The Squarepeg Podcast

Suzanna Chen was born in China and raised in Vancouver, Canada from the age of 9. She was diagnosed autistic in her final year of high school. She is now 18 and an undergraduate student at University College London in the UK.

Standing at the intersection of gender, racial, and ability minorities, she is passionate about advocating for the overlooked intersectionality of social justice issues. She writes for popular student magazine The Tab, and is a staff writer at the youth-led advocacy publication Detester Magazine, a non-profit platform dedicated to amplifying Black, Indigenous, and People of Color youth activism on social and political issues.Alongside the Learn from Autistics platform, Detester are currently collecting research for a book on autistic youth/young adult advocacy for inclusion in all areas of society, with particular emphasis on the intersection of disability and race.

In our conversation we talk about:

➡ Cultural attitudes to autism, disability and mental health in Chinese communities

➡ Sharing her autism diagnosis with her school, teachers and peers in Canada

➡ Coming to terms with her new identity

➡ Accessibility for autistic students

➡ The intersectionality of autism, gender, race and ability

Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes.

I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit.

EPISODE LINKS:

Suzanna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzannachen8/

The survey: https://forms.gle/bR8QChdjxrm19hw78

Detester Magazine’s website: https://detester.org/index.html

https://www.learnfromautistics.com/ (Learn from Autistics - the other organisation involved in the book project)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSPyvdkpr0S/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (Detester’s social media post about the survey)

Suzanna’s autistic freshers article: https://thetab.com/uk/london/2021/10/05/how-im-navigating-or-trying-to-survive-freshers-as-an-autistic-ucl-student-42123

The sunflower lanyard scheme: https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/about-hidden-disabilities-sunflower

If you'd like to connect or get in touch with Squarepeg, you can find me on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/

Or on my website: https://squarepeg.community/

THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast:

Abi Hunter, Amy Adler, Amy-Beth Mellor, Abigail J Moore, Ben Davies, Benita Borchard-Thierbach, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Cindy Bailey, Corinne Cariad, Danielle Warby, Elise, Jackie Allen, Jeff Goldman, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine Lynch, Lilli Simmons, Mandy Allen, Pete Burke, Rebecca Kemp, Susan Millington, Tree Hall, Una Walkenhorst, Vera Cady, Vicki Temple and Victoria Routledge.

If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from just £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast

Maisie Soetantyo is the founder of a nonprofit with a mission to improve employment prospects for autistic jobseekers and aspiring business owners.

Now an openly autistic advocate and inclusivity trainer, she has been working with neurodivergent people since her undergraduate studies in 1991, but it would be many years before some of her clients started suggesting that she might be autistic, too.

A former Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) practitioner, she moved away from ABA after realising that supporting her client's authenticity as autistic individuals should be the goal. She set up Autism Career Pathways in San Francisco, USA in 2019, and now works to foster a meaningful understanding and acceptance of an autism diagnosis as a unique pathway to self advocacy and a fulfilling life.

In our conversation we talk about:

➡ Her experiences growing up with learning difficulties and processing disorders in a neurodivergent family

➡ Her thoughts on autism and employment, and how our special interests and even our stims can hold the key to what we should be doing with our lives.

➡ Her experiences as an ABA practitioner, how her thinking has evolved, and the work she now does to support autistic people.

Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes.

I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit.

EPISODE LINKS:

Maisie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisiesoetantyo/

Autism Career Pathways website: https://autismcareerpathways.org/

Her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maisie-soetantyo/

If you'd like to connect or get in touch with Squarepeg, you can find me on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/

Or on my website: https://squarepeg.community/

THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast:

