The Neurodivergent Connection / The Curious Storyteller

Living Past the Label: What a Diagnosis Can Explain Without Defining You
A diagnosis can bring relief, but what happens if it starts to become the whole story?
In this episode, I sit down with Mike Meyer to talk about what it means to live past the label. We get into the tension so many neurodivergent people face: wanting the clarity that comes with a diagnosis without letting it shrink our identity, our choices, or our future.
Mike shares how labels can help us understand ourselves while also becoming a box if we’re not careful. We also talk about why language matters, how masking and self-advocacy can get tangled together, and why so many workplaces still expect people to fit into narrow ideas of “normal.” Along the way, I explore why detail matters to autistic minds, what gets lost when people reduce someone to a diagnosis, and how different thinking can become a real strength in leadership, work, and everyday life.
If you’ve ever wondered how to honor a diagnosis without being trapped by it, this conversation will give you a lot to think about.

About the Guest
Mike Meyer is an author, speaker, and business and technology leader who talks about neurocomplexity, leadership, and living beyond limiting labels. His work focuses on helping people understand themselves, communicate better, and lead with clarity.

Timestamps
0:03 - I welcome Mike Meyer and introduce the idea of living past the label

0:53 - Can a diagnosis help us and still hold us back?

5:45 - How do we honor a label without getting trapped inside it?

9:36 - Mike explains neurocomplexity and why he uses that term

17:33 - What gets lost when people reduce us to a diagnosis

23:18 - What comes after diagnosis and how identity can start to rebuild

36:08 - Why leadership matters for neurodivergent people

43:35 - What divergent thinkers bring to uncertain times

55:56 - What organizations need to change if they want different people to lead

65:02 - What I’d say to anyone who thinks leadership is for other people

Mikes Links:m31.global
Show Affiliate: https://shop.adhddd.com/NEURODIVERGENT_CONNECTION

If this episode speaks to you, listen through and share it with someone who needs this reminder: you are more than a label.
#Neurodivergent #Autism #ADHD #Leadership #Neurodiversity

Hosted by Reid Miles.
Conversations unfold naturally — no scripts, no rush.
🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
🌐 More about the show and past episodes: https://podcast.ausha.co/neurodivergantconnection-thecuriousstroyteller
📩 Guest inquiries & media: Reid@AspergersStudio.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What Success Doesn’t Fix: My Conversation with J.D. Barker on Writing, Doubt, and Staying the Course
I sat down with bestselling author J.D. Barker for a conversation that goes far beyond book deals and bestseller lists. In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to keep creating when self-doubt never fully leaves, and why success doesn’t always make the hard parts quieter.
J.D. shares how he went from a high-pressure career in finance to betting everything on writing, with one life-changing decision at the kitchen table. Along the way, I asked him about imposter syndrome, knowing when a book is truly done, and what happens when characters seem to take over the story. Some of his answers are reassuring. Others might catch you off guard.
We also get into collaboration, including what he learned from working with James Patterson, and the private cost of public success that most people never see coming.

About the Guest
J.D. Barker is a bestselling thriller author known for gripping fiction, major collaborations, and a career path that didn’t follow the usual script. He has written solo novels and co-authored books with James Patterson, building a wide readership around suspense, dark storytelling, and memorable characters.

Key Timestamps
0:10 - How J.D. left finance and bet on writing full-time

2:23 - Why self-doubt never really goes away

4:30 - When characters start making their own choices

6:18 - How to know when a book is finished

10:07 - What success actually felt like once it arrived

12:53 - The part of success nobody warns writers about

17:09 - What writing with James Patterson taught him

20:38 - The personal fears that sneak into fiction

23:37 - What writing gives him when everything else is stripped away

J.D's Website: https://jdbarker.com/
Show Affiliate: https://shop.adhddd.com/NEURODIVERGENT_CONNECTION

If you’ve ever questioned your work, your timing, or whether you’re really ready, I think this episode will stay with you. Listen now, and if it speaks to you, share it with someone else who needs the reminder.
#JDBarker #WritingLife #AuthorInterview #Storytelling #CreativeProcess
Hosted by Reid Miles.
Conversations unfold naturally — no scripts, no rush.
🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
🌐 More about the show and past episodes: https://podcast.ausha.co/neurodivergantconnection-thecuriousstroyteller
📩 Guest inquiries & media: Reid@AspergersStudio.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What Self-Acceptance Can Change for Neurodivergent People
What happens when I stop fighting who I am and start working with myself instead? In this episode, I sit down with Amanda Scott to talk about the quiet harm of being misunderstood, the weight of masking, and the relief that can come when things finally start to make sense.
Together, we explore what it feels like to grow up hearing harsh labels, missing support, and wondering why everyday things seem harder than they should. Amanda shares parts of her own story, from school struggles to the moment she began seeing herself with more clarity and compassion. Along the way, I also reflect on how those same patterns show up for so many of us in neurodivergent life.
You’ll hear us talk about self-acceptance, flow, joy, and why so many people feel pressured to be “fixed” before they can feel worthy. We also get into what it really costs to hide parts of yourself—and what can open up when you stop doing that.

About the guest: Amanda Scott is a therapist and coach at Manda’s Pathway, where she supports clients in understanding themselves, building self-trust, and finding ways to live that fit who they are.

Timestamps
0:02 - I welcome Amanda Scott and we start with her early school experience

6:54 - Hidden struggles, dyslexia, and what people missed

12:25 - What it means to work with yourself instead of against yourself

15:21 - Avoidance, exhaustion, and the friction of forcing yourself through life

23:59 - The mix of relief, validation, and grief after self-understanding

26:51 - Why acceptance can teach what self-improvement alone cannot

31:37 - What “flow” looks like in real life for neurodivergent people

36:13 - Masking, negative feedback, and what it can cost

44:21 - The loss of joy and why that hits so hard

46:38 - Where rewriting the “I’m broken” story begins

51:32 - What Amanda would tell her younger self now

55:46 - What I hope you take away from this conversation

Amanda's Links:
Website:https://mandaspathway.com

Instagram:https://instagram.com/mandaspathway

Show Affiliate: https://shop.adhddd.com/NEURODIVERGENT_CONNECTION

If this conversation speaks to you, listen through to the end and share it with someone who needs a little more understanding and a little less shame.
#Neurodivergent #ADHD #AutismAcceptance #SelfAcceptance #MentalHealth

Hosted by Reid Miles.
Conversations unfold naturally — no scripts, no rush.
🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
🌐 More about the show and past episodes: https://podcast.ausha.co/neurodivergantconnection-thecuriousstroyteller
📩 Guest inquiries & media: Reid@AspergersStudio.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

From Refugee Childhood to Neurodivergent Fatherhood with Norbert
What happens when raising your children helps you finally understand your own past? In this episode, I sit down with Norbert for a deeply personal conversation about immigration, survival, autism, ADHD, and what it means to break painful family patterns.
Norbert shares what it was like to grow up in Cold War Poland, come to the United States as a child refugee, and carry years of misunderstood traits without the language to name them. Then, as he and his wife supported their autistic children, old memories came back into focus in ways he never expected.
We talk about grief, identity, sensory experiences, school struggles, and the quiet weight of living in survival mode for years. More than that, I explore how recognition can lead to compassion, and how a parent can choose a very different path than the one they were given.
If you’ve ever looked at your child, your student, or yourself and thought, why did no one see this sooner? this conversation will stay with you.
About the Guest
Norbert is a father of two autistic children whose life spans refugee resettlement, cultural change, and decades of making sense of his own neurodivergent traits through parenting, reflection, and lived experience.

Key Timestamps
0:02 - I welcome Norbert and start at the beginning of his story

2:48 - The traits that were missed in childhood

8:44 - Leaving Poland and arriving in America

16:28 - What it felt like to translate himself, not just language

20:49 - Survival mode and the outdoors as refuge

30:32 - Raising autistic children and breaking old cycles

36:01 - How his children’s diagnoses brought buried memories back

42:51 - Recognizing family patterns across generations

55:52 - What still gives him hope

Show Affiliate
https://shop.adhddd.com/NEURODIVERGENT_CONNECTION

If this episode speaks to you, listen through to the end and share it with someone who needs this reminder: understanding can come later, and it still matters.
#NeurodivergentConnection #AutismAwareness #ADHDSupport #ParentingAutisticKids #Neurodiversity

Hosted by Reid Miles.
Conversations unfold naturally — no scripts, no rush.
🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
🌐 More about the show and past episodes: https://podcast.ausha.co/neurodivergantconnection-thecuriousstroyteller
📩 Guest inquiries & media: Reid@AspergersStudio.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

When a Label Helps, Hurts, or Hides the Person Beneath It
What happens when we trust a diagnosis more than we trust the person living it? In this conversation, I sit down with Andre Maurice Davis to explore that question from several angles, and it leads us somewhere deeper than labels alone.

We talk about ADHD, autism, identity, trust, and the stories people tell themselves after a diagnosis. But this episode isn’t about easy answers. Instead, I’m opening up a thoughtful conversation about how people think differently, why labels can both help and limit us, and what it means to really see the human experience underneath the words.
Andre Maurice Davis is a creator and systems thinker whose work spans music, web applications, educational tools, and data projects. Throughout our conversation, he brings a sharp, reflective lens to questions about community, culture, language, and self-understanding.
You’ll hear us wrestle with how society responds to diagnosis, why context matters more than most people realize, and what thriving communities might look like if people listened more carefully to each other. If you’ve ever wondered whether a name brings clarity, confusion, freedom, or all three, this one will stay with you.

About the Guest
Andre Davis is a multidisciplinary creator focused on music, technology, educational tools, and data systems. He’s deeply interested in communication, culture, human behavior, and the ways people make meaning from their experiences.

Key Timestamps
0:02 - I welcome Andre and ask where his fascination with people began
5:04 - We get into ADHD, ADD, and what makes diagnosis so complex
8:02 - Andre shares why labels can be helpful, but also risky
12:22 - We explore whether people trust the label more than the person
20:19 - Freedom vs. confusion when there’s no diagnosis
25:34 - What healthy self-understanding looks like
27:18 - How workplace culture reveals growth or stagnation in a community
40:37 - Andre describes what a thriving community could look like
45:00 - We talk about his creative work and the thread connecting it all
57:20 - The one question he believes everyone should ask themselves

If this conversation speaks to you, listen through to the end and share it with someone who’s questioning how we talk about neurodivergence, identity, and belonging.
#Neurodiversity #ADHD #AutismAwareness #CommunityCare #MentalHealthConversations

Hosted by Reid Miles.
Conversations unfold naturally — no scripts, no rush.
🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
🌐 More about the show and past episodes: https://podcast.ausha.co/neurodivergantconnection-thecuriousstroyteller
📩 Guest inquiries & media: Reid@AspergersStudio.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.