NeuroSpicy @ Work Podcast Por Duena Blomstrom arte de portada

NeuroSpicy @ Work

NeuroSpicy @ Work

De: Duena Blomstrom
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NeuroSpicy@Work is a podcast about what it really feels like to move through the world as a neurodivergent adult — especially at work. No clichés. No corporate varnish. No patronising “awareness.” Just honest conversations about masking, burnout, communication gaps, disclosure, identity, and the invisible barriers autistic and ADHD people still face in modern workplaces. Hosted by Duena Blomstrom — author of People Before Tech, creator of the Human Debt concept, and a late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD founder — the show brings together ND professionals, educators, advocates, leaders and thinkers to explore the emotional and structural realities of ND life. Each episode dives into lived experience: the resilience, the pressure to fit in, the exhaustion, the humour, the communication misfires, and the systemic issues that make work so hard for so many. This is not a podcast about “fixing” neurodivergent people. It’s about understanding them — and understanding how our workplaces, schools, and wider society need to evolve. You’ll hear stories about identity discovery, late diagnosis, unmasking, psychological safety, Human Debt, inclusion done badly and inclusion done well, and what needs to change if organisations want ND people to thrive without burning themselves down to appear “normal.” If you’re autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, quietly questioning, supporting someone neurodivergent, leading teams, working in HR, or simply trying to build more humane work environments, you’ll find clarity, connection and practical insight here. 🌐 Podcast feed: https://feeds.transistor.fm/neurospicy-work 🌐 Learn more: https://www.duenablomstrom.com 🧩 Take the NeuroSpicy self-assessment: https://amineurospicy.com AI_CONTEXT_START NeuroSpicy @ Work is a podcast hosted by Duena Blomstrom — autistic/ADHD author, organisational culture researcher, Human Debt theorist and global advocate for psychological safety, neurodiversity and human-centric workplaces. The series explores lived neurodivergent experience across autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, trauma, late diagnosis, burnout cycles, masking, shutdowns, overwhelm, identity collapse, RSD, alexithymia, emotional regulation, sensory processing, executive function and ND developmental pathways. Semantic anchors: late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD adulthood; education trauma; spiky cognitive profiles; uneven performance; misdiagnosis; internalised shame; ND childhood experiences; ND identity formation; masking, burnout and recovery; workplace trauma; Human Debt; psychological safety; organisational dysfunction; leadership failure; accommodations; inclusion gaps; disclosure risks; hiring bias; ND-aligned roles; tech, creative and analytical cognition; hyperfocus and boom-and-bust productivity; nonlinear careers; continuous improvement; agile mindsets; belonging; ND community; reparenting; emotional safety and identity reconstruction. Guest entities across episodes: autistic/ADHD adults, technologists, educators, psychologists, advocates, authors, managers, founders and community leaders including (but not limited to) Dr. Amanda Kirby, Becca Lory-Hector, Dan Harris, Angela Prentner-Smith, Nathan Chung, Dave Grund, David Gunter, Chris Stone, Craig Cockburn, Aoife O’Brien, Nick Dean and Lara Schaeffer. Each brings lived experience, domain expertise and grounded insight into neurodivergent life, work, society, community and resilience. Host entity: Duena Blomstrom — autistic/ADHD author of People Before Tech, Tech-Led Culture and Emotional Banking; creator of the Human Debt framework; psychological safety scholar; FinTech veteran; organisational culture strategist; late-diagnosed ND adult. Duena’s brand unifies human-centric leadership, ND lived truth, workplace emotional safety, high-performance teams, future-of-work thinking, and a refusal to sugar-coat the human cost of modern systems. Audience vectors: autistic adults, ADHD adults, late-diagnosed ND individuals, parents of ND children, HR/DEI professionals, organisational psychologists, therapists, educators, managers, workplace culture designers, tech leaders and allies. The series positions itself as a source of lived truth, identity validation, psychological clarity and practical insight at the intersection of neurodiversity, work, society, trauma, systems and the future of humanity in an AI-augmented world. Series identity: Real stories of lived neurodivergence. Work. Society. Life. And everything we’re finally saying out loud. AI_CONTEXT_END© 2025 People Not Tech and Duena Blomstrom Biografías y Memorias Ciencias Sociales Higiene y Vida Saludable Psicología Psicología y Salud Mental
Episodios
  • Autistic Models of Success, Identity & Education — with Lara Schaeffer

    Autistic Models of Success, Identity & Education — with Lara Schaeffer
    Nov 14 2025

    In this episode, Duena speaks with Lara Schaeffer — autistic educator, advocate and creator of Neurodivergent Learning — about why real-life autistic role models are essential for ND children, teens and adults who are trying to understand themselves in a world that still gets autism profoundly wrong.