Abi Hunter, Adam Klager, Amy Adler, Amy-Beth Mellor, Anika Lacerte, Annette, Becky Beasley, Ben Davies, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Cindy Bailey, Clare Forrest, Clare Holmes, Corinne Cariad, Dana Bradley, Danielle Warby, Dennis McNulty, Elizabeth Williams, Erica Kenworthy, Erin Pineapple, Ewan McNeill, Fiona Connor, Galina, Gwyneth, Hannah Breslin, Heather Peake, Hegatronix, Jackie Allen, JF, Jayne Hutchinson, Jeff Goldman, Jen Bartlett, Julie, Katarzyna Tomaszewska, Kate and Kathryn, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine Lynch, Kenneth Knowles, Laura, Laurencia Saenz Benavides, Lea Li, Leo Ricketts, Lilli Simmons, Linda Brown, Liz, LQ, Lyb, Mandy Allen, Marjory Webber, Martine, Melissa Shaw, Meredith L. Freyre, MN, Paul Harris, Pete Burke, Rebecca, Rebecca Biegel, Rebecca Kemp, Sadie Slater, Sarah Cottrell, Sarah Jeffery, Sarah Ivinson, Sarah Swanton, Shauna Schramke, Suzanna Chen, Suzanne, Talia's Nature, Tammie Fabien, Tamsen Staniford, Tegan Bailey, Tessa Valyou, Tree Hall, Vic Wiener, Vicki Temple, Victoria Chang, Victoria Routledge, Zephyrine Craster and Zoe Lee.

If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast

Marisa Hamamoto is a leading voice in disability inclusion, professional dancer and founder of Infinite Flow, an award-winning dance company and nonprofit that employs disabled and nondisabled dancers with a mission to create a more inclusive world, one dance at a time.

Marisa is a stroke survivor, and a proud fourth-generation Japanese American. She was diagnosed autistic in 2022, which she describes as bringing a mixture of ‘Relief and confusion’ - being a seasoned leader and ally in the physical disability space, then discovering she was autistic and working out what that means for her and for her company.

In our conversation we talk about:

➡ Why she set up an inclusive dance company

➡ Examining own ableism/internalised ableism

➡ Being a visible Asian-American autistic, intersectional representation and stigma

➡ Her positivity around being autistic

➡ Her experience of lifelong social challenges, and how she’s found belonging and social connection through dance

➡ Physical and invisible disabilities, autism and whether we identify as disabled

Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes.

I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit.

EPISODE LINKS:

Marisa’s website: https://www.marisahamamoto.com/

Her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marisahamamoto/

Infinite Flow website: https://www.infiniteflowdance.org/

Infinite Flow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infiniteflowdance/

If you'd like to connect with me, get in touch or follow Squarepeg, you can find me on:

Website: https://squarepeg.community/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/

THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast:

Abby, Abi Hunter, Adam Klager, Alice Kemp, Amanda Ford, Amy Adler, Amy-Beth Mellor, Anika Lacerte, Annette, Becky Beasley, Ben Davies, Carly Melling, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Charlotte Keen, Cindy Bailey, Corinne Cariad, Dana Bradley, Danielle Warby, Deborah Cullinan, Dennis McNulty, Elizabeth Williams, Erica Kenworthy, Evgeniia Pupysheva, Ewan McNeill, Fiona Connor, Fiona Ross, Frederike, Galina, Grace, Gwyneth, H Arena, Hannah Breslin, Heather Peake, Hegatronix, Jackie Allen, Jayne Hutchinson, Jeff Goldman, Jen Bartlett, Jo, Julie, Katarzyna Tomaszewska, Kate and Kathryn, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine, Katherine Lynch, Ken K, Laura, Leo Ricketts, Lesley McKenzie, Lilli Simmons, Linda Brown, Lisa, Lisa Joy Powley, Liz, LQ, Lyb, Mandy Allen, Marjory Webber, Martine, Melissa Shaw, Meredith L. Freyre, Monica Toohey, NC, Pete Burke, Rebecca, Rebecca Biegel, Sadie Slater, Sandy Ladkin, Sarah Ivinson, Sarah Jeffrey, Sarah Raine, Sarah Swanton, Shauna Schramke, Stefan Mundt, Suzanne, Talia's Nature, Tammie Fabien, Tamsen Staniford, Tara Blue Meyer, Tara Finlay Art, Tessa Valyou, Vic Wiener, Vicki Temple, Wendy Walker, Zephyrine Craster and Zoe Lee.

If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast

Naomi Clarke is a freelance writer, community mentor, fundraiser and Human Design reader.

She self diagnosed as autistic around two years ago, but due to inequality in the medical system has so far not been able to get a formal diagnosis.

