77. S6, Ep10: Burnout, survival and feeling stuck: the intersection of autism, privilege and poverty

Alma is an unemployed forager, food designer, artist, craftswoman and permaculture gardener from the Netherlands. She was diagnosed autistic in 2019 after self identifying the year before; she has also since been diagnosed with ADHD. When her then undiagnosed autistic and ADHD traits meant that she wasn’t able to finish her degree, she was offered a management position at the student café she had worked at while at university, staying there until she suffered a burnout in 2016 and found herself unable to work. Her life since then has been about survival, and she wanted to come on the podcast to talk about the role of privilege and poverty in autistic lives. In our conversation we talk about: ➡ The impact of her upbringing, growing up in poverty with a neurodivergent parent ➡ The impact of her burnout ➡ Being both autistic and ADHD and how this effects her executive function ➡ The intersectionality of autism, privilege and poverty ‒ and survivorship bias ➡ Navigating a romantic relationship when you’re both neurodivergent 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: Alma's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_a.l.m.l.a_/ VOTE FOR SQUAREPEG IN THE BRITISH PODCAST AWARDS If you haven’t voted in the British Podcast Awards yet, you can vote for me in the Listeners’ Choice award. Voting closes on Sunday 17 July 2022. If you want to vote, click here and search for ‘Squarepeg’ with no space to find the right show. 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: https://squarepeg.community/    THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS! A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast: Abi Hunter, Amy Adler, Amy-Beth Mellor, Abigail J Moore, Ben Davies, Benita Borchard-Thierbach, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Cindy Bailey, Corinne Cariad, Danielle Warby, Dawn Trevellion, Emily, Elizabeth Williams, Jackie Allen, Jeff Goldman, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine Lynch, Kenneth Knowles, Lea Li, Leo Ricketts, Lilli Simmons, Lyb, Mandy Allen, Pete Burke, Rebecca Kemp, Sarah Cottrell, Sarah Jeffery, Sarah Swanton, Sioned Wynn, Suzanna Chen, Suzanne, Tree Hall, Una Walkenhorst, Vera Cady, Vicki Temple, Victoria Routledge and Zephyrine Craster. If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from just £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast