Meet My Autistic Brain

Occupational therapy can empower autistics in our every day lives. Carolyn Gillen, an autistic occupational therapist working with neurodivergent women, breaks down how occupational therapy for autistic adults can help with: 
recognizing hunger, thirst, and nervous system signals your body may not flag clearly; 
navigating sensory processing that can swing between overwhelming and numb; 
advocating for yourself in a doctor's office when your pain doesn't match your expression;
making small, practical shifts you can actually use;
breaking burnout into function, not willpower;
how OT treats these as functional, fixable friction points in daily life, not personality flaws to correct.
She tells how to recognize a safe, supportive therapeutic space. She explains why coaching, burnout, and meditation might be worth a second look from an OT perspective. 
Find Carolyn at her website 
Contact page 

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Ranked #1 in FeedSpot's 40 Best Adult Autism Podcasts 
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help me continue making new episodes, you can become a member of the community on Patreon at patreon.com/theautisticwoman. You can even give a gift to someone who can benefit from learning more about autism. 
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
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You did everything you were supposed to do — showed up, did the homework, tried the techniques. And it left you feeling worse…or definitely not better. This episode gets into why standard talk therapy often misses autistic people and what a version built for our brains actually looks like.

Support the show
Ranked #1 in FeedSpot's 40 Best Adult Autism Podcasts 
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help me continue making new episodes, you can become a member of the community on Patreon at patreon.com/theautisticwoman. You can even give a gift to someone who can benefit from learning more about autism. 
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
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Ko-fi, PayPal, Patreon
Linktree
Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
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We autistics have a type of wealth, or capital, as a result of adapting, coping and growing as individuals with neurodivergent challenges. Essy Knopf, a therapist and author, has developed the Neurodivergent Cultural Wealth Framework, a valuable way to look at our neurodivergence. In this episode he explains what makes up the framework and how it enriches our lives with:
Self-Knowledge Capital
Adaptation Capital
Pattern Recognition Capital
Community Capital
Resistance Capital
Embodied Capital
Passion Capital
Identity Capital
Meaning-Making Capital
This framework goes beyond deficit views of autistics and neurodivergents and explains how we have developed forms of knowledge, adaptation, perspective, and wisdom that are often overlooked when attention is focused solely on those deficits. This framework gives us a whole new way of looking at our lives.
Website: https://www.essyknopf.com
Check out Essy's YouTube channel 
Essy on Instagram
New book: Unscramble Your Brain: A Neurodivergent Guide to Getting Things Done, Your Way  
Other books by Essy Knopf available at https://www.essyknopf.com and book retailers: 
Book: Unmasking: What We Lose by Pretending and How to Get It Back 
Neurodivergent Game Plan
Neurodivergent Game Plan: The Workbook
The Neuroaffirming Therapy Handbook
Unmasking
Nepo

Support the show
Ranked #1 in FeedSpot's 40 Best Adult Autism Podcasts 
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help me continue making new episodes, you can become a member of the community on Patreon at patreon.com/theautisticwoman. You can even give a gift to someone who can benefit from learning more about autism. 
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
Instagram
Ko-fi, PayPal, Patreon
Linktree
Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
Website

Season 12 is here with new episodes! Listen for a preview of what’s to come. 
Support the show
Ranked #1 in FeedSpot's 40 Best Adult Autism Podcasts 
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help me continue making new episodes, you can become a member of the community on Patreon at patreon.com/theautisticwoman. You can even give a gift to someone who can benefit from learning more about autism. 
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
Instagram
Ko-fi, PayPal, Patreon
Linktree
Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
Website

Self-help fails autistics but why? This episode reveals the not-so-obvious reason it can do more harm than good and provides some tips for what you can do instead. Hear it again.
Support the show
Ranked #1 in FeedSpot's 40 Best Adult Autism Podcasts 
RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1.3 million downloads!
If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help me continue making new episodes, you can become a member of the community on Patreon at patreon.com/theautisticwoman. You can even give a gift to someone who can benefit from learning more about autism. 
If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.
Instagram
Ko-fi, PayPal, Patreon
Linktree
Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
Website