From “idiot schools” to brain scans, from eugenics to modern autism funding—this episode pulls back the curtain on the systems that keep studying us without ever seeing us. Neurodivergence has been labelled, locked away, pathologized, and monetised for centuries. But what happens when we trace the history of that gaze? When we ask why the research keeps repeating itself—genetics, mothers, vaccines, deficits—while our realities remain dismissed?

In this episode, I explore the long timeline of how autism, ADHD, and mental health have been used to control, categorise, and capitalise. And I ask the harder question: who does this research serve? Because while they call it science, to us, it feels like surveillance with better funding.

Links For Further Reading:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3302834/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9730396/

https://scispace.com/papers/the-influence-of-maternal-diet-on-gut-microbiota-diversity-2yk752hv8jb0

https://scispace.com/papers/the-gut-brain-connection-investigating-the-correlation-53fijkgndybh

https://scispace.com/papers/research-advances-in-gut-microbes-and-autism-spectrum-f1g2gqfuapos

https://scispace.com/papers/gut-microbiota-in-young-adults-with-high-functioning-autism-58yb4yt1s6ki

https://scispace.com/papers/influential-articles-in-autism-and-gut-microbiota-21zldruilhbq

https://www.autismayurvedam.com/about-ayurveda/

https://www.autism-help.org/points-refrigerator-mothers.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ASvEduq5W0 ( Origins Of Autism In Vienna 1941 )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtpR56zJDmw ( Refrigerator Mother Documentary )

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history?c=563153584305

WEBSITES:

https://neuroclastic.com/support-us/

https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/about/

Copyright © 2025 The Moody Divergent™. All rights reserved.
This podcast, including all written and recorded content, is the intellectual property of The Moody Divergent™. The name, brand, and associated materials are currently undergoing formal trademark registration.

No part of this episode — including script, audio, titles, descriptions, or branding — may be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from the creator.

This week on The Moody Divergent, we’re talking about diagnosis — and what happens when it doesn’t come with clarity or peace.

I share how I was first diagnosed with ADHD at 30, but it wasn’t until I hit perimenopause — and everything started to collapse — that I began to question whether something deeper was going on.

That hormonal crash led me to fight for answers, and eventually, I was diagnosed with autism.

This episode is about the grief that comes after the diagnosis.
The kind no one prepares you for.
The kind where you realise your whole life was misunderstood — not just by others, but by yourself too.

We also talk about the science behind perimenopause, dopamine, and why so many neurodivergent women don’t break down until midlife — because that’s when the mask finally slips.

If you’re there right now — spiralling, grieving, unpacking — you’re not broken. You’re just waking up.

Want to share something with me?

Whether you've got a story, rant ,late night thought, or you just want to say hello- I want to hear from you.

contact@themoodydivergent.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/themoodydivergent

The Autism checklist for females.
https://the-art-of-autism.com/females-and-aspergers-a-checklist/

Embrace Autism where they have tests such as RAADS

https://embrace-autism.com/raads-r/

Research Papers :

Perfect Storm: Autistic experiences of menopause.

https://app.scholarai.io/paper?paper_id=DOI:10.1177/13623613241244548&original_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1177%2F13623613241244548

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1779514&dswid=4241

https://app.scholarai.io/paper?paper_id=DOI:10.1177/10497323241253412&original_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1177%2F10497323241253412

https://app.scholarai.io/paper?paper_id=DOI:10.1177/13623613211059721&original_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1177%2F13623613211059721

Copyright © 2025 The Moody Divergent™. All rights reserved.
This podcast, including all written and recorded content, is the intellectual property of The Moody Divergent™. The name, brand, and associated materials are currently undergoing formal trademark registration.

No part of this episode — including script, audio, titles, descriptions, or branding — may be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from the creator.

In this bold and unapologetic episode of The Moody Divergent, we unravel the polished lies we’ve been told — about who’s to blame, who’s taking from the system, and who’s getting away with everything.
From delays in Access to Work, to the sanitised cruelty of PIP reforms, to MPs quietly claiming council tax, rent, and second-home energy bills — while disabled people are pushed into poverty — this episode lays it all out.

This is about more than politics.
It’s about betrayal, truth, and the rage of being gaslit by a system that was never built for us.
It’s raw. It’s factual. It’s spoken with lived experience.
And it asks one question: Who are the real scroungers?

Fact Check /
•Access to Work delays and failure
Disability Rights UK:
https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2023/october/access-work-urgent-reform-needed
•MPs claiming council tax & energy bills
Yahoo News:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/reeves-among-41-labour-ministers-123246037.html
OpenDemocracy:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/parliament-mps-claim-expenses-on-energy-bills-for-second-homes/
•Woking Council’s £2.4bn crash / bankrupt councils
The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/07/woking-council-debt-crisis
BBC News:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-67610727
•Youth services and public sector cuts
Institute for Government:
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/impact-labour-first-budget-public-services
•Media ownership + propaganda techniques
Media Reform Coalition:
https://www.mediareform.org.uk/media-ownership
The Conversation:
https://theconversation.com/how-repetition-makes-fake-news-seem-more-believable-and-what-scientists-can-do-about-it-73488

I would love to hear from you

Contact@themoodydivergent.com

Copyright © 2025 The Moody Divergent™. All rights reserved.
This podcast, including all written and recorded content, is the intellectual property of The Moody Divergent™. The name, brand, and associated materials are currently undergoing formal trademark registration.

No part of this episode — including script, audio, titles, descriptions, or branding — may be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from the creator.

This first episode wasn’t intended to be flawless—it was meant to be authentic.

In this raw and introspective debut, I finally released myself from the pressure to have everything figured out. There was no script, no polish—just me, sitting down after years of suppressing, shrinking, and struggling to survive systems that never accommodated me.

You’ll hear why I abandoned the pursuit of perfection and embraced the act of recording instead.
You’ll learn about the impact of my late diagnosis of ADHD and autism.
And you’ll discover that this podcast isn’t another neurodivergent self-help guide—it’s a space for the messy middle ground.

If you’ve ever:
•Exhausted yourself trying to conform to neurotypical expectations
•Questioned whether your heightened sensitivity was merely a survival mechanism
•Felt like your mask slipped before you were ready to remove it

This podcast is for you.

The Moody Divergent isn’t about being easily digestible—it’s about finally expressing what no one gave us permission to say aloud.

⸻

Content warning: This episode discusses topics such as burnout, grief, emotional exhaustion, masking, perimenopause, and the experience of receiving a late diagnosis of neurodivergence. Please listen in a manner that’s safe for your nervous system.

Copyright © 2025 The Moody Divergent™. All rights reserved.
This podcast, including all written and recorded content, is the intellectual property of The Moody Divergent™. The name, brand, and associated materials are currently undergoing formal trademark registration.

No part of this episode — including script, audio, titles, descriptions, or branding — may be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from the creator.