The Neurodivergent Experience

In this week’s Mindful Mondays, Ashley Bentley explores the quiet emotional weight that December so often brings - especially for neurodivergent nervous systems. Through gentle storytelling, neuroscience, and ND-affirming insight, she unpacks why this season can feel overwhelming: the sensory demands, disrupted routines, family dynamics, social expectations, and the tender ache of loneliness that December can amplify.Ashley reframes exhaustion as the body’s boundary, loneliness as an emotional truth, and overwhelm as a physiological response rather than a personal failing. The episode includes a Bite-Sized Buddhism reflection on dukkha, a Microdosing Meaning moment for gentle re-framing, and a winter landscape meditation to help listeners find warmth, softness, and inner steadiness in a demanding season.A compassionate companion for anyone feeling stretched thin, out of sync, or quietly overwhelmed this December.❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodesOur Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott react to a recent article claiming dogs can be “autistic” — and unpack why this framing misunderstands both animals and neurodivergence. They discuss how natural behaviours in animals get mislabelled as “autistic traits,” why deficit-based language harms autistic people, and how ableist assumptions shape research across species.Together, they explore:How research bias leads to fear-based language like “risk” and “behavioural problems”Why neurodivergence is a natural evolutionary advantage, not a deficitThe danger of reinforcing stereotypes (e.g., “cats are autistic,” “hyper dogs are ADHD”)Why splitting neurodivergence into strict labels misses the bigger pictureHow science goes wrong when it assumes autism is a negative traitThe importance of autistic-led insight in neurodivergent researchThis is a funny, fiery, and thought-provoking take on what happens when good intentions collide with bad science — and why autistic voices must guide any conversation about neurodivergence, no matter the species.Our Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott share a warm, funny, and deeply relatable account of their weekend in Liverpool — a true neurodivergent experience of travel, routine disruption, sensory differences, social energy, and feeling safe with the right people. From road-trip anxiety and hyperfocus preparation to navigating cities, accents, crowds, and new environments, they reflect on what makes travel hard for autistic and ADHD adults — and what makes it easier when you’re with someone who understands your needs without judgment.They explore how their friendship works so well: no masking, no pressure to perform, no expectations to “join in,” just mutual understanding, space to stim or decompress, and the comfort of being fully themselves in each other’s homes.Together, Jordan and Simon discuss:Travel anxiety, catastrophising, and the power of preparationHow hyperfocus can override fear and create excitementWhy immersive, paced environments feel more accessible for ND peopleEcholalia, accents, dialects and how ND communication shifts by environmentEating routines, interoception issues, and the pressure of being a “guest”Navigating other people’s homes and maintaining boundariesWhy ND people need autonomy, quiet time, and freedom to roamUnmasking safely and what it means to be welcomed “as you are”This lighthearted, genuine episode captures the everyday realities of neurodivergent living — the joy, the challenges, the humour, and the deep relief of finding people who get you. A comforting, relatable listen for anyone seeking ND community.Our Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

In this week’s Mindful Mondays, Ashley Bentley begins December with one of the most transformative practices in meditation - Loving-Kindness, or Metta - a heart-centred practice that played a pivotal role in her own healing during one of the most difficult winters of her life.In this deeply reflective episode, Ashley shares how she first encountered loving-kindness meditation during a period marked by isolation, burnout, chronic illness, and profound emotional fatigue. She explores why this ancient practice is uniquely powerful for the neurodivergent nervous system - how cultivating genuine feelings of warmth, compassion, and connection can shift us from protection into regulation, soften old emotional narratives, and create real physiological change.Listeners will learn about the heart-based science behind metta, how this practice supports emotional resilience and nervous system safety, and why it so often brings unexpected breakthroughs and healing tears.This episode also includes a short, grounding Loving-Kindness meditation, guided with trauma-sensitive care and designed to meet each listener exactly where they are.If December feels heavy, lonely, or overwhelming, this practice offers a gentle place to rest.And later this month, Ashley will revisit metta in a very special Self-Love episode—closing the year with compassion, softness, and deep inner nourishment.❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodesOur Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott respond to shocking recent comments from Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice — whose claims about “overdiagnosis,” ear defenders, and SEND support reveal just how dangerously out of touch his party is with neurodivergent realities. They break down Tice’s statements about “too many labels,” “overdiagnosed children,” and the idea that SEND support should be pushed back onto already-burnt-out schools. Jordan and Simon explore why this rhetoric isn’t just ignorant — it’s harmful, ableist, and deeply rooted in a political movement that treats disabled children as a financial burden rather than human beings.Across the episode, they dive into:Why claims of “overdiagnosis” are factually wrong — and why autism and ADHD remain massively underdiagnosedThe danger of framing neurodivergent support as “optional” or “too expensive”How right-wing parties in the UK and US mirror each other in attacking disabled communitiesWhy ear defenders, sensory tools, and accommodations matter — and what it means when politicians publicly mock themThe long history of autistic people driving innovation, science, technology, art, and cultureHow austerity politics weaponise public ignorance about neurodivergenceWhy dismissing assessments, EHCPs, and support plans harms every child, not just SEND studentsWhat happens when politicians shape policy around stigma instead of science