The Neurodivergent Experience

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott react to a BBC story about schools opening specialist units for autistic pupils — and question whether these plans are about support, or simply about moving autistic children out of sight.

They unpack concerns around lumping autistic children together across wide age ranges, the overuse of special units as a cost-cutting measure, and the way neurodivergent pupils are often treated as a problem to be managed rather than as individuals with different needs.

Jordan draws on years of lived experience working with schools, SEND staff, parents, and neurodivergent children to challenge saviour narratives, infantilisation, and misinformation — including being told by a special school that ADHD “doesn’t exist in adults.” Together, they discuss how EHCP barriers, funding caps, and systemic misunderstandings risk limiting potential rather than supporting it.

Rather than rejecting specialist provision outright, the episode questions who these systems are really built for, and whether convenience and cost are being prioritised over dignity, autonomy, and individual development.

They discuss:
Specialist units vs genuinely individualised support
Lumping autistic children together by diagnosis rather than need
Infantilisation and “saviour” narratives in SEND education
Misinformation about ADHD and neurodivergence in schools
EHCP barriers and unequal access to support
Cost-cutting vs child-centred education
Why autism isn’t a reason, on its own, to remove a child from mainstream learning

A frustrated, informed, and necessary conversation about education, power, and why neurodivergent children deserve more than being quietly moved out of the way.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott explore the overlap — and important differences — between executive dysfunction and pathological demand avoidance (PDA), and why both can make everyday tasks feel overwhelming.

They unpack how executive dysfunction is linked to planning, organisation, and overload, while PDA is driven by anxiety, autonomy, and threat responses — and why, in real life, the two often collide. Through personal examples, they explore why getting started, following through, or responding to demands can feel impossible, even when you want to do the thing.

Jordan and Simon reflect on how fear of failure, shame, trauma, and being told to “just do it” can intensify paralysis rather than help. They also discuss how misunderstanding these patterns leads to judgment — at home, at work, and in childhood — instead of support.

Rather than offering quick fixes, the conversation focuses on reducing pressure, understanding what’s really happening in the nervous system, and finding supportive ways to move forward.

They discuss:
What executive dysfunction and PDA are — and how they differ
Why do they often show up together
Anxiety, autonomy, and threat responses
Task paralysis and avoidance
Fear of failure and internalised shame
Every day struggles like hygiene, work, and leaving the house
Why increasing pressure makes things worse
What actually helps instead

A validating conversation about why simple tasks can feel so hard — and how understanding, compassion, and the right support can make a real difference.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Resilience is often misunderstood.

It’s not about pushing through at all costs, pretending you’re fine, or never getting overwhelmed — especially if you’re sensitive or neurodivergent. Real resilience is something far more human, far more embodied.

In this episode of Mindful Mondays, we explore what resilience actually looks like in the nervous system — the ability to move through challenge, to feel the squeeze of life, and to gently find our way back.

Drawing on neuroscience, somatic wisdom, Buddhism, psychology, and lived experience, we explore:

Why resilience is about movement, not perfection

How discomfort can become meaningful rather than overwhelming

The role of contrast - squeeze and release - in nervous system flexibility

Why resistance, not discomfort itself, often creates suffering

Emotional complexity as a strength, not a flaw

How sensitive and neurodivergent nervous systems can learn to “bounce back” with kindness

Why acceptance can create a deeper baseline peace, even during hard times

You’ll also be guided through a gentle squeeze-and-release meditation designed to help your body experience resilience directly - not as an idea, but as a felt sense.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re “too sensitive,” slow to recover, or worn down by life’s demands, this episode is an invitation to reframe resilience - not as something you force, but something you cultivate through care, curiosity, and self-trust.

You don’t have to harden to survive.
You’re allowed to soften - and still be strong.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

⚠️This episode includes discussion of suicide, mental health crises, and systemic failures in neurodivergent healthcare. Listener discretion is advised, and we encourage you to prioritise your wellbeing while listening ⚠️.

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott respond to reports that the NHS is once again restricting access to ADHD assessments in an attempt to save money — often without informing GPs or patients already waiting.

They unpack how limiting assessments don’t just delay diagnosis, but actively block access to support, accommodations, medication, and self-understanding, particularly for Autistic and ADHD people who already struggle to advocate for themselves. Drawing on their own late diagnoses, Jordan and Simon explain how years without recognition lead to mislabelling, shame, burnout, and serious mental health harm.

The conversation then turns to the real-world consequences of these delays, including a Guardian report detailing the death of a young man who fell through the cracks of the assessment and shared-care system. Jordan and Simon speak openly about grief, anger, and fear — and why framing ADHD as “not life-threatening” ignores the reality of emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, chronic stress, and suicide risk.

This episode has a clear message: withholding diagnosis and treatment is not neutral — it is dangerous.

They discuss:
NHS limits on ADHD assessments and lack of transparency
Long waiting times and being stuck between child and adult services
Why diagnosis is a gateway to support, not a label
ADHD medication, emotional regulation, and quality of life
Why ADHD can be life-threatening
Suicide risk, burnout, and drowning in unregulated thoughts
The cost of denying support vs investing in people

A raw, emotional, and urgent conversation about assessment delays, systemic failure, and the very real human cost of treating neurodivergent care as optional.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this season 3 opening episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott revisit a foundational question from the very first episode of the podcast: what makes me neurodivergent?

Returning to the topic with years of lived experience, self-understanding, and community insight, they reflect on how their understanding of autism, ADHD, and neurodivergence has evolved.

They explore neurodivergence as an alternative neurotype, not a single deficit, and unpack how traits often grouped under autism and ADHD — including dyslexia, dyspraxia, PDA, hypersensitivity, RSD, and hypermobility — can show up differently in every person.

They discuss their abilities — challenging both deficit-only narratives and toxic positivity — and explore special interests, bottom-up processing, pattern recognition, empathy, storytelling, and deep knowledge-gathering.

They discuss:
Revisiting “what makes me neurodivergent?” years later
Neurodivergence as an alternative neurotype, not a single condition
How disability is shaped by environment, not just diagnosis
Energy, hypersensitivity, executive function, and burnout
Masking, communication gaps, and being misunderstood
Why “autism” alone doesn’t explain lived experience
Special interests, knowledge-gathering, and bottom-up thinking
Neurodivergent culture, labels, and identity

A reflective, wide-ranging conversation about disability, ability, identity, and why neurodivergent people make sense — even when the world around them doesn’t.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.