Spark Launch: Neurodiversity Ignited

Mike and Chaya sit down with Sam Led, a distinguished ADHD coach, podcaster, and the author of "Beyond ADHD," to delve into the multifaceted nature of ADHD; exploring its implications not just for diagnosed individuals but for society at large. Sam brings a treasure trove of insights, from the pressures of conforming, to reframing the "noise" in our minds as a unique cognitive experience rather than a flaw.

We Also Cover:

• The Impact of Past Experiences
• Recognizing Emotional Contrasts for Balance
• Moving Beyond Rigid Strategies
• The Failure and Trauma of Punitive Education
• Empathy and Creativity
• Riding the Emotional Wave
• Accepting Your Inner Wisdom
• The Value of Suffering
• The Limitations of Conventional Coaching for ADHD

Quotes:

• "It is our inner self, which is so wise. It knows what to do, what not to do, who to trust, who not to trust. Just allow and drop into that space."
• "So we have to keep going, going and welcome those experiences because it'll teach us and we'll learn so much through those."
• "We're not living in the outside world. We're living in the experience of our inner world."
• "The glory of consciousness, conscious thought. You can change anything with one thought."
• "Because we are all Different and everybody has a right to have their opinion, including myself. But not letting that affect my own emotions has been my life journey."
• "ADHDers and neurodiverse have so often had their agency very much robbed from them by other people who've told them what they're capable of, what they're not capable of, what they should be doing."

About Sam Led:

Sam Led, coach, author of Beyond ADHD, and host of The Fearless Now podcast, helps clients worldwide via Zoom discover their innate intelligence and wisdom by taking their thinking less seriously. Through personalized coaching and online programs, Sam guides individuals with ADHD and neurodiversity to understand their minds, drawing on his experience in personal development, human behavior, spirituality, and intuitive gifts. His background includes studies at the University of South Florida and Nova Southeastern University, a graduate degree in conflict resolution, and expertise in change management, enabling him to effectively support clients recovering from setbacks and losses by helping them access insights beyond the "noise" of their thinking.

Connect with Sam:

• https://www.samledconsulting.com/
• https://www.samledconsulting.com/podcast
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/samledconsulting/
• https://www.facebook.com/samledconsulting/
• https://www.instagram.com/samled1111/
• https://www.tiktok.com/@samled1111
• https://www.youtube.com/c/samledconsulting

Related Reading:

• Beyond ADHD — Author Sam Led - Check out Sam's book!

As always, thanks for lending us your ears and keep igniting that spark!

Stay Connected:

• Website: https://sparklaunchpodcast.com/
• ADHD Learning Solutions: https://www.sparklaunch.org/
• Chaya on Instagram
• Mike on Instagram

We welcome "Head Boss Woman" Sophia Randall onto the show to share her personal journey of navigating an unkind corporate world, how she honed her neurodivergent traits to thrive, and the impact mirroring behaviors had on her mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

We Also Cover:

• Building Neuro-inclusive Work Environments
• Self-Acceptance and Leaning Into "Uniqueness"
• Fostering Empathy Among Employees
• Work-Life Balance When Neurodivergent
• The Toll Masking Has On Mental Health
• Setting Boundaries At Work And Home

Quotes:

• "When we talk about empathy, it's not just going to some training program and and just not a check mark that you get for yourself, but it's really about understanding the other person and how the other person operates"
• "We're not machines. We have beautiful minds and sometimes we need a little bit of a break to have maintenance work done.
• "I was a quiet rebel, I never spoke up, and I didn't know my own power, my own inner strength."
• "It's so important for the neurodivergent community to shut those negative comments off because they'll keep coming. It's up to us to build that that wall, that boundary, that fort around us, because we cannot control other people. We cannot control how people behave, but we have power within ourselves to move to an environment that respects us.

About Sophia Randall:

Sophia Randall is an adept professional with extensive experience in business and project management. Passionate about embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) principles into every facet of business management and leadership, she collaborates closely with stakeholders to translate overarching goals into practical, inclusive strategies. With a background in Professional Psychology, focusing on Industrial and Organizational Psychology, she addresses both the operational and human dimensions of organizations, creating a truly efficient workplace.

Connect With Sophia:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-randall-4b27578a/
• https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560183842872

As always, thanks for lending us your ears and keep igniting that spark!

Stay Connected:

• Website: https://sparklaunchpodcast.com/
• ADHD Learning Solutions: https://www.sparklaunch.org/
• Chaya on Instagram
• Mike on Instagram

We sit down with Navya Adhikarla, an autistic ADHDer who shares her story of social isolation and alienation both in the U.S. and India. Her lifelong struggle with identity, coupled with the roadblocks she experienced in education and business, led her to becom a champion of psychological safety and advocate for neurodiverse accommodations -- transitioning from invisibility to authenticity.

We Also Cover:

• Neurodiversity as a Workplace Asset
• The Complexities of Social Interaction
• Reclaiming Identity Beyond Societal Expectations
• Trust Through Vulnerability
• Self-Advocacy and Self-Efficacy
• Imposter Syndrome
• Culture Differences in Neurodiversity Awareness Between India and United States

Quotes:

• "And I guess that's that's the whole story of my life because I've been searching for so many things outside, but eventually, I end up creating them myself."
• "The thing that you're searching for is right inside you. It's just you. You don't have to go searching for it."
• "You truly want someone to hear you out and see you, and you don't want to be invisible."
• "I'm super scared about when I will find a place that will truly see me, truly cherish me for who I am and the skills I have, because I don't want to save my skills or capacities for anything. I want to utilize them to do something good."

