In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott discuss two shocking news stories exposing how autistic workers are being used as unpaid labour — ‘volunteering’ in supermarkets and retail stores for months or even years, only to be dismissed the moment they ask to be paid.

They break down how companies hide exploitation behind charity language and “work experience,” and how vulnerable adults are pressured to feel grateful for opportunities that would be paid roles for anyone else. Jordan and Simon talk about gaslighting, legal rights, and why disabled people are repeatedly told they should expect less — or nothing at all — from employers.

Together, they explore:

• Why Autistic workers are vulnerable to workplace exploitation
• The public's belief that disabled people should “just be grateful” to be there
• Gaslighting, low expectations, and the damage of being told you’ll “never achieve anything”
• How parents and carers are often manipulated into accepting unpaid labour for their Autistic loved ones
• The legal reality: taking advantage of a vulnerable person is a crime
• Why these stories matter and how many more are likely happening unseen

This episode is angry, honest, and necessary — shining a light on a system where disabled workers are treated as props, not people. If you work, you deserve to be paid. And if this is happening to you or someone you love, you’re not alone — and it needs to be exposed.

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

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In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott dive into the complicated relationship between money and neurodivergent brains— from impulsive spending and overdrafts to financial fear and learning to save later in life.

They share their own journey with overdrafts, dopamine-driven purchases, budgeting avoidance, and learning financial responsibility later in life — and how neurodivergent brains approach money differently from neurotypical ones.

Together, they discuss:

• How autism and ADHD affect spending, saving, and financial regulation
• The truth about the “ADHD tax” and impulsive spending for dopamine
• How demand avoidance and executive dysfunction make bills feel impossible
• Why financial shame is common for neurodivergent adults
• How to build sustainable savings systems that actually work for autistic and ADHD minds
• Learning to plan, budget, and build security without losing joy
• The emotional link between money, control, and safety

This is a real, unfiltered conversation about growing up, getting organised, and finally learning how to make money work for you instead of against you. Whether you’re deep in overdraft or learning to save for the first time, this episode offers empathy, laughter, and practical insight into financial life with a neurodivergent brain.

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
• Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
• TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

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⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Learning the language of safety, connection, and calm for the neurodivergent brain and body.

This week, we begin a brand new series - November Neuroscience for The Neurodivergent Nervous System.

Our journey starts with the foundation of it all: your nervous system — the hidden ladder within that shapes how you experience the world.

We’ll explore how your body’s three main states — rest, activation, and shutdown — form a living map of safety and survival.

For neurodivergent minds and bodies, this ladder is often more sensitive, more reactive, and more beautifully complex. You’ll learn how your sensory world, your emotions, and your energy are all guided by this internal rhythm — and how understanding it is the key to self-regulation and healing.

Through neuroscience, lived experience, and a deeply moving guided meditation, you’ll learn how to climb the ladder with awareness, presence, and compassion — returning again and again to your calm, connected state.

❤️ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience

⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
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• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
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In this Halloween edition of The Hot Topic, Jordan James and Simon Scott delve into why many autistic and ADHD individuals are drawn to horror — from jump scares and haunted houses to true crime and the works of Stephen King.

They unpack the neuroscience and psychology behind the connection between fear, curiosity, and regulation, and why being safely scared can be surprisingly calming for neurodivergent minds. Drawing on personal stories and pop culture, Jordan and Simon discuss how horror offers a sense of control, catharsis, and community — and why dark stories can feel oddly comforting.

Together, they explore:

• Why the autistic and ADHD brain may find “safe fear” regulating
• The dopamine and sensory connection behind horror fascination
• How pattern recognition and empathy draw neurodivergent people to dark stories
• Horror as a mirror for survival, belonging, and identity
• Why horror icons and underdogs often resonate with neurodivergent audiences

With humour and honesty, this episode celebrates spooky season through a neurodivergent lens — proving that sometimes, what scares us most can also make us feel most alive.

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
• Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
• TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this milestone episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott celebrate a huge moment — over 100,000 downloads — and reflect on how the podcast has transformed their lives and the wider neurodivergent community.

What began as a passion project between two friends has become a lifeline for thousands of listeners around the world. Jordan and Simon open up about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating an independent podcast, the emotional highs and lows of advocacy, and the incredible messages they’ve received from listeners who finally feel seen and understood.

But this episode is more than a celebration — it’s a deeply personal look at how friendship, vulnerability, and community can rewrite long-held myths about autism and ADHD. The pair discuss the damaging stereotype that autistic people “prefer to be alone,” and how finding connection with others like themselves became the most healing experience of all.

They also share:

• How The Neurodivergent Experience reached over 100,000 organic downloads — without a production team or funding
• The life-changing impact of creating something by and for neurodivergent people
• Breaking the myth of autistic isolation — and celebrating community and friendship
• The personal growth they’ve each experienced through podcasting
• How anger, burnout, and masking have given way to self-awareness, calm, and healing
• Why embracing your inner child might be the truest form of unmasking

Heartfelt, funny, and reflective, this episode is a love letter to their listeners — a celebration of what happens when neurodivergent voices are given space, support, and each other.

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
• Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
• TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

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⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learning to bend, flow, and rise again.

In this final episode of the Nature as Teacher month, Ashley Bentley explores how the changing elements - wind, water, and stars - mirror the flexibility and strength within us. From the fierce gales of the Isle of Man to the calm rhythm of the tides, she reveals how adaptation, contrast, and curiosity build resilience in the neurodivergent mind and body.

Ashley shares personal stories of sensory overwhelm, growth, and self-compassion, alongside reflections from a listener on the metaphors of nature. You’ll learn how small shifts in perspective and gentle exposure to discomfort can nurture your nervous system’s ability to bend without breaking.

This week’s Microdosing Meaning invites you to rediscover playfulness - singing to cows, stargazing, tracing patterns in leaves - tiny acts that release oxytocin, calm the vagus nerve, and reconnect you with awe. The episode closes with The Winds, the Tides & the Stars - a deeply descriptive, hypnotic guided meditation blending breath, imagery, and stillness to anchor presence and peace.

❤️ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience

⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
• Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
• TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott react to a recent Independent article questioning the old idea of a “single autism spectrum” — and explain why autism isn’t something you’re on, but something you live within.

They explore how the linear model of autism — from “mild” to “severe” — misrepresents reality, fuels stigma, and limits understanding. Drawing on conversations with Steve Silberman and the original intent behind Lorna Wing’s “spectrum” concept, they unpack how language like “high/low functioning” and DSM “levels” continues to harm autistic people.

Using the autism spectrum umbrella as a more accurate and inclusive metaphor, Jordan and Simon show how autistic experience exists in a vast, interconnected space — one where needs shift, context matters, and identity is shaped by environment and understanding.

Together, they discuss:

• Why the “one line from mild→severe” model misses the reality of autistic diversity
• The autism spectrum umbrella: a better way to understand fluctuating needs and context
• How labels like “high/low functioning” and fixed DSM levels are misused and inconsistently applied
• Language matters: why many prefer autistic over “on the spectrum,” and why deficit framing harms
• The real-world impact of media narratives and “expert” takes — from stigma to lost opportunities
• Dangers of ranking human value: how “usefulness” talk slides toward eugenic thinking
• Personal reflections on self-acceptance, parenting, and ensuring autistic kids never learn to hate themselves

This episode is a call to move beyond outdated labels and start seeing autism for what it truly is: diverse, dynamic, and deeply human.

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
• Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
• TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

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⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey everyone! We’re taking our own advice this week and looking after our energy levels — both of us are juggling some extra work hours and doing our best to avoid burnout. So instead of a brand-new episode today, we’re re-running one of our most popular and meaningful conversations. Thank you so much for your understanding as we take a breather — we’ll be back with our Hot Topic episode on Friday as usual. And next week, we’ll be celebrating a huge milestone — 100,000 downloads! 🎉

This episode dives into living with pathological demand avoidance (PDA). This condition isn’t officially recognised by most authorities, but one that deeply affects how some neurodivergent people experience daily life.

We share our personal stories and examples of how demand avoidance manifests — from struggles with completing tasks to seeking medical help, to even engaging in the hobbies we love. We also reflect on how PDA impacts mental health, relationships, and self-perception, and how a lack of understanding can make things even harder.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Living with demand avoidance can deeply affect work, relationships, and well-being.
• Demand avoidance isn’t laziness or procrastination — it’s a genuine internal struggle that can be difficult to explain or overcome.
• The lack of official recognition can lead to frustration and a lack of proper support.
• Listening to and validating the experiences of people with demand avoidance is essential — their struggles are real and valid.
• Misdiagnosis or a lack of understanding of neurodivergent conditions can seriously impact a person’s mental health and access to support.

Our Sponsors:

🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)

🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy

• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected

• Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
• Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
• YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
• TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show

If this episode resonated with you:

✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience

⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.