In this episode Alan talks to Andrew Best.  Andrew originally studied in leisure management, but ended up on a different route following an injury, which gave him an opportunity to work in schools. He's worked in mainstream schools special education, and briefly worked in home support. He went into adult support services, and then finished a master's  degree in autism and education. He's worked in management now for several years and moving on to practice support and development teams where he's currently working.We hope you enjoy the conversation and take something of value from this chat. Please like and support.

In this episode we meet Enda Dodd, CEO of Animated Language Learning. Having occupied senior global leadership positions within the medical device industry for 20 years, Enda founded and incorporated  Animated Language Learning in 2012. Enda initiated a fundamentally new and effective research approach to the treatment of paediatric neurological disorders, focusing initially on language disorders associated with Autism and related conditions. The project benefits from Disney Pixar imagery and Adobe technical support. Enda divides his time between San Fransisco and Galway, Ireland, with his wife Valerie and twin sons Conor and Eoin, he's an active parent, avid sailor and award-winning fundraiser.

In today’s episode, Alan talks to Dr Amy Pearson, a senior lecturer at the University of Sunderland. Her primary interest is how we use information from the world around us to communicate and socialise with other people, as well as the experience of the world affecting people with autism. Amy co-wrote an article with Kieran Rose, that was published in the academic journal, Autism in Adulthood in January 2021. The article focused on what is known as masking, and the illusion of choice that autistic people feel by trying to fit in wider society, caused by the perceived stigma of autism. Amy describes how masking occurs, specifically where autistic people imitate the mannerisms of non-autistic people, which often starts at primary school, and explains why they do this. Alan and Amy also discuss the pitfalls of masking, and how it can negatively affect an autistic person’s mental and physical health. Amy finally gives her advice as to what parents and caregivers can do to make things easier for autistic people.

In this episode we talk to Sonia Callaghan. Sonia is a mum and a clinical intellectual disabilities nurse. She's a strong Autism advocate and also involved in special schools and youth groups. In this conversation, Sonia shares her and her son Tomás' journey. The topics discussed today come with a trigger warning. There are vivd descriptions of self-injurious behaviour and extreme situations and events that have occurred. Just like Sonia, it is our hope that sharing these experiences will help families and individuals that are going through a particularly difficult time to take some strength from knowing that you are not alone and it is possible to get to the far side.

On today’s episode, Alan talks to Freya O’Horo, founder of Autistic Siblings Ireland, a blog site dedicated to providing information and resources on autism from the point of view of a sibling. During the conversation, Freya talks about how autism has affected her brother Dian, and she has developed an interest in Health and Social Care.

In episode 3, we spoke to Simon Baron Cohen about Spectrum 10k, a research programme aiming to find out as much as possible about autism, using a sample base of 10,000 autistic individuals in the UK. Part of the programme involved garnering DNA samples from the volunteers. This caused a bit of upset within the autism community. Accusations of an attempt to 'cure' autism and comparisons to euthanasia were floated. Sally Nillson, a therapist specialising in neurodivergent clients (and those who think they may be neurodivergent), and who was recently diagnosed with ADHD and autism, heard the show and ask to contribute. It was a pleasure to speak to her.Spectrum 10k has since been suspended as a result of the widespread backlash.

Dr. Emma O’Brien is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, providing psychological screening, assessment and intervention to young people and their families.Todays episode we focus primarily on Parents and carers as we discuss the Autism diagnosis journey in the diagnosis of young children, assessments, accessing supports and the road ahead.

Dr Simon Baron-Cohen a clinical psychologist and Director of ARC the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. In this episode Simon has an exciting somewhat exclusive announcement about the latest research project he is involved in…  SPECTRUM 10K we also discuss what attracted Simon to researching Autism, and he shares his views on the complexity of the spectrum.For more, visit https://polarbearproject.com/

In this episode Alan talks to Lisa Domican. Lisa is a trainer, communicator and co-creator of the Grace App Picture Exchange system to help non verbal people, especially those with autism to communicate with pictures on an iPhone, iPad/iPod Touch. Lisa is a parent to two autistic adults with very high needs. In this fascinating and uplifting talk,  Lisa talks to Alan about services for her children and what it meant when none were available during lockdown. She also describes her journey in developing the Grace App, a picture exchange system to help non-verbal people communicate.

Alan talks to Eoin Stephens, a psychotherapist and trainer. Eoin has worked in the areas of intellectual disability, addiction counselling and CBT for over 30 years. Diagnosed with autism as an adult, Eoin is currently focusing on understanding how autism-informed therapy could address the specific therapeutic needs of autistic adults. in this episode Alan and Eoin discuss self esteem and the adult autism diagnosis journey.

Coming next week, The Polar Bear Project - a podcast for the Autism community featuring interviews with autistic people, parents, siblings and professionals.We will share those magic moments of overcoming adversity,  we will talk not just within the neurodiverse community but with the world at large. We know what our community can offer and what it brings to a deeper understanding of a diverse, evolving and enriched society.