Autistic hosts, Dr. Angela Lauria and Matt Lowry, LPP, with Andralyn Zayn: Autistic circus producer, director, performer, fitness educator, and dog mom. Andralyn was recently identified as Autistic after seeing TikTok videos from autistic women she could relate to. This led her down a "rabbit hole" of researching autism and eventually getting assessed and professionally diagnosed.
Andralyn has been doing circus for over 20 years. Her specialty is sitting on her husband's feet while he juggles her. She met her husband online using a very Autistic dating profile.
“And in my online dating profile, I put specifically that I'm looking for somebody to juggle me with their feet and travel around the world. And I'm like, if that's not you, cool, we can hang out. Let's go for coffee…But it's not going to go anywhere.” —Andralyn
In the process of making a documentary about autistic circus performers, Andralyn's health severely declined. She has multiple conditions including polycystic kidney disease and POTS—which went undiagnosed for years. This caused extreme pain and fatigue, forcing her to stop most activities. After finally getting diagnosed and receiving some treatment, she is slowly returning to teaching and performing again.
“But again, so few doctors put the pieces together like that. And especially for female presenting people, just say, oh, yeah, it's all in your head. Just go home and ‘be a man’ about it.” —Matt
Podcast hosts, Angela and Matt, discuss how proprioceptive/vestibular stimulation attracts many autistic adults and children to circus arts. They also talk about the intense special interests and Flow states that allow intense training for hours on end. However, this can lead to ignoring bodily signals and burnout.
“Or just having value without producing—which like all of capitalism tells everyone is not true. And then add being autistic and it's times 1,000.” —Angela
Andralyn's journey illustrates the ableism many autistics face, which leads them to pushing themselves to unhealthy levels of productivity—to ‘make up for’ being Autistic. Her story provides an important model for learning to understand neurological and physical differences in order to create a sustainable lifestyle.
Did Autistic identification lead you to realizing that you have a chronic illness/disorder? Or vise versa?
Wikipedia: Risley (circus act)
Andralyn’s Instagram
Andralyn’s Facebook
TACP Instagram
Matt’s FB group: Autistic Connections Facebook Group
Autism-affirming TeePublic merch shop
*Note: Transcription technology is still new on this platform. We are aware of the gaps and errors in the transcript and are dedicated to editing it for accuracy as soon as the new technology allows. We appreciate your patience as we work to expand accessibility as quickly as we are able.
**TACP recognizes that ABA for autism is harmful to Autistic mental health. We reject the use of ABA therapy and pathologizing language like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and associated functioning labels. To learn more, please listen to: Episode 20: Sesame Street is Autistic and Episode 24: The Trouble with Temple Grandin.
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