Catherine speaks to Sofia Akbar about her late autistic discovery. Sofia is a late diagnosed AuDHD single mum and secondary maths teacher. Her self discovery journey started from the trials of her oldest son's autism diagnosis, impacted by the trauma of (TW) domestic abuse and racial discrimination. She was recognised for her Support for Inclusive Learning by Scottish Asian Minority Ethnic Educators in 2022 and also won Small Business Award from Scottish Asian and Business Awards 2023...

Catherine speaks to Vanessa D’Souza AKA The Autistic Chef about her late autistic discovery. Vanessa is a MasterChef UK 2023 Semi-Finalist and National Autistic Society Celebrity Ambassador who runs a neuroaffirming instagram page where she shares sensory friendly feeding tips and recipes in order to make cooking accessible to everyone. 3 ways you can support the podcast and the work we do... Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, champion or partner and join our...

It's World Autism Acceptance Week, so we thought we'd bring you an extra special episode to celebrate someone who, through his advocacy work, books and his very presence, has made a significant difference to our Late Discovered Community - we're not sure that Pete really knows the difference he has made to helping others feel seen, heard and understood through his work, and his words as a best selling author and speaker. Pete was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 34 in 2017, and in this...

We're back for another season, and whilst Catherine is still climbing the breast cancer mountain, the top of that mountain is in sight, and this season will run until her treatment finishes in November 2024 with bi-weekly episodes for you to indulge in from now until then. First up in Season 3 is Dr Emma Svanberg - an award winning Clinical Psychologist, author of Parenting For Humans (Vermilion, 2 March 2023) founder of The Psychology Co-operative and co-founder of Make Birth Better CIC....

In this episode we are joined by Helen Hillman - a late discovered autistic woman, who made her autistic discovery whilst in therapy, and received her official diagnosis last year at the age of 28 after a long history of poor mental health.  Helen has suffered with anxiety all her life, which she thought was explained by a diagnosis of dyspraxia when she was 18. She had her first breakdown, and was diagnosed with generalised anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder at age...

In this episode we are joined by Kate Boot - a late discovered AuDHD Speech and Language Therapist, Sensory Integration Practitioner and Relationships and Sex Education Practitioner. Since qualifying, it’s fair to say that Kate has found herself on an authentic and original journey which has seen her lean into what she now understands, post discovery to be her autistic and ADHD strengths and identity. Kate talks openly and vulnerably in this episode about her own experiences, and of how she...

In this episode we are joined by Marsha Martin - a Behavioural Therapist and the Founder and CEO of Black SEN Mamas - a UK based national support group and informational hub, which aids Black mothers of special educational needs and disabled (SEND) children, in sourcing adequate mental health support for themselves and resources and provision, for their children, with currently over 1,000 mums strong and growing fast. Marsha talks about how initially autism was a thing of shame for her, to...

In this episode we are joined by Lucy Baena - a Mother, Writer & Birthkeeper. Throughout her life Lucy has been given an array of diagnosis the first at age 7 when she was diagnosed as Dyslexic. At 15 she discovered she was Epileptic and a month after her 38th birthday she received her Autistic diagnosis. Lucy has struggled with a variety of complex health (& many mis) diagnosis over her life and learning that she is Autistic has had a profound impact on her understanding of her...

In this episode we are joined by Jane Green MBE - an educationalist, former Assistant Headteacher, and former lead for autism education in all phases of education.  Jane is disabled, neurodivergent and an autistic parent carer for her eldest neurodivergent autistic adult non-binary child.  Jane is the Founder and Chair of SEDSConnective a multi-award, neurodivergent and symptomatic hypermobility user led and voluntary charity transforming neurodivergent health and wellbeing in a community...

In this episode we are joined Holly Smale - the internationally bestselling, award-winning author of the Geek Girl series, which has sold 3.4 million copies worldwide and is currently being adapted by Netflix. The Cassandra Complex, her adult debut, was the Reese's Book Club pick for June this year. She was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 39, and a lot of things suddenly made sense. Holly is a passionate advocate for neurodiversity and speaks and writes about it regularly.   Follow...

We're back! In this episode we are joined by Heidi Mavir - a public speaker, autistic advocate, author, podcaster and SEN parent. We explore so much in this episode from Heidi's late autism discovery in her mid 40's, menopause, grief, loss, self-identification, being an autistic parent of an autistic child, what it was like growing up without the knowledge of knowing that you are autistic and ADHD, and of course becoming a Sunday Times best selling author with her book 'Your Child is not...

CW - This episode talks about Catherine's recent diagnosis of breast cancer. Coppafeel Community Partner Join as a member or champion Buy us a coffee A BIG shout out to our Community Champions who are supporting the important work we do. Helen HillmanKay MathiesenKatherine Kowalski

In this episode we are joined by Laura Claxton - a comedy writer who has written gags for some of the biggest names and programmes in British Comedy. We explore Laura's late autism discovery as a 30 something woman, and her lifetime of struggles that she has never shared publicly, until now. Laura discovered very early on her life that if she could be 'the funny one' and make people laugh that she would be ok. Little did she know that her trauma response would see her decades later rapidly...

In this episode we are joined by Samar Waqar who describes discovering that she is autistic and ADHD in her 30’s a s life changing discovery. Samar's childhood was inherently spent knowing and believing within her heart that she was different, and her diagnosis served as validation for her - she could finally put her guard down. Or could she? She founded Kind Theory to cultivate acceptance, inclusion and celebration of neurodiversity, and her hope is to do it globally beyond the...

In this episode we are joined by Dr Anthea Cree who is a Clinical Oncologist in the NHS. Anthea is the first openly neurodivergent doctor in her organization, and has felt so alone. Anthea's openness at work about her neurodivergence saw her sharing her experiences in a video with her entire Royal College, although she confesses that it has caused much confusion about what to with her. Anthea recognizes that prior to her own late autism and ADHD, as a Doctor, she had no understanding at...

In this episode we are joined by Madge Woollard - a self-employed piano and keyboard teacher who has run their own successful business since 1994. A graduate of Cambridge University, where they were a Peterhouse college’s first female organ scholar. Madge currently works both privately and in schools, and now specializes in teaching neurodivergent students - diagnosed autistic in 2016 at age 44 after a lifetime of wondering why they felt so different, and since then has been passionate...

In this episode we are joined by Dr Rosie Baruah who is an NHS Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anesthesia in Scotland. Rosie has spoken publicly recently in a BBC Interview about her midlife discovery at 46, and her identity as a Late Discovered Autistic Female Doctor. Rosie is determined to further educate and advocate for autistic doctors, widen perceptions about 'what' an autistic doctor looks like, shining a light on the prejudice and challenges they face, and the benefits...

In this episode we are joined by Kirsty Cullen-Campanelli from LA in California who, at 38 years old, is very much at the beginning of her autistic self-discovery journey. We talk misophonia, invalidation, multiple diagnoses preceding her autistic late discovery, sobriety, trauma and the life changing and affirming moment for Kirsty of finding a health professional who understood her. We also talk about self-disclosure in Corporate America, the need for baseline accommodations in the...

Raven Gray is a primitive skills practitioner and experimental archaeologist, with more than 25 years’ experience in wilderness living and survival training.  Raven was 55 when she discovered that she is autistic, and comes on the show to talk vulnerably and publicly for the first time about her life as an undiscovered autistic woman and her journey to her autistic awakening.  The ugly duckling that wasn’t a swan, but actually a Raven, shares the impact of not knowing or understanding who...

Dr Kate West is an autistic and first-generation academic, author and autism activist. Kate read her DPhil (PhD) and MSc at the University of Oxford (funded by one of the UK’s most competitive academic scholarships) and her Law degree at the University of Edinburgh. She has been awarded various academic prizes and an international academic Fellowship. She is now Senior Lecturer in Visual Criminology at Oxford Brookes University. She comes on the show to shine a light on her late discovery...

We've compiled a 15 minute trailer with a couple of clips from S1 and S2 to give you a flavour of our show. Clip 1 - S2 EP1 Clip 2  - S1 EP11 Clip 3 - S1 Ep3 Clip 4 - S1 Ep12 Clip 5  - S1 EP14 3 ways you can support the podcast and the work we do... Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Buy us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠coffee.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the show A BIG shoutout to our Community Champions who are supporting the work we do: Helen Hillman Kay Mathiesen The Late...

Jennifer Crawford is a chef, pro-wrestler, and feeler of big feelings. They grew up in Nova Scotia’s beautiful Annapolis Valley, and after more than a decade in Toronto and winning MasterChef Canada in 2019, they're home again. When they’re not weaving challah in the kitchen, you might find them as Moon Miss in the wrestling ring at the Lion’s Club Arena, cooking for their experimental pro-wrestling supper club, or giving themselves brain freeze at the local ice cream stand.  At 40, they...

In this bonus episode of Season one we have compiled all the compassionate messages our guests would want to tell their younger selves, and we have new music by Allora from their new EP 'Don't Feel it All' with 'Mother'. We're back with Season 2 on 5th May. 3 ways you can support the podcast and the work we do... Become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Buy us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠coffee.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rate & review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the show A BIG shoutout to our Community Champions who are supporting the work we do: Helen...