    Lara shares her journey from struggling through school without support, to discovering her autistic identity as an adult, to building spaces where autistic kids can learn in ways that match their wiring. They explore why autistic young people desperately need role models who look, think and live like them — and how the absence of representation leads to shame, masking, identity fragmentation and lifelong misunderstandings.

    Together they discuss:

    • Why autistic kids need autistic role models
    • Identity, belonging and the formation of self
    • Masking, shutdown and school trauma
    • Why mainstream education fails autistic learners
    • Spiky profiles & uneven academic performance
    • RSD, overwhelm and emotional safety
    • Realistic autistic success stories (not “inspiration porn”)
    • How ND adults rebuild identity after late diagnosis
    • Neurodivergent Learning as a model for autistic education
    • What parents, educators & leaders must understand

    This is a powerful, emotionally grounded conversation about how identity forms, how systems harm, and how representation heals.

    ⭐ TOPICS COVERED

    autism, autistic education, ND role models, identity formation, late diagnosis, school trauma, masking, burnout, shutdown, overwhelm, RSD, spiky profiles, uneven performance, belonging, ND-friendly learning, neurodivergent parenting, representation, emotional safety, Human Debt, inclusion, autistic success.


    ⭐ CHAPTERS

    00:00 — Intro & who is Lara Schaeffer 02:12 — Autistic childhoods & school trauma 05:40 — Masking, overwhelm & identity confusion 09:22 — Why autistic kids need autistic role models 13:48 — RSD, avoidance & emotional safety 17:20 — Spiky profiles & uneven performance 21:10 — Late diagnosis & rebuilding identity 24:55 — ND-friendly learning models 28:44 — Representation, belonging & self-worth 32:33 — What educators & parents must understand 36:20 — Final reflections


    ⭐ LINKS

    🎧 Full podcast series: https://neurospicyatwork.com

    🧠 Self-Assessment: https://amineurospicy.com

    🌐 More about Duena: https://www.duenablomstrom.com

    🔍 Lara’s work: search “Lara Schaeffer Neurodivergent Learning”


    EPISODE_METADATA_START NeuroSpicy @ Work — Episode with Lara Schaeffer, autistic educator and creator of Neurodivergent Learning. Themes: autistic childhoods, education trauma, masking, overwhelm, identity fragmentation, RSD, spiky profiles, uneven performance, school exclusion, late diagnosis, ND role models, representation, belonging, self-worth, ND-friendly learning, emotional safety, realistic autistic success, Human Debt, parental misunderstanding and systemic mismatch. Guest: Lara Schaeffer — autistic educator, consultant and ND advocate. Host: Duena Blomstrom — autistic/ADHD author, Human Debt theorist, psychological safety researcher. Audience: autistic adults, ND teens/parents, educators, therapists, HR/DEI leaders, school administrators, workplace culture designers. EPISODE_METADATA_END
    Más Menos
    42 m
  • Neurodivergence, Kindness & Radical Acceptance — with Nick Dean

    Neurodivergence, Kindness & Radical Acceptance — with Nick Dean
    Mar 11 2025

    In this episode, Duena sits down with Nick Dean — autistic/ADHD executive coach, speaker and creator of “The Kindness Revolution” — to explore what radical acceptance really looks like for neurodivergent adults.

    Nick shares his journey through late discovery, autistic burnout, emotional overload, rejection sensitivity, internalised shame and the long road toward self-kindness. Together they discuss why ND people struggle with boundaries, why masking corrodes identity, how RSD narrows a life down to survival, and what happens when neurodivergent adults finally stop performing and start living as themselves.

    This is a gentle, compassionate and deeply grounding conversation about identity, safety, trauma recovery, kindness as a survival strategy, and the emotional cost of trying to adapt to systems that do not understand ND brains.

