3. S1, Ep3: Creating opportunities from your special interests

Madge Woollard is a musician and teacher from Sheffield in the UK. A Cambridge graduate, she has run her own piano teaching business for the last 25 years, teaching privately and in schools. She was diagnosed autistic at the age of 44, and has since gone on to win an Autism Friendly Business Award from the National Autistic Society, for her work teaching music to autistic students. She has taken part in autism research, is involved with the autistic theatre group, Spectrum Theatre, and has played on stage with actress and singer Heather Peace. She identifies as LGBT and nonbinary. In this conversation we talk about her experience of late diagnosis; what it was like studying at one of our top universities; how failing to master job interviews and find employment led to her setting up a business instead; what it’s like teaching and running a business as an autistic person; teaching autistic children when you are autistic yourself; and the benefits and drawbacks of ‘coming out’ as autistic to clients and students. Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes. I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences. I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit. EPISODE LINKS Madge's website: https://mwoollard.webs.com/ Spectrum Theatre, Sheffield, UK: https://www.spectrumtheatresheffield.com/ If you'd like to connect or get in touch with Squarepeg, you can find me on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/  Or on my website: http://squarepeg.community/