Chelsea's Vocation
Chelsea's neurodivergent offspring are the reason her heart and mind have grown year after year for two decades. As a neuromajority human caring for and about autistic humans, she has learned to apply a thing or two about brain wiring and wants to share that learning with other people so they can know better and do better, too. These 20-minute long shows will be released every two weeks (two per month max), feature occasional guests, have a neuroaffirming focus, and highlight autistic experiences.
Chelsea's Vocation
Trauma & Autism
If all behavior is communication for an autistic person, could some of that behavior actually be a response to trauma? Chelsea welcomes guest Becky Aten, who identifies as neurodivergent and neuroqueer, is late-diagnosed ADHD and autistic, and also lives with diagnoses of Complex PTSD, anxiety, and depression. They walk listeners through what trauma is (and isn’t), how we as parents and caregivers might be contributing to trauma, and what we can do to support our autistic loved ones going forward.
Becky wears many hats in their work as a human resources professional, neurodivergent yoga facilitator, community-builder, and neurodiversity advocate. With over two decades of experience working for mental health recovery programs serving the neurodivergent community, Becky is passionate about cultivating welcoming, mindful, trauma-aware, and affirming spaces for community care that honor each individual’s experiences and intersecting identities. In their free time, Becky also enjoys hiking in the forest, petting moss, reading science and sci-fi books, and tabletop gaming.
Check out the chapter markers / video version to appreciate some of Becky and Chelsea’s moss photo swaps!
The following terms and resources, in order of their mention in the podcast, might evoke some curiosity:
- Wellpoint Care Network
- Nityda Gessel, The Trauma-Conscious Yoga Institute
- Haruvi-Lamdan, Nirit et al. “Autism Spectrum Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An unexplored co-occurrence of conditions.” Autism: the international journal of research and practice vol. 24,4 (2020): 884-898. doi:10.1177/1362361320912143
- Rumball, Freya et al. “Experience of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms in Autistic Adults: Risk of PTSD Development Following DSM-5 and Non-DSM-5 Traumatic Life Events.” Autism Research: official journal of the International Society for Autism Research vol. 13,12 (2020): 2122-2132. doi:10.1002/aur.2306
- co-/self-regulation: See this blog from Autism Awareness Centre.
- Related episode, Masking & Autism
- Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
- meltdown: not a tantrum, but the physiological response to a state of overwhelm
Check out these other content creators: Kelly Mahler, NeuroWild
Podcast includes an introduction for episodes 6 and following at the beginning. Transition music, "Taking a Vocation", by Noey Budde.
Closing narration for episodes 6 and following.
