Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, we explore the variety of neurodiversity.
I've been staying with friends over the past few weeks, including Lucas, who is nearly 12. He is autistic, and after spending time trawling through the Gentle Rebel Podcast episode archive, we had a chat about topics he thought would be good to explore.
One of those topics was what he described as "the variety of neurodiversity". When I asked what that meant to him and why he felt it was important to discuss, he said it's important to realise that not all neurodivergent people have the same needs or preferences.
It can be frustrating for him when people make assumptions because of his autism, confusing one person's experience as being true and applicable to everyone.
Timestamps
03:52 Can you remember a time when someone assumed something about you because you were autistic? What did they get wrong?
04:46 What do people tend to misunderstand most about autistic people?
05:35 Have people ever tried to help you in a way that actually made things harder? What did they do?
06:51 Do you know autistic people who are very different from you? How are they different?
07:40 Have you ever felt like you're not autistic in the right way? If so, what makes you say that?
08:42 If you could design the perfect school or learning environment for yourself, what would it include? And what would it not include?
10:44 Do you think other autistic people would want exactly the same things? Why or why not?
12:48 What is something important about you that has nothing to do with autism?
13:58 The Spirit of The Cheese
16:03 If someone met you for five minutes, what would they probably get wrong about you?
17:48 What do you wish people cared more about?
19:17 If someone gives you advice, how do you decide whether it will work for you?
20:44 Have you ever been told "this works for autistic people" and thought, well, not for me? If so, what was it?
21:48 Why do you think people like having a single answer that applies to everybody?
Share your own responses to these questions: the-haven.co/neurodiversity-survey
Get in touch: the-haven.co/contact
Full notes: the-haven.co/variety-of-neurodiversity
In this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast, we explore the variety of neurodiversity.
I've been staying with friends over the past few weeks, including Lucas, who is nearly 12. He is autistic, and after spending time trawling through the Gentle Rebel Podcast episode archive, we had a chat about topics he thought would be good to explore.
One of those topics was what he described as "the variety of neurodiversity". When I asked what that meant to him and why he felt it was important to discuss, he said it's important to realise that not all neurodivergent people have the same needs or preferences.
It can be frustrating for him when people make assumptions because of his autism, confusing one person's experience as being true and applicable to everyone.
Timestamps
03:52 Can you remember a time when someone assumed something about you because you were autistic? What did they get wrong?
04:46 What do people tend to misunderstand most about autistic people?
05:35 Have people ever tried to help you in a way that actually made things harder? What did they do?
06:51 Do you know autistic people who are very different from you? How are they different?
07:40 Have you ever felt like you're not autistic in the right way? If so, what makes you say that?
08:42 If you could design the perfect school or learning environment for yourself, what would it include? And what would it not include?
10:44 Do you think other autistic people would want exactly the same things? Why or why not?
12:48 What is something important about you that has nothing to do with autism?
13:58 The Spirit of The Cheese
16:03 If someone met you for five minutes, what would they probably get wrong about you?
17:48 What do you wish people cared more about?
19:17 If someone gives you advice, how do you decide whether it will work for you?
20:44 Have you ever been told "this works for autistic people" and thought, well, not for me? If so, what was it?
21:48 Why do you think people like having a single answer that applies to everybody?
Share your own responses to these questions: the-haven.co/neurodiversity-survey
Get in touch: the-haven.co/contact
Full notes: the-haven.co/variety-of-neurodiversity
