Welcome to This Week in Autistic Culture
Welcome to another edition of This Week in Autistic Culture, our Sunday magazine podcast that brings together the stories, conversations and ideas shaping Autistic culture each week.
This week, Angela and Simon turn their attention to Channel 4 documentary The Great ADHD Myth and the backlash it has received from the ADHD community. They discuss its claims around diagnosis and medication, the decision to centre the experiences of a ten-year-old boy, and what happens when mainstream media tells stories about neurodivergent people without meaningfully including the communities at the centre of them.
Simon also reflects on his own experience of ADHD medication, from finding the right dose to the difference it has made to his life, as Angela and Simon explore the wider narratives around overdiagnosis, masking and the idea that people must be visibly struggling for their neurodivergence to be considered legitimate.
As always, we’ll also take you through everything coming up across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network this week, including the launch of The Still Growing Up Film Club, a new Mindful Mondays, Autistic Menopause and plenty more from across the network.
Plus, we head to the Community Notice Board for books, events and opportunities from across the wider Autistic community.
🎧 Start Here: Autistic Culture Radio
Looking for a different way to experience ACPN? Autistic Culture Radio is our curated Spotify listening experience, blending music with every programme released across the Autistic Culture Podcast Network.
Updated daily, each episode is paired with carefully chosen songs inspired by its themes, creating a continuous soundtrack to Autistic culture. Save the playlist to your Spotify library and dip in whenever you want to discover new conversations, music and voices from across the network.
📻 On Air This Week:
Sunday 30th August
Info Dump – Episode 5: Microtonal Music
Dr Lillian Hearn joins Hannah Brockway for a fascinating introduction to the world of microtonal music, exploring the sounds, scales and tuning systems that exist beyond the notes most of us hear every day.
Together they discuss how microtonal music is written and performed, why musicians are drawn to these alternative ways of thinking about sound, and the surprising connections between music, mathematics and synaesthesia.
Monday 31st August
Mindful Mondays with Ashley Dupuy
Ashley returns with another mindful reflection and guided meditation to help neurodivergent listeners begin the week with intention and regulation.
NEW SHOW - The Still Growing Up Film Club - Episode 1: How to Have an Amazing Day Off with Ferris Bueller's Day Off
In the first episode of The Still Growing Up Film Club, Cece Fanning revisits the 1986 coming-of-age classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the lessons hidden inside one unforgettable day of playing hooky.
Through Ferris, Cameron and Sloane’s adventure across Chicago, Cece explores spontaneity, friendship, anxiety, masking and the pressure we can put on ourselves to make everything go according to plan.
Tuesday 1st September
Autistic Menopause - Episode 3: The Autistic Body In Menopause
In this episode, Sam Galloway (she/her) examines the profound physical impact of menopause on the neurodivergent body.
From severe dry eye syndrome, sensory hypersensitivity and chronic pain to sleep disruption, premenstrual dysphoria disorder (PMDD), temperature dysregulation, bladder changes, fatigue and mobility challenges, she explores how hormonal changes can transform everyday life.
Wednesday 2nd September
Rethinking Autism Therapy - Episode 4: Is DIRFloortime® Right for You? with Dr Kathy Platzman
In this final episode of the Rethinking Autism Therapy mini-series, Daria Brown is joined by clinical developmental psychologist and DIRFloortime® Expert and Training Leader Dr Kathy Platzman to explore how the DIR® model can support autistic adults, late-diagnosed individuals, and anyone seeking greater self-understanding, self-advocacy, and emotional growth.
Two Mics No Masking - Episode 8: Liberated Parenting
In the final episode of season 1 of Two Mics, No Masking, Katie Scott and Jenna Goldstein are joined by Shubha Bala, Media Justice advocate, to explore what parenting looks like when the goal shifts from helping children fit in to helping them be understood.
Thursday 3rd September
The Neurodivergent Experience - Episode 126
Jordan James and Simon Scott return for a conversation about the Neurodivergent Experience!
📚 From the Archive - Friday 4th September
Autistic Culture Podcast Rewind – Chess is Autistic
Rewind with an Autistic Culture Podcast classic! Dive into the timeless world of chess - a game woven deeply into Autistic culture. Through the story of legendary chess player Bobby Fischer and the Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit, the hosts explore why this game resonates so strongly with the Autistic community.
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📌 Community Noticeboard
The Community Noticeboard is your space to share what’s happening across autistic culture. Whether you’re launching a book, hosting an event, releasing a podcast, starting a creative project, celebrating a milestone, or simply have something you’d like the community to know about, we’d love to hear from you.
Send your announcements, links and updates to autisticculturepodcast@gmail.com, and we’ll feature as many as we can in a future edition of This Week in Autistic Culture.
This Week’s Topics
The Great ADHD Myth? Review – the most controversial show of the year is here
There is nothing scientific about The Great ADHD Myth? ‘documentary’ -
Books & research
Different Minds Online Book Launch - Pete Wharmby - Thursday, September 3rd - 8 to 9 pm - Free
Events
Autistic Burnout, Psychosis, and the Ecology of Distress - David Gray-Hammond - Monday, August 31st - 6 to 7.30pm - £5.60
Burnout, Masking and The Body: A Somatic Lens On ND Burnout with Octavia Landy- Onlinevents - Wednesday, September 2nd - 6 to 8pm - By donation
Polyvagal Purrs: Rescue Cat Inspired Self Care for Trauma and AuDHD with Eve Menezes Cunningham - Onlinevents - Saturday, September 5th - 10am to 12pm - By donation
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Have a Show Idea?
The Autistic Culture Podcast Network is always looking for new voices and new perspectives.
If you have an idea for a podcast grounded in Autistic lived experience, culture, identity, advocacy, creativity, or special interests, we’d love to hear from you.
Apple Podcasts played "Dino nuggets are Autistic" yesterday when I was at the "Neurodivergent Experience" / Autistic Culture Central place.
I had intentionally wanted to listen to "Microtonal" - which was really fascinating; even the mathematics that I don't necessarily understand {music makes them easier; so does this Wikipedia table which shows the frequencies and amplitudes involved}.
And the FERRIS BUELLER {Still Growing Up Moviecast}! 40 years and more and I had never ever seen Mr Bueller and his friends - the most I had learnt of them was through Quart's BRANDED.
Was reading through some classic chess columns and plays. It was my grandfather as well as my uncle Bill who knew chess really well - Uncle Bill was fearsomely competitive! So the cousins knew chess really well.
Maman's side of the family were at least chess-curious and when I became chess-curious in my turn [1991] it was Maman who taught me.
Grandad had lots of chess books - it was his second favourite sport - along with golf. And, yes, I did read those books.
Ten years later I did join a chess club very briefly. Very relaxed and fun and filled a hole in my Wednesdays and Thursdays.
LIBERATED PARENTING is awesome. Helping children to be UNDERSTOOD is a joy forever; fitting in osciliates and is constantly changing.
So the birthday party Reddit was this week? or was it last week? Because again being on Apple Podcasts with the days being relative rather than absolute...
[If you have 31 people at your party - at least ONE - and hopefully more than one - WILL be Autistic].
[and I was watching a gardening programme and another one about Portrait Artist of the Year].