and lived experienceThis is a fiery, unapologetic episode about the real political threat facing autistic and ADHD people — and why our community cannot stay silent when elected officials target disabled children to score votes.Our Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott look back at five years since the COVID-19 lockdown — and how that period reshaped society, mental health, and the lives of autistic and ADHD adults.With honesty, humour, and emotional depth, they revisit the fear, isolation, shifting rules and political failures of 2020, and how lockdown exposed their neurodivergence in unexpected ways. They share how regression, unmasking, burnout, identity loss and relationship strain collided with a world in crisis — and how many neurotypical people began showing traits often associated with autism and ADHD.They explore how lockdown changed behaviour, communication, social skills, empathy and online culture — and how those long-term effects are still shaping autistic and ADHD lives today.Together, Jordan and Simon discuss:How lockdown triggered autistic burnout, regression, and forced unmaskingWhy do so many neurotypical people develop “autistic-coded” traits during isolationThe collapse of social norms, empathy, boundaries, and patience post-lockdownThe rise of selfishness, social withdrawal, and digital dependencyThe emotional impact on teens of losing key developmental yearsHow family dynamics shifted for better and worseWhy remote work has transformed accessibility for neurodivergent peopleThis is a reflective, raw, and deeply human conversation about the way lockdown reshaped us — individually and collectively — and why neurodivergent people felt those shifts more intensely than anyone.Our Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Your brain is constantly switching between two modes of knowing: the left hemisphere’s precision and prediction, and the right hemisphere’s intuition and imagination. Between them lies the tender space where narrative forms — and where regulation becomes possible.In this episode, we explore how these two worlds create your ongoing “story of self,” and how that story becomes the map your nervous system uses to determine safety, danger, overwhelm, or possibility. You’ll discover why old narratives feel so sticky, why neurodivergent minds process story so intensely, and how awareness creates the tiny space where freedom begins.Through vivid metaphors, grounded neuroscience, and a powerful guided practice, you’ll learn to step into the witness — the part of you that can see the story without becoming it. And from that place, you can shift the state, shift the narrative, and shift your next move in the world.This is narrative neurobiology in action — and it changes everything.❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodesOur Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott break down a new research article showing how major autism charities portray autistic people as helpless, burdensome, and in constant need of “saving.”Jordan and Simon explore why so many large charities rely on harmful tropes (puzzle pieces, sad children, deficit language) to generate donations, while autistic-led organisations struggle for support despite doing meaningful work. They discuss tokenism, the “non-disabled saviour” complex, and why proper representation — especially leadership by autistic people — is essential.Together, they discuss:How major charities use stigma and pity to raise moneyWhy are autistic people often shown as “helpless children” instead of adultsThe problem with puzzle pieces and deficit-based imageryTokenism and non-autistic leadership in autism organisationsHow charities profit from pity and maintain their monopolyWhy many autistic-led charities struggle — despite doing better workHow misrepresentation harms autistic adults seeking dignity and supportWhy nothing should be “about us without us”The article:https://theconversation.com/autism-charities-can-portray-autistic-people-as-helpless-and-a-burden-our-research-shows-why-it-matters-267385Jordan also shares stories about being approached by big charities, navigating the ethics of working with organisations, and how he nearly got pulled into a profit-driven model disguised as “non-profit.” They close by highlighting autistic-led charities worth supporting, including Autism Southeast, and why grassroots organisations are essential for real change.This episode is blunt, necessary, and gives a voice to autistic adults tired of being framed as problems to be fixed. If you’re frustrated with how autism is portrayed, this is one you won’t want to miss.Our Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott dive into a huge question many late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD adults wrestle with: Would a childhood diagnosis have actually changed anything — or possibly made life harder?Jordan and Simon share personal stories of bullying, masking, meltdowns, stigma, and internalised ableism — and reflect on how childhood diagnosis might have affected their families, identities, independence, careers, and relationships. They also read listener responses on how late diagnosis shaped (or didn’t shape) their lives.Together, they explore:Why early diagnosis can bring validation, language, and supportHow lack of awareness in previous decades created stigma and misinformationWhether childhood diagnosis could have prevented trauma — or simply added a label for bulliesThe fear of being limited, infantilised, or underestimated as a neurodivergent childHow family understanding (or lack of it) shapes identity and self-esteemThe generational shift in autism knowledge — and why today’s kids have more toolsLate diagnosis as both a relief and a grieving processWhy the past can’t be changed — but the future absolutely canThis is an honest, nuanced conversation for anyone who has ever wondered how life might have looked if they’d been understood sooner. Whether you were diagnosed as a child, in your 30s, or at 60, this episode reminds you that your neurodivergent journey starts when you finally have the language for it — and it’s never too late to rewrite your story.Our Sponsors:🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde🔗 Stay ConnectedInstagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepodFacebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook pageYouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperienceTikTok: @neurodivergentexperience❤️ Support the ShowIf this episode resonated with you:✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes