The Thriving Autistic Culture

Transcript

The Thriving Autistic Culture

September 13th, 2026

Episode Introduction & Preview

Welcome to Today’s Autistic Moment: A Podcast for Autistic Adults by An Autistic Adult. My name is Philip King-Lowe my pronouns are he/him. I am the owner, producer and host and I am an Autistic Adult. Thank you so very much for listening.

Dr. Angela Kingdon is the host of The Autistic Culture Podcast.  Angela joins me to talk about how the Autistic Culture thrives by bottom up processing, justice sensitivity and the many contributions Autistic individuals have made in history, and how many are contributing to our society today.

Come join us for the episode The Thriving Autistic Culture on Today’s Autistic Moment.

♫♫ Opening Theme Music ♫♫

Segment 1

Ths first segment of Today’s Autistic Moment is sponsored by The Autism Society of Minnesota, known as AuSM throughout Minnesota’s Autism Community. As Minnesota’s First Autism Resource for more than 50 years, AuSM serves the whole state, the whole spectrum for the whole life. Visit AuSM at ausm.org.

Visit todaysautisticmoment.com to listen to over 120 episodes released since 2021.

Check out the Episode Schedule 2026 to read about upcoming shows, topics, guest information, and program descriptions for season 6.

On the website, you can:

·      Learn more about Today’s Autistic Moment.

·      Read the guest bios pages.

·      Explore the Adult Autism Resources Links Page.

·      Visit the Autistic Community Bulletin Board.

·      Read the blog.

·      Find out about TAM Autistic Consulting Services.

·      Sign up for a subscription to get Ad Free Interviews.

·      Support Today’s Autistic Moment with a donation.

Every episode, including this one, has a transcript. The transcripts are sponsored by Minnesota Independence College & Community.

You can also read the transcripts right on the website with each episode or download printable versions to help you save ink.

The transcripts have hyperlinks in them for names, organizations and other resources named throughout the show.

The transcripts use a dyslexia-friendly font that are available in English, Spanish, German, French, and Chinese Simplified.

Want more interaction with Today’s Autistic Moment? Follow Today’s Autistic Moment on Facebook including our Community Group Page, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Instagram and Threads. Also follow us on the YouTube Channel @todaysautisticmoment to listen to new episodes of Today’s Autistic Moment and watch Autistic Voices Roundtable Discussions.

I want to highlight one of my sponsors. Best Care MN has been a sponsor of Today’s Autistic Moment since the podcast began in 2021. The company offers Personal Care Assistants, homemaking and other important services. Your friend or family member can be your paid PCA and Best Care makes sure that your PCA is trained and certified by directing them through the channels to be ready to serve you.  My own support services are managed by what Minnesota calls Consumer Directed Community Supports, also called CDCS. Raina Marti and the good folks at Best Care provide the Financial Management Services (FMS) for my CDCS plan.  They make sure that those who work for me complete all the necessary paperwork, provide the time card portals, and make sure that my employees are paid on time.  Raina and her team are the best with client communication.  Raina is willing to explain how to use the portal to understand how to lock approve my employee’s hours so that they are paid promptly.  If you live in Minnesota and are on a CDCS plan, and your current FMS isn’t listening to you, or giving you timely responses to your emails, taking forever to pay invoices, switch to Best Care’s Financial Management Services. When they ask how you learned about Best Care’s Financial Management Services, tell them you heard Philip highly recommend them on Today’s Autistic Moment. 

Coming up after the first commercial break, Dr. Angela Kingdon will join me to talk about The Thriving Autistic Culture. 

♫ Segment Ending Music ♫

Commercial Break I

Podcast Apps

Today’s Autistic Moment can be downloaded and heard on most podcast apps including Apple. Google Play. Breaker. Castbox. Overcast. iHeartRadio. Pocket Casts. RadioPublic. Spotify. TuneIn. Pandora. Amazon Music. Audible. Podcast Addict. Podcast Chaser. If you are looking for the transcripts, go to todaysautisticmoment.com, click on the episode you want to listen to and follow the directions to find the transcripts. 

Thank you for listening to Today’s Autistic Moment.

♫Best Care Ad♫

♫MICC Ad♫

♫ Lisa Morgan Consulting Ad ♫

♫Segment Beginning Music♫

Segment 2

Welcome back.

Dr. Angela Kindon is an Autistic advocate, bestselling author, and TEDx speaker whose work redefines how we understand Autism—not as a disorder, but as a culture.  Angela is the found of The Autistic Culture Institute and host of the Autistic Culture Podcast, a 2025 Stevie Gold and Digital Women Purpose-Led Podcast award-winning show that celebrates the creativity, communication, and community of the Autistic life.

Angela’s recent book, Am I Actually Autistic?: Your Guide to processing the Identity of Lat Autism Discovery & Living Unmasked, has become a touchstone for the late-diagnosed community. Angela’s talks, writing, and research explore how identity, autonomy, and belonging shape well-being for Autistic Adults.

Based near Bristol, England, Angela serves on the editorial board of Neurodiversity Journal, as a Youth Mentor for Grove Neurodiversity & Educational Mentoring., is a peer support working with AuDHD UK, and conducts critical Autism research at the University of Kent, where she recently completed her MSc in Psychology. A doctoral graduate of the European Graduate School’s Philosophy & Critical Thought Division, Angela brings a cultural lens to psychology—bridging science, story, and lived experience.

Please join me as I welcome Dr. Angela Kingdon to Today’s Autistic Moment. 

Philip King-Lowe

Dr. Angela Kingdon, welcome back to Today's Autistic Moment. I am so excited that you took time out of your busy schedule to join us today. Welcome back!

Angela Kingdon

Oh, thank you so much for having me back. It's one of my favorite podcasts, and I love getting to hang out with you.

Philip King-Lowe

Thank you, thank you. I want to talk with you because you are a podcaster and an expert about the Autistic culture. It's the title of your podcast. It's what you focus on, and it's a great show. Everybody ought to go hear it if you haven't. But this year, Today's Autistic Moment is focused on Autistics thriving, not just surviving. And as we begin this Fall season, it is more than appropriate that we talk about The Thriving Autistic Culture. I want this to kind of serve as an encouragement, especially right now where we're hearing a lot more stigma about Autism and Autistic people. We're hearing, you know, lots of garbage out there, and so the Autistic culture is thriving by just being themselves and paying attention to our need for authenticity, But Angela here is really going to bring this subject to its forefront to encourage a lot of us to just stay in the program, as we say. Dr. Angela Kingdon, what important information can we introduce our audience to The Thriving Autistic Culture.

Angela Kingdon

Well, I want to start off by caveating absolutely everything today by saying Autistic people have medical issues. We have more medical issues than non-autistic people, our medical issues are valid. We deserve help and support for them. I'm not going to be talking about them today. That doesn't mean I don't think they exist or that I'm erasing any of this. This is additive, but I think it's important to understand from a mental health perspective. So I want to talk about what Autistic Culture is, and then I'll tie that back to mental health. And of course, as you know, if your mental health is better, your physical health is better. So, all this stuff is connected. But instead of starting with some of the medical issues, I like to start with the culture. But it's all going back to the same place, which is thriving autistic, authentic lives being lived. That's the goal. So, I was an exchange student when I was in high school, and now I live outside of the country of my nationality and where I was born. And I was also a trainer for the U.S. State Department. When students came to America, I would train them on U.S. culture in Washington D.C. So, I noticed that as I learned more and more about the Neurodiversity Paradigm, there were a lot of very similar things to the way we would teach cultural differences to high school kids coming to America from another country, or the way I was taught when I went to another country about that culture, what they would tell us-like I remember learning this in San Diego when I was 15 years old-I think what they would tell us is, you are going to think the people where you're going to live in the country you're going to live are weird or rude. You're not going to understand them, and you're not going to like it. But if you have this cultural understanding, you still might not like it, but you will perceive it differently. So I took my experience with the State Department and I created a training. It is available for free as a podcast. It's called Autistic Culture 101, and it is designed just like I would teach kids about America. How are we different? How are Americans different? And in this version, you will learn from a completely. There's no medical references. It's not pathologized at all. But what are the values, the customs, the norms, the traditions, the ways of being that are common to Autistic people? And I make a I make a comparison to I'm Italian American, and if you go to Italy and you see Mount Vesuvius, like my family is from southern Italy near Naples, you see Mount Vesuvius. What you learn is because of the volcano, the soil there is like perfect for growing tomatoes, and if you know anything about Italian culture, you know we have a lot of tomatoes, tomato sauce, pasta, pizza, because our soil was like made for tomatoes. And when you look at the neurology of Autistic people, when you look at how we experience more sensory input, when you look at how our bodies are and how we process mTOR protein and synoptical pruning, all of that leads to us having different terrain where it's not tomatoes that are growing, but in our case, it's often bottom-up processing, data gathering, being monotropically focused or focused on one issue or passion. So we could look at our neurology instead of looking at geology and identify why are these our values, norms, and traditions. So that's a little bit of a high-level overview, but yeah, yeah, give you a starting point anyway.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah, that's great, and I think we needed that background. One of the things that I have noticed since I've been hosting Today's Autistic Moment is that Autistics have been advocating for themselves a long time, in particular Autistic Adults, and the pattern seems to be the same. They discover, they learn about themselves, and then they go into some kind of advocacy for themselves or for the wider communities, and they are relentless. You know, I mean, I mean, I mean, it's amazing how, though each Autistic person is different, we have common experiences such as job retention, and we have issues like our sensory processing, someone isn't listening or paying attention, or you know, we have our way of just venting that, especially to each other because we understand. But a lot of Autistics that I've seen, myself included, we will often delve into topics and things that the rest of the world isn't even talking about.

Angela Kingdon

Yeah, for sure, for sure. And I think like this has a lot to do. So I've broken down what I call Autistic Culture into 10 pillars, but the word pillar sort of indicates that they stand completely alone. The truth is, they intersect quite a bit, and pillar number one, I think, crosses over a lot of things, and that is bottom up processing instead of top down processing. So, just as an example, you've mentioned a couple things that are part of Autistic Culture. One is our justice sensitivity, so our need to advocate on behalf of things that are important to us. One of the reasons why that's a part of our culture, like the you know fertile soil of Mount Vesuvius and the tomatoes. One of the reasons why is we can see things other people can't see. Non autistic people, or even like if it's not your area of special interest. It's easy to miss, you know. Like you probably don't think a lot about the injustice around birth, especially in America, birth by black women. Like that's probably not something because you haven't given birth, presumably. Once I gave birth, I was like, "Are you kidding me? This is how it works. Like this is wild.” So once you're exposed to something, we first of all we have. I know that there's talk of us not being empathic, but because we have we're so sensory, I know when I when it's an issue that I am focused on, I can feel it. I think more deeply than neurotypical people. So I would say I'm extra empathic in some cases. I'm differently empathic, and we. So we've got bottom up processing. We've got justice sensitivity because we can see things, we have that monotropic focus where we'll get into things other people aren't into, and as you know, we don't get into them halfway. And when you start to understand, oh, this is our culture. Once you can stop like judging it or maybe thinking it's weird, which some people you know will kind of look at it as weird. Once you understand it's our culture, it comes with those connections that you mentioned-the other people that are into the weird things, and or the less commonly explored things, or the other people with that justice sensitivity about the issue that's touched you, and that's where community comes in. So if you think you're the only one and you're not making connections because you're used to being rejected, which many of us have had that experience, then that can lead to isolation. That can lead to depression. Certainly, it's connected to anxiety. When we've got depression and anxiety, it's going to affect our greater health. So understanding Autism as a culture, in addition to our unique medical needs as Autistic people, understanding that separately can give you yourself a little bit of breathing room of like, oh, I'm doing that because I'm a bottom-up processor. I need to see the details of anything I'm interested in for it to make sense. And there's a whole bunch of freedom that comes with that when you can let go of it being anything. You know, like if I felt bad that I still eat a lot of pizza and pasta. We grew up eating pizza and pasta. If I felt bad about that every time I had pizza and pasta, I'd be upset every day. So knowing who you are and having that sense of home and belonging, and this is who my community is, that is so good for our health overall.

Philip King-Lowe

There's a question in my brain that comes from someone who is Autistic and made this a point. Let's say someone is Autistic, but they bought into the message that they are a deficit. They are disordered, and they, you know, talk about that, and they talk about Autism as being something absolutely horrible. Which, you know, we've got a lot of that talk around. So maybe some are even adopting that thought because, of course, when you hear things repeated, you're going to, you know, maybe adopt it as your own thinking. So when we say that Autistic people are social justice orientated, yet they're giving into this misinformation and guarding it with their very lives because they believe it's true. Okay, so what do we think of that in terms of the Autistic Culture? It is as diverse as we are, but again, you've got many Autistics like us who understand it isn't a deficit, we're not disordered, but we've also got people who are really, you know, throwing that matter around. What are you? What is your response to that?

Angela Kingdon

Well, going back to the bottom-up processing or justice sensitivity, you're not going to be sensitive to everything. Like we're still individual people, like I said, you're not a birth warrior. I'm a birth warrior because I went through it and almost died. Like we all have different experiences. However, separately from that, you know, internalized ableism is real, and you get a lot of credit from certain communities. Maybe it's your family. Maybe it's your church. Maybe it's your boss. But you'll get a lot of credit for trying to overcome. So I didn't know any better when I was first diagnosed, and I was like, "I'm gonna beat this