For our very first episode of Season 1, we’re excited to dive into the foundations of neurodiversity with your hosts, clinical psychologist Monique Mitchelson and clinical neuropsychologist Dr Michelle Livock. 

We both work in a neurodiversity-affirming psychology practice in Australia and bring professional experience, along with personal connection, to this topic.

We cover a lot in this inaugural conversation! Including: 

• Why we wanted to create a podcast centring women and neurodivergence.
• Definitions: neurodiversity, neurodivergent, and neurotypical, and what sits under the neurodivergent umbrella.
• Why women and AFAB individuals are so often underdiagnosed, and how gendered expectations, masking, and patriarchal bias play a role.
• The power of language, the push away from pathologising terms, and how identity-first language can de-stigmatise neurodivergence.
• The core differences in what drives behaviour for neurodivergent vs neurotypical people, and how each style of connection works.
• Busting the “empathy myth” in neurodivergence, and why communication can feel easier between two people of the same neurotype.
• The unique talents of neurodivergent brains in science, art, and creative problem-solving, including the “scenic route” thinking style.
• How ADHD can present differently in women, and why these differences often lead to missed or delayed diagnoses.

Choose Your Next Adventure: Ways to Keep Exploring This Topic

→ Quick episode recap: Read the key takeaways from this episode on our blog — free, bite-sized, and easy to share: ndwomanpod.com/blog 

→ Go deeper: Grab the Episode Companion Article in our shop — a fully edited “transcript on steroids” with linked resources, in-conversation lists, anchoring quotes, reflection prompts, journaling space, and occasional visual concept snapshots. Perfect for personal reflection or professional use: Read it here

→ Get more of everything: Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes, basic transcripts (Season 4 onwards), 50% off episode articles, bonus episodes, online courses, tip sheets, workbooks, guided meditations, and more: patreon.com/ndwomanpod

Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com