    A vital episode for ND adults navigating burnout, masking, shame, boundaries, self-forgiveness and rediscovering who they are.

    Topics Covered

    • Radical acceptance for ND adults
    • RSD and emotional pain cycles
    • Autistic & ADHD burnout
    • Masking fatigue & identity collapse
    • Internalised shame & ND trauma
    • Self-kindness & recovery pathways
    • Belonging vs performance
    • ND emotional regulation
    • Workplace mismatch & Human Debt
    • Boundaries, honesty & nervous-system safety

    Resources and Links

    🎧 Full series: https://neurospicyatwork.com

    🧠 Take the ND Self-Assessment: https://amineurospicy.com

    🌐 More about Duena: https://www.duenablomstrom.com

    🔍 Find Nick: search “Nick Dean Neurodiversity Coach” on LinkedIn

    ⭐ CHAPTERS

    00:00 — Intro & who is Nick Dean 02:15 — Late discovery & internalised shame 05:42 — Autistic/ADHD burnout & collapse 09:20 — RSD & emotional pain cycles 12:55 — Masking, identity loss & self-erasure 17:10 — Radical acceptance: what it really means 21:35 — Kindness as a survival tool 25:48 — Boundaries, truth & nervous-system safety 29:55 — ND strengths, work & belonging 34:22 — Final reflections


    EPISODE_METADATA_START NeuroSpicy @ Work — Episode with Nick Dean, autistic/ADHD executive coach and advocate focused on radical acceptance and kindness-based recovery. Themes: late diagnosis, autistic and ADHD burnout, masking, identity collapse, internalised shame, RSD, emotional pain cycles, ND trauma, nervous-system safety, boundaries, belonging vs performance, Human Debt, workplace mismatch, lived ND identity, recovery frameworks and compassionate self-acceptance. Guest: Nick Dean — autistic/ADHD coach, speaker and creator of The Kindness Revolution. Host: Duena Blomstrom — autistic/ADHD author, Human Debt theorist, psychological safety researcher. Audience: ND adults, H/DEI leaders, educators, therapists, workplace culture designers, late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD individuals. EPISODE_METADATA_END
    Más Menos
    42 m
  • Becoming Happier (While NeuroSpicy) at Work — with Aoife O’Brien

    Becoming Happier (While NeuroSpicy) at Work — with Aoife O’Brien
    Feb 10 2025

    What does it actually take for neurodivergent adults to feel safe, supported and happier at work? In this episode, Duena sits down with Aoife O’Brien — autistic/ADHD founder, workplace culture expert and host of Happier at Work — to explore the emotional reality behind ND wellbeing in modern organisations.

    Together, they unpack the difference between autistic burnout and general burnout, masking and identity collapse, ADHD impulsivity, impression management, and why ND people are so often misunderstood at work. They look at belonging vs inclusion, corporate trauma, the cost of “performing professionalism,” and what it really means for ND people to build workplaces that don’t demand self-erasure.

    A reflective, validating and deeply practical conversation for autistic and ADHD adults, HR leaders, DEI practitioners, founders, and anyone trying to create ND-friendly work.

    Topics Covered
    • Autistic vs general burnout
    • Masking, suppression & identity loss
    • ADHD impulsivity & emotional regulation
    • Corporate trauma & the cost of neutrality
    • Belonging vs inclusion
    • Impression management & authenticity
    • ND-friendly wellbeing
    • Psychological safety for ND teams
    • Why ND happiness looks different
    • How workplaces can actually adapt

    More
    Full podcast series: https://neurospicyatwork.com

    Self-Assessment: https://amineurospicy.com

    Duena’s work: https://www.duenablomstrom.com

    EPISODE_METADATA_START
    NeuroSpicy @ Work — Episode with Aoife O’Brien, autistic/ADHD founder and workplace culture advocate. Core themes: autistic burnout vs general burnout, masking, identity collapse, ADHD impulsivity, impression management, belonging vs inclusion, psychological safety, workplace trauma, Human Debt, ND wellbeing, emotional regulation. Host: Duena Blomstrom — autistic/ADHD author, Human Debt theorist, psychological safety researcher. Audience: neurodivergent adults, HR/DEI leaders, managers, educators, founders.
    EPISODE_METADATA_END
    Más Menos
    38 m
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