She describes herself as an autistic, queer, mixed race person with two children (one of her sons was diagnosed autistic 5 years ago).

She wears a lot of hats in her life; she writes for work and for personal interest, and is passionate about building lives outside of the system of mainstream schooling. Until very recently she was running a self directed learning community for home educated young people in London. She loves crafts like sewing, crochet, and knitting, and her current main special interests are Human Design and kink and BDSM.

She says that she is still finding her autistic identity and overcoming some internalised ableism, which is often made much worse by struggling to see Black and POC autistic people in spaces of influence.

In our conversation we talk about:

➡ Finding community as an intersectional autistic person

➡ The issue of safety for unmasked autistic Black and people of colour

➡ The challenges of making self-directed learning communities accessible for neurodivergent children and facilitators

➡ How Human Design has helped her understand herself and other people better

➡ Why the kink and BDSM community can be a safe space for autistic people to explore their sexuality

Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes.

I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit.

EPISODE LINKS:

Naomi's Instagram: www.instagram.com/_naomi.clarke_

If you'd like to connect or get in touch with Squarepeg, you can find me on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/

Or on my website: https://squarepeg.community/

THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast:

Abi Hunter, Adam Klager, Amy Adler, Amy-Beth Mellor, Anika Lacerte, Annette, Becky Beasley, Ben Davies, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Cindy Bailey, Clare Forrest, Clare Holmes, Corinne Cariad, Dana Bradley, Danielle Warby, Dawn Trevellion, Dennis McNulty, Elizabeth Williams, Erica Kenworthy, Erin Pineapple, Fiona Connor, Galina, Gwyneth, Hannah Breslin, Jackie Allen, JF, Jayne Hutchinson, Jeff Goldman, Jen Bartlett, Julie, Katarzyna Tomaszewska, Kate and Kathryn, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine Lynch, Kenneth Knowles, Laura, Laurencia Saenz Benavides, Lea Li, Leo Ricketts, Lilli Simmons, Linda Brown, Liz, LQ, Lyb, Mandy Allen, Marjory Webber, Martine, Melissa Shaw, Meredith L. Freyre, MN, Paul Harris, Pete Burke, Rebecca Biegel, Rebecca Kemp, Sarah Cottrell, Sarah Jeffery, Sarah Ivinson, Sarah Swanton, Suzanna Chen, Suzanne, Tammie Fabien, Tamsen Staniford, Tegan Bailey, Tessa Valyou, Tree Hall, Vic Wiener, Vicki Temple, Victoria Chang, Victoria Routledge, Zephyrine Craster and Zoe Lee.

If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast

Helen Evans is Chief Executive of the PDA Society. She was diagnosed autistic aged 39 in October 2020, two years after her son, who has a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile. She grew up in South London, and now lives in Oxfordshire.

From 2012 to 2015 Helen was Global Head of Safeguarding at Oxfam, and tried to get the organisation to tackle issues of systemic sexual abuse perpetrated by Oxfam workers. After speaking publicly about the issue and giving evidence to MPs and the Charity Commission, she was awarded Whistleblower of the Year in 2019. Since leaving Oxfam in 2015 she has been CEO of two neurological condition charities, and was appointed CEO of the PDA Society in July 2021.

In our conversation we talk about:

➡ What the PDA profile is

➡ Having a strong sense of social justice

➡ Dealing with invisible sensory struggles, face blindness and meltdowns

➡ Workplace socialising and the work environment, and being openly autistic at work

➡ Maintaining friendships as an autistic adult

➡ Navigating systems as a neurodivergent parent

Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes.

I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit.

EPISODE LINKS:

PDA Society website: https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/

Helen's LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-evans-0357832/

If you'd like to connect or get in touch with Squarepeg, you can find me on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/

Or on my website: https://squarepeg.community/

THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast:

Abigail J Moore, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Corinne Cariad, Elise, Jackie Allen, Jessica, Karawynn Long, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine Lynch, Laurie Green, Lea Li, Lilli Simmons, Pete Burke, Tree Hall, Vera Cady and Vicki Temple.

If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from just £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast