On conflicts of interest in autism research: Interview with Kristen Bottema-Beutel and Micheal Sandbank

Professor Carl Elliott’s new book The Occasional Human Sacrifice, is about whistleblowers in medicine. In this episode, we discuss the whistleblowers at Willowbrook, a residential institution for autistic and developmentally disabled people that was exposed for human rights abuses in 1972. We also talk about the experience of being a whistleblower and its impact on … Continue reading Willowbrook, whistleblowers & human rights: Carl Elliott on his new book, The Occasional Human Sacrifice

I was thrilled to talk with Tony Spiridakis and Alex Plank about the new film Ezra, which Tony wrote and produced alongside director Tony Goldwyn, and which Alex associate produced, acted and consulted on.   Ezra is a comedic drama starring Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro and Rose Byrne and introducing William Fitzgerald as the 11-year … Continue reading Filmmakers Tony Spiridakis & Alex Plank on the new film “Ezra”, autism and representation

While the podcast is on a brief hiatus as I finish my book (yay!), I’m sharing this interview that Shawn Pickard hosted with me for Voices for Abilities radio. We discussed how Canadian autism policy needs to move from a charity perspective to a rights perspective and how the inclusion and neurodiversity movements are working … Continue reading “How do we break down the barriers?” Anne Borden King, interviewed by Sean Pickard on Voices for Abilities

I spoke with Dr. Molly Colvin and Dr. Tannahill Glen about their new book, Altered Trajectories: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Children’s Education, Mental Health and Neurodevelopment, co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Linton Reesman. We discussed the educational impact of school closures, as well as the mental health impact on kids. A crucial topic as we … Continue reading The impact of pandemic-related school closures: A conversation with Molly Colvin & Tannahill Glen

I had the honour of speaking with Keenan Wellar, founder of LiveWorkPlay about the organization’s work helping the community welcome and include people with intellectual disabilities, autistic persons, and those with a dual diagnosis in housing, work and leisure.  LiveWorkPlay is a model for the paradigm shift that is needed in developmental services! Listen to … Continue reading Keenan Wellar from LiveWorkPlay: Transforming Canada’s housing & programs for intellectually disabled Canadians

I spoke with Dr. Andrew Whitehouse from the University of Western Australia about autistic life, gut hype, same-foods, the problem of pseudoscience and the shifting nature of autism research. Listen to the podcast by playing the audio file below, or on streaming sites like Spotify, Stitcher or ApplePodcasts. Transcript: NoncompliantPodcast_trscrt_Whitehouse Bio Dr. Whitehouse is the … Continue reading “What outcomes are we looking at?” Talking with Dr. Andrew Whitehouse about the shifting course of autism research & services

I spoke with vaccine researcher and expert Dr. Paul Offit, whose book Autism’s False Prophets explores false narratives about autism, including the myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism. We talked about that history, as well as the present challenge of the current anti-vaccine movement and the need to speak the truth, even when it’s … Continue reading “It’s hard to un-ring the bell”: Talking about the vaccine-autism myth (& more) with Dr. Paul Offit

I talked with Dr. Lucy McBride about Covid anxiety, how it’s impacted us all and what we can do about it. We also talked about how family practitioners can make their practices more accessible for autistic patients–and all patients–by thinking outside the box. #AutisticHealthAccessProject Listen to the podcast by playing the audio file below, or … Continue reading Coping with Covid anxiety in a post-pandemic world: A conversation with Dr. Lucy McBride

I wrote this poem about the summer and our beautiful earth

I had an amazing conversation with Fergus Murray, a Scottish science educator, writer, autistic advocate and author of the Monotropism.org website. We talked about the concept of monotropism, which was co-founded by Murray’s late mother, Dr. Dinah Murray, as well as Fergus’s experiences growing up in a neurodivergent household and the joys of Autscape! We … Continue reading Talking about neurodiversity, monotropism & more with Scottish activist Fergus Murray