As the year draws to a close, many of us feel the pull toward change - resolutions, goals, and the quiet pressure to become someone “better” next year. But what if real change begins with meeting yourself differently?

In this final Mindful Monday of the year, Ashley Bentley explores why self-acceptance - not self-criticism - is the true foundation for lasting transformation. Through grounded psychology, gentle neuroscience, and the wisdom of Ram Dass, this episode invites you to step out of self-judgement and into appreciation for your full humanity.

You’ll hear why New Year’s resolutions so often fail, how the neurodivergent nervous system responds to pressure and demand, and why acceptance is not giving up - but creating the conditions where change becomes possible.

The episode closes with a deeply nourishing loving-kindness (metta) meditation, offering compassion and care to all parts of you - the seen and unseen, the strong and the tender - just as you are.

This is an invitation to end the year softly, and to begin again from a place of kindness, honesty, and self-respect.

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• → https://bit.ly/ashleynde

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In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott examine how age limits, apprenticeships, and “youth-focused” career pathways quietly exclude neurodivergent adults — particularly those diagnosed later in life or whose paths didn’t follow a linear timeline.

They explore why these systems penalise late bloomers, how autistic and ADHD people are expected to “get it right” the first time despite growing up unsupported or misunderstood, and why burnout, delayed development, and real-world capacity are so often ignored in favour of rigid age-based judgments.

They discuss:

• Apprenticeship age limits and youth-only career schemes
• Late diagnosis and delayed life milestones
• Why neurodivergent development isn’t linear
• Burnout, missed opportunities, and starting again later in life
• Why inclusion must account for neurodivergent timelines

A grounded, validating conversation about work, access, and why it’s never “too late” — even when systems pretend it is.

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
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In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott unpack what it means to be a passionate neurodivergent person in a world that often mistakes intensity for arrogance, aggression, or rudeness.

Drawing on stories from work, friendships, family life, advocacy, sport, pop culture, and online spaces, they explore how Autistic and ADHD traits like directness, honesty, and emotional investment are frequently misunderstood — by neurotypical people and other neurodivergent people alike.

They discuss:

• Why neurodivergent passion is often misread as aggression
• Being “too intense,” oversharing, and stating opinions like facts
• Misinterpretation in texts, messages, and online spaces
• Rejection sensitivity, alexithymia, and emotional mismatch
• Anger vs passion, expectations, and emotional regulation
• Why being misunderstood hurts more than being disagreed with

A reflective, funny, and deeply human conversation about living with passion — without apologising for it or being punished for it.

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

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⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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December has a way of pulling us back into old roles, familiar dynamics, and unspoken expectations - especially around family, work, and social obligations. For many neurodivergent people, this can quietly activate stress, self-doubt, and the urge to explain or perform.

In this episode of Mindful Mondays, Ashley Bentley explores Radical Permission - the practice of doing December your way. We look at why certain relationships bypass logic and go straight to the body, how childhood conditioning and masking resurface during the holidays, and why releasing the need to justify yourself can be deeply regulating.

This episode also gently touches on relational tension, emotional fatigue, and the cost of people-pleasing at this time of year, offering a compassionate reframe for staying true to yourself without abandoning connection.

The episode closes with a deeply empowering guided meditation, blending poetry and presence, designed to help you inhabit your inner truth, reconnect with self-trust, and move through the season with greater ease and integrity.

A grounding invitation to release expectations - and reclaim your 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
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In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott explore why Autistic and ADHD people continue to face systemic discrimination when looking for work — even in industries that quietly depend on neurodivergent talent.

Responding to recent reporting on neurodivergent employment discrimination, they share personal experiences of job interviews, disclosure, workplace bullying, infantilisation, and being punished for mistakes while their strengths are ignored. Jordan and Simon question whether disclosure is ever truly safe, and explain how fear, burnout, and past trauma — not lack of ability — keep capable people out of the workforce.

They unpack the double bind many neurodivergent people face: judged for being unemployed, then discriminated against again when trying to work, and highlight the irony that creative, technical, and production industries are built on neurodivergent skills, while the people providing that labour remain undervalued and excluded.

They discuss:

• Why do autistic and ADHD people struggle to get hired despite being capable?
• The risks and realities of disclosing neurodivergence at work
• Infantilisation, stigma, and being defined by mistakes
• Workplace culture, office politics, and unspoken bias
• How burnout and mistreatment create a genuine fear of employment
• Why neurodivergent-friendly workplaces should be the default
• “Nothing about us without us” in hiring, policy, and workplace design

A raw, angry, and deeply validating conversation about work, worth, and why neurodivergent people aren’t locked out of employment because they can’t work — but because the system refuses to change.

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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⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott explore the powerful role animals play in neurodivergent lives — from emotional regulation and routine to responsibility and companionship.

Sparked by Simon adopting a dog, the conversation moves through childhood memories of pets as lifelines, the unique bond many Autistic and ADHD people form with animals, and why pets often provide connection without judgment when people cannot.

They also speak honestly about the realities: financial strain, PDA, sensory triggers, burnout, and the unavoidable heartbreak of loss. Rather than romanticising pet ownership, the episode balances warmth with realism — acknowledging both the regulation animals bring and the responsibility they demand.

Together, they discuss:

• Why pets are so common in neurodivergent lives
• Animals as emotional regulation, comfort, and routine
• Being alone without being lonely
• How pets support motivation, structure, and daily functioning
• PDA, autonomy, and responsibility of pet ownership
• Grief, anticipatory loss, and loving animals through ageing
• Why understanding your own neurodivergence matters when choosing pets

This episode is a heartfelt, funny, and deeply human reflection on why animals mean so much to neurodivergent people — not as therapy tools, but as companions, family, and anchors in an overwhelming world.

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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In this week’s Mindful Mondays, Ashley Bentley explores the Circle of Control - a simple yet deeply regulating framework that helps neurodivergent nervous systems find steadiness in moments of anger, overwhelm, and emotional overload.

Building on themes from recent episodes on December fatigue and nervous system regulation, Ashley shares how learning to release what is outside our control can radically change how we experience stress, reactivity, and burnout. Drawing on a powerful conversation from Episode 75 of The Neurodivergent Experience Podcast, she reflects on how the Circle of Control became one of the most effective tools her co-host Jordan has ever used for regulating anger - especially in high-stress moments like driving.

This episode gently unpacks the paradox of control: how gripping too tightly to ourselves can create anxiety, while letting go of what was never ours restores clarity, agency, and calm. Through story, metaphor, and nervous-system wisdom, listeners are invited to rethink control not as domination, but as a compassionate way of choosing where attention and energy truly belong.

The episode closes with a soothing Yoga Nidra–inspired practice, guiding listeners into deep rest and embodied focus - a way of experiencing the Circle of Control not just as an idea, but as a felt sense of inner steadiness.

A grounding companion for anyone feeling stretched thin, reactive, or overwhelmed - and a reminder that peace often begins by carrying less.

❤️ 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

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In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott respond to an Independent article exploring whether undiagnosed ADHD increases the likelihood of young people going missing — and why headlines like this often oversimplify a much deeper issue.

Jordan shares raw, personal stories of repeatedly running away as a child and how abuse, zero support, and misinterpretation shaped his behaviour — not ADHD itself. Simon unpacks why articles tend to blame neurodivergence rather than the environmental failures, lack of safeguarding, and lack of understanding that actually create crisis responses.

Together, they discuss:

• Why “ADHD made me run away” is an oversimplification
• How unsupported neurodivergent kids end up in crisis
• Sensationalist headlines vs. lived reality
• The role of schools, police, and mental health services
• How mislabelling kids as “naughty” shapes lifelong self-worth
• Why early identification and whole-profile neurodivergent understanding matters
• The urgent need for empathy-driven support systems

This is a validating and eye-opening conversation for anyone who grew up misunderstood — and for anyone working with vulnerable neurodivergent young people today.

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

🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

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