About Navya Adhikarla:

An insatiably curious and innovative designer, Navya brings an interdisciplinary perspective to complex challenges. With an engineering degree and a Duke University Master’s in Engineering Management, she has experience in program management, go-to-market consulting, tech ethics research, IT consulting, and university leadership. Navya applies human-centered, inclusive design thinking to product, marketing, strategy, and accessibility projects. Her core values of integrity, empathy, courage, and hope guide her approach.

Connect with Navya:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/asnbhhanu5/
• https://navyaadhikarla.wordpress.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/half.cooked.artist/
• https://thefryingpansandflyingpuns.wordpress.com/

Related Reading:

• (Don’t) Look me in the Eye: The Challenge of Eye Contact – Psychological Safety - Guest Post by Navya

As always, thanks for lending us your ears and keep igniting that spark!

Stay Connected:

• Website: https://sparklaunchpodcast.com/
• ADHD Learning Solutions: https://www.sparklaunch.org/
• Chaya on Instagram
• Mike on Instagram

Chaya and Mike sit down with Mark Fister, CTO of Haystack Unlimited and proud ADHDer. Mark sheds light on the challenges that neurodivergent individuals face during the interview process and day-to-day job duties, what kind of necessary accommodations foster success, and how his company is building a supportive future for neurodiverse workers.

We Also Cover:

• The Double Empathy Problem
• The Myth of Social Incompatibility
• Innovation Within Neurodivergent Communities
• Psychological Safety in the Workplace
• Blind Recruiting and Unconscious Bias
• The Role of AI in Neurodiverse Accommodations
• Haystack Unlimited's Video Game for Job Recruitment

Quotes:

• "The fundamental problem is called unconscious human bias, which has served humans very well from an evolutionary perspective, but does not serve us well in 2024, nor will it serve us well onwards."
• "80% of autistic people are unemployed or underemployed."
• "They have strong deductive reasoning and sustained concentration. But over there in the job, they can't seem to do anything. They can't seem to cut butter with a with a butter knife. Why is that? There's more to this than meets the eye."
• "Connect those words, nonjudgmental and love. Maybe that's my favorite two words connected together."

About Mark Fister:

Mark Fister is a father and husband, executive, snowboarder, technologist, trail runner, speaker, canyoneer, author, investor, and terrible chess player. Mark loves to see business and technology from as many perspectives as possible. To wit, he has held 20 different roles in the software industry at companies like Dell, IBM, eBay, PayPal, and even his own company.

Recently, Mark has been learning about servant leadership. After interviewing over 100 people on the topic, he discovered he was on the autism spectrum, which brought clarity to his life. After some soul searching, he is now dedicated to ending joblessness for neurodivergents everywhere through previous work at Auticon and BeMe and now his own company, Haystack Unlimited.

Connect with Mark:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfister/

https://haystackhub.com/

https://servantleadershipconsulting.net/

https://www.theoctopusmovement.org/

Related Reading:

• Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective - A Game of Autistic Telephone

As always, thanks for lending us your ears and keep igniting that spark!

Stay Connected:

• Website: https://sparklaunchpodcast.com/
• ADHD Learning Solutions: https://www.sparklaunch.org/
• Chaya on Instagram
• Mike on Instagram

Mike and Chaya sit down with author J.D. Barker, known for his gripping suspense thrillers, who reveals how being on the autism spectrum has shaped his career. Discover how neurodiversity fuels creativity as he shares his journey from ghostwriter to NYT bestseller, his lifelong passion for storytelling, and how to find your own 'superpower'.

We Also Cover:

• The Importance of Supportive Relationships
• Later In Life Autism Diagnosis
• How Autistic Mirroring Aids in Ghostwriting
• Stepping Out of Comfort Zones
• The Influence of Neurodivergent Thinking on Plot Creation
• Finding Ways to Ground Yourself to Avoid Hyperfocus
• Nurturing Creative Outlets at an Early Age
• His Autism Advocacy
• Why AI Cannot Replicate the Human Experience

Quotes:

• "The more often I did something, as uncomfortable as it might be, like putting myself in a social situation, the easier it got."
• "I realized that I could take something that some people would see as a negative and basically turn it into a positive."
• "It takes a lot to walk away from one path, to get on your own path. It takes a lot of guts to do that."

About J.D. Barker:

J.D. Barker is the New York Times and international best-selling author of numerous novels, including DRACUL, the wildly popular 4MK series, and frequently collaborates with James Patterson. He began work as a book doctor and ghostwriter, helping others fine tune their writing for publication. He would continue in this profession until 2012 when he wrote a novel of his own, titled Forsaken. Stephen King read portions of Forsaken prior to publication and granted Barker permission to utilize the character of Leland Gaunt (of King’s Needful Things) in the novel. His books have been translated into two dozen languages, sold in more than 150 countries, and optioned for both film and television. Barker resides in coastal New Hampshire with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.

Connect with J.D.:

• https://jdbarker.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/therealjdbarker
• https://www.instagram.com/jdbarker_author/
• https://x.com/jdbarker
• https://www.tiktok.com/@jdbarker_author
• https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B005FCUYU4
• https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8224327.J_D_Barker
• https://www.youtube.com/@jdbarker_author/featured

As always, thanks for lending us your ears and keep igniting that spark!

Stay Connected:

• Website: https://sparklaunchpodcast.com/
• ADHD Learning Solutions: https://www.sparklaunch.org/
• Chaya on Instagram
• Mike on Instagram