The autistic culture podcast
Two accomplished and well-informed Autistics celebrate Autistic culture and Autistic contributions to society at large, in “The Autistic Culture Podcast.” *Bonus, Matt is a therapist who diagnosis and counsels Autistic people—so much good data!
We live in a world that consistently pathologies, and even demonizes, our hyperconnected brains instead of celebrating our unique perspectives and skillsets. People misunderstanding and devaluing our natural traits, makes it hard to see through the fog and observe who we actually are—which is pretty freakin’ awesome! Listening to Matt and Angela, feels like taking clear, deep breaths for the first time—I feel utterly seen and understood.
My favorite episodes include:
Episode 1: Welcome to Autistica — Meet your new best friends: Angela Lauria “The Linguistic Autistic,” and Matt Lowry, LPP.
Episode 13: Labels & Autism — Words matter!
Episode 15: Greta is Autistic — Our monotropic QUEEN! Greta exemplifies what Autistic minds are uniquely capable of doing.
Episode 23: Dimensions of Autistic Culture — Especially fun if you (like me) SpIn on cultural anthropology.
Episode 24: The Trouble With Temple — Hard to listen to some of this, but it’s important for understanding how we got to where we are.
Episode 25: The Legend of Autistica — Our Autistic origin story—so sweet. This one is especially great to share with kiddos.
Episode 30: Doctor Who is Autistic — Doctor Who is one of my SpIns and I totally vibed with Matt who talked so quickly and excitedly about the Doctor—it felt like a conversation with a great friend! I especially enjoyed hearing Matt so earnestly keep the conversation smack-bang on the Doctor—he would not be sidetracked by a tangent—and I totally get it! Yay SpIns!
Understanding autism as a culture is not only important for helping identified Autistics feel pride in their specialist brains, but it’s also vital for helping people who have been misdiagnosed or unidentified to find their true identity. If you are questioning if you might be one of us, then give this podcast a listen. If it feels like coming home, you’re probably in the club. Welcome, you belong!
This show is riddled with amazing quotes, but I picked this gem from, “Episode 7: Apple is Autistic,” to share:
Angela: “And it’s part of what makes Autistic culture have some of the greatest contributions to humanity, like the touchless…the magic touch-screens of Apple! (laughter)
Matt: “Exactly. Exactly. Because you can’t half-ass a revolution and changing the world.”
So true, best friends. So true.