The Different-Functional Podcast

Handshakes. Eye Contact. Small Talk. Hierarchies. There are so many social customs that we’re expected to know and to perform in any given social interaction. If you’re neurodivergent, many of these customs can seem silly or pointless or difficult to adapt to various social settings. Chances are that the customs aren’t going to change anytime soon, but what if they could? Would any of them be worth keeping or at least adjusting to be more universally user-friendly? Join us for an exploration of common social customs and some of the merits and flaws within them.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

This time around we’re exploring ARFID. If you’re unfamiliar with this acronym, it stands for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and while it’s not the most common experience, even among neurodivergent people, there are still plenty who do experience it. Like many things, ARFID exists on a spectrum of severity and the specific foods that a person may struggle with are highly variable from one individual to another. Those suffering from ARFID are often misunderstood and labeled as rude, spoiled, or difficult “picky eaters”, but the real truth isn’t nearly so simple.Join us as we explore this fascinating and complex battle between brain, body, and food. We’ll explore the general concept of ARFID and then bring the topic a little closer to home as Autumn discusses her own relationship with food and attempts to try a few new things.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Who doesn’t love a good coping skill? If you’re anything like us, you probably have a whole collection of them to choose from at any given time and are always looking for new ones. So, this time around we thought we’d play a little game where we look at different coping skills from a randomized list, without any context at all, and pit them against each other to judge which one we think would be the most versatile in a pinch. Join us for this battle of the coping skills and see if you have feelings about them that are as strong as the ones we had.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective

There are plenty of fish in the sea, so they say. That may be true, but the actual sea is full of poisoned fish and, from what we hear, the fish in the digital dating pool aren’t much better off. So, how about going back to the basics and meeting people in the real world? Join us as we scour the internet for some neurodivergent-friendly pickup lines to help you break the ice, find your people, and weed out the undesirables this Valentine’s Day. If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective

If you’re on a healing journey, you know the struggle of the steep and perilous upward climb. If you’ve been on it for a while, you likely also know the sense of accomplishment and pride you feel when you reach the summit of a challenge and can see how far you’ve come. We all know these peaks and valleys are integral and repeating parts of the journey, but if you’ve been on your journey for a very long time, we bet you’ve encountered something no one warned you about or prepared you for: the plateaus. If you stay on the path for long enough, there will be moments of deafening stillness, when you can see everything you’ve accomplished but there’s seemingly nothing on the horizon and you don’t know what to do next. This is the no man’s land of the healing journey. You can’t go back and you’re not done, but you also don’t know where you are or where you’re headed, you just know you didn’t expect to be here. So, what do you do? Join us for a discussion of what the view is like from the plateau and how to choose a path forward into the uncharted territory of your healing journey. If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective

It’s a couple of weeks into the new year, which means many of us are probably starting to feel just the faintest resurgence of those old struggles and habits we had confidently declared that we would conquer this time. At first, we’re filled with enthusiasm and hope and determination, but old habits die hard and the internal mechanisms which drive those habits are even harder to force into submission. So, what if we didn’t? What if, instead of leaning into brute force, we leaned into understanding? What if we made friends with our shadows and demons so we could learn to work with them instead of fighting against them? If you find yourself on the struggle bus right now, we hope you’ll join us for a discussion about personal growth through integration rather than through eradication.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Christmas is over but we’re still technically in Yuletide territory so we decided to do something a little different this year to acknowledge the festivities before they slip away from us for another year. We like folklore. We like weird creatures. We like traditions and rituals that make no sense to us because they’re not part of our time period or culture. If you like those things too, we hope you’ll join us as we indulge in a hilarious exploration of some of the legendary and iconic characters behind Yule folklore. Hide your children and your sheep, tidy up your house, get some new clothes, grab your colander for home defense, and let’s go!If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Happy Holidays! Shopping for gifts sucks! Unless you’re one of those people who is naturally gifted at knowing exactly what to give as gifts to other people. Let’s be honest though, most of us probably don’t have that talent, so we sat down and did some brainstorming about what might make for good gifts. We can’t guarantee you’ll want any of these gifts or that you’ll know someone who will but there’s probably a pretty good chance we’ll at least get those gears turning. This episode is for the neurodivergent folks who procrastinated their shopping and now feel overwhelmed about what to get that you can actually afford.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Ivy is sick! And so is everyone else it seems. It’s that time of year when bugs and viruses and bacteria skulk around and infect the unsuspecting. So, we interrupt our scheduled content to talk disease instead. Grab a box of tissues and join us as we spill the tea on 90s sick day nostalgia, our tips and tricks, embarrassing moments, and some good old-fashioned complaints.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Things are rough right now, and by right now I mean for so long that it’s getting hard to remember when they weren’t rough. Walking through the world feels a bit like getting a scrub down with coarse grit sandpaper. If you’re feeling a little raw too then join us for a cognitive restructuring game where we look for the silver linings and seek out some meaning in the misery.If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.