Hey Party People - Let's Meet Latasha!

Latasha loves being an Occupational Therapist and feels lucky to be an Occupational Therapy educator and business owner. She has been an Occupational Therapist for 13 years and has been teaching for 4 years. She loves all things advocacy and social justice, a typically forgotten aspect of practice. Her business, Thrive OT, LLC – a based practice specializing in sensory processing & executive functioning skills -- is new and blooming. She acknowledges it's been amazing to work on her own terms and provide quality meaningful care in client's natural environment (home/community).

Although she loves Occupational Therapy, her most important role is being a mother to an amazing, sassy, 5 year old who loves the Spice Girls as much as her mom. After seeking clarity on a related condition, Latasha was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Her disclosure and authenticity is an asset to her as a practitioner and person -- and she's excited to share her experience with listeners.

Tune in and get weird with us!

Hey Party People!

Join me for the next episode of “…but are you weird?” where we share time & space with Latasha, a practicing pediatric occupational therapist, occupational therapy educator, mom, and late diagnosed neurodivergent woman.

Latasha will share stories of her most recent parenting win, the philosophy of care she brings to her professional world, and, of course, her experience of being recently diagnosed with ADHD.

Along the way, we’ll share plenty of laughs, a whole lot of wisdom, and maybe even a howl or two – but really, a howl or two.

Tune in and get weird with us by listening to “…but are you weird” now streaming on your favorite podcast platform!

Until then, stay curious, stay kind, and definitely stay weird!

@butareyouweird on IG

Hey Party People - Let's Meet Jordan!

Join me for the next episode we share time & space with Jordan Salzano, podcaster, author, and advocacy champion with deep-rooted values in service and giving back to the community... who also can't resist a good ol' meme reference.

In this episode, Jordan will walk us through the origin of the wisdom gained from life experience she shared in her first published book "The Everlasting Hunger for Improvement" and she'll share the stories of inspiration behind her upcoming, second book "Dead Ends on a Direct Road". She will also tell us all about the many, many advocacy hats she wears and she'll maybe even tell us about the kind of hat she'd want to... live in?

Tune in and get weird with us by listening to “…but are you weird” now streaming on your favorite podcast platform!

Until then, stay curious, stay kind, and definitely stay weird!
@butareyouweird on IG

Jordan's Social Media Presence:
Instagram: @jsal_motivates and @disability_advocacy_chat
Facebook: Jordan Salzano
LinkedIn: Jordan Salzano
YouTube: Jordan Salzano
Twitter (X): @jsal_motivates
Podcast on Spotify and Apple Music: Overcoming Fears and Doubts Podcast

Jordan Salzano is from Long Island, New York and is a graduate occupational therapy student at Springfield College, in Springfield, Massachusetts. She is an aspiring motivational speaker with a niche in both autism advocacy and general motivation, a published self-help author, a self-help podcast host, a self-help content creator, and an entrepreneur. She published her debut self-help book, called The Everlasting Hunger for Improvement, in December 2020. She is publishing my second self-help book, Dead Ends on a Direct Road, in Fall 2025. She has spoken at national autism conferences, including the College Autism Network's College Autism Summit, the Autism Society of Minnesota's Autistic Community Summit, and The Milestones ConneXtion Autism Conference. She have also given anti-bullying presentations across the Springfield College campus, for clubs and organizations. Helping people live their best lives possible has been a passion of hers for many years, and as she will be implementing and practicing that for a profession in occupational therapy, she also wants to continue to help people live their best lives on-stage, on social media, in published books and works, and more.

Hey Party People!!

Join me for episode two of a special two-part series, where we share time & space with Robin aka Magoodle aka my bestie.

Robin is a mom, wife, dog-mom, HR coordinator and LEGO enthusiast. She also love tattoos! She love bright colors, spending time with family and friends, going on trips with her bestie (😉 - that's me) and laughing!

In the second part of the series, we pick right up where we left off... that cliffhanger about my regrettable reaction to her sharing news about her son with me [yikes]. Then, we continue with all things irrelevant and hilarious - sharing the origin of our nickname for one another, our party days at the JCC, and we wrap up the episode with a bit of "this or that" -- but like, weirder.

Join us for more jokes and laughs - some that you'll get, and some that make no sense at all, haha!

Until then, stay curious, stay kind, and definitely stay weird!

@butareyouweird on IG

Hey Party People!!

Join me for episode one of a special two-part series, where we share time & space with Robin aka Magoodle aka my bestie.

Robin is a mom, wife, dog-mom, HR coordinator and LEGO enthusiast. She also love tattoos! She love bright colors, spending time with family and friends, going on trips with her bestie (😉 - that's me) and laughing!

In the first part of the series, we’ll meet Robin and she’ll tell us a bit more about who she is and what she does... and why she was invited on the show. Then, we move pretty quickly into debating which Shrek is the best and telling you all about our recent trip to Vegas. Confession: I think I have listened to this episode daily since recording in the studio... and I am still laughing at our nonsense.

We cannot wait for you to join in on the laughs and inside jokes...

Until then, stay curious, stay kind, and definitely stay weird!

@butareyouweird on IG

Hey Party People! It’s me, Amanda, resident weirdo and host of “…but are you weird” a podcast dedicated to spending time talking with some creative, captivating, and downright cool people, diving into their world, and ultimately asking, “…but are you weird?”

Join me for the next episode, episode one of a special two-part series, where we share time & space with Robin aka Magoodle aka my bestie.

In the first part of the series, we’ll meet Robin and she’ll tell us a bit about who she is and what she does. Then, we move quickly into debating which Shrek is the best and telling you all about our recent trip to Vegas.

The second episode picks up where we left off as we talk about how we met, the joys of being roommates, and our party days DJing the teen center at the JCC.

Tune in and get weird with us by listening to “…but are you weird” now streaming on your favorite podcast platform!

Until then, stay curious, stay kind, and definitely stay weird!

@butareyouweird on IG

Hey Party People! Let's Meet Kristen!

Join us for this episode where we share time & space with Kristen... and we'll get to work pretty quickly to cover this Kristin-v-Kristen dilemma.

Our time with Kristen starts off like any other, keeping things light talking about ever-popular cats and Kristen’s passion for her meaningful work with children and families with varying mental health needs. Our conversation takes a natural [and much valued] shift toward the "dark side" of neurodivergence; the potential experience of depression. Kristen and I each discuss our experiences of depression and the isolating aspects of being neurodivergent -- pre and post diagnosis... and the value of community. Like other episodes, we'll explore what it means to be weird to Kristen... which, of course, is not really that "weird" afterall, is it?

Get weird with us, okay?

Until then, stay curious, stay kind, and definitely stay weird!

If you or someone you know is experience challenges with mental health, remember help is available and it's okay to seek support. You can reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or by chatting at www.988lifeline.org. In life-threatening situations, always call 911.

@butareyouweird on IG

Links to articles on experience of depression for...
Autistics:
1: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11042491/
2.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40489-024-00480-z
3. Levi, M. K., Schreuer, N., Granovsky, Y., Bar-Shalita, T., Weissman-Fogel, I., Hoffman, T., & Gal, E. (2023). “Feeling unwanted, when nobody wants you around”: Perceptions of social pain among people with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77, 7702185050. https://doi.org/ 10.5014/ajot.2023.050061
4. Website: https://globalhealthnow.org/2024-05/autism-and-suicidal-thinking-alarming-new-insights with links to other relevant articles

ADHD:
1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7717502/
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8381237/
3. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1597559/full