs and Autism Discussions on your feed!

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Instagram: @woodshed_theory

Thumbnail was produced in Canva. B-Roll is also from Canva.

[shapeofsoup]

I think so many of us didn’t realize we were missing a community until we found this one. It’s amazing to feel understood and not utterly alone in our heads. And we want that for you and anyone else who wants to be here.

[CATISTIC]

I’ve been watching both of your channels for about a year. 53 yo self dx’d woman. I just adore you both! What a treat to open up YT and see your interview. ❤❤❤

[isabellammusic]

Yes! Finally you've talked to Amanda! I'm so inspired by her and I watch every video she posts. This conversation was very interesting and I got validation. I can relate to so much you are talking about. I feel like I found the people I need in my life who understand me. We support each other and I have something very important to focus on and it's advocacy. I'll keep talking about myself and Neurodivergence even though I get bored and listening to my own voice sometimes. Thank you so much for being transparent and honest!

[lauraburystedmundsyoga]

Thank you for letting us listen in on your chat! 💚

[lesliekarl]

I am so happy to have watched Amanda on Autistic People Talking! Love both of you! 😁🥰

[Pjolter]

Thank you for sheering Amanda. This was extremely validating and reflective! Best episode yet. You should have Amanda as a reoccurring guest often🙂. Thank you both for sharing about mental health too. It helps to reflect on my one challenges too!

[BlueRoseHelen]

Excellent conversation. Well worth the listen. Thank you both. 😊

[johnbillings]

I have total aphantasia so i can't visualize anything. I also have auditory hyperphantasia so I can recall audio clips, songs, etc. and have a built-in jukebox that i can control.

[kellyschroeder]

Awesome conversation!!! 💞💞👊👊. Thank you. So relate to not being able to draw stuff from mind. From a pic yes …..

[laurahale]

64 yr old here and YES I am mind blind. Thank you for enlightening me!!!!

[NeurodiverJENNt]

Claire! I love your mom! So cute that she wanted to watch you film porch coffee ❤

[lizbakeslemons]

I'm so grateful for both of you!! To hear adult women talk about their autistic experience is so healing after the years and years of me not knowing what was "wrong" with me 💛💛

[pensivelyreading]

I am self-diagnosed at 34 (I’m still uncomfortable and getting used to saying this because it’s still fresh for me). I’ve been watching for a couple months now and I really appreciate your videos. This conversation is full of so much to think about and so much that is relatable. Thank you for having these discussions!

[InterDivergent]

Yes, this visualisation in the brain thing - totally a metaphor... for something lol. I can't picture anything in my head. I do dream quite vividly, but when I'm awake there are certainly no pictures in my head. I can think of the idea of something, or the memory of something, but I cannot visually see it, unless I'm physically looking at a picture of it. Funny with the artistic side of things, I can totally copy a picture (but mainly only an animation, not shading so much): I can scale it up or down (and it'll be almost a carbon copy), but I cannot think up something new. The picture will then look like the idea of something, much like perhaps a 5 year old's drawing of a car or a house. I do have internal dialogue.

[TheCassierra]

Such a helpful, interesting discussion! Thank you both!

[milomrebloc]

Autistic People Talking is my favorite thing you put out because you do a great job as an interviewer and the discussion reveals more insights about your own experience. I would love to see you do more of those videos and even include some regular (non-influencer) interviewees. I really think you’re onto something here.

[avgirlaustintx]

I so relate to the agoraphobia conversation. I have my safe areas in the city that I am familiar with. I live right next to a big city and if I have to go out of my safe areas, I panic. Also I have to drive on back roads or certain roads I am familiar with (no highways). But I can get across the city this way - so if I have to go somewhere new, I drive to one of my safe areas I am familiar with first and then I figure out how to go to the new place. It will take me twice as long to get there but that's just how I roll...🙃

[zoevolpa]

Thank you both!! This was a really, really helpful and wonderful episode!!! 😊

[furisjourney]

I'm so glad you guys did this! Amanda - you were the first content creator I found myself relating to very much! Clare - you were the second content creator who really helped me figure out this AuDHD stuff! Love you both so much and I am so grateful! I was formally diagnosed in March with Autism at age 57. I have had the ADHD diagnosis for about 15 yrs. The interplay between the two diagnoses explains so much! ❤

[InterDivergent]

I've been to so many different doctors trying to figure out what was wrong for so so long. 20+ years. The amount of stress I had dealing with daily life had my body in knots with major stomach issues, food allergies etc. From Chinese herbal medicine to Indian Ayurvedic medicine, traditional doctors, Electroacupuncture, Acupuncture, ADHD meds, depression meds, blah blah blah. When someone tries to tell me "Have you tried..." it's like yeah I've tried everything, get lost. I've spent the better part of 20 years actively trying to figure out what's wrong with me (or perhaps rather what's different about me), until I got to Klinefelter Syndrome at 45yo and Autism at 46yo. How can it possibly take so long? The problem is that everyone was trying to treat individual symptoms. They were not considering everything as a whole. And still after my Autism self-identification people still question it like they know better. I did the online tests with my Son and the results are so incredibly different. I just cannot imagine how it is possible to get a 6 out of 28 (for example) compared to a 26 out of 28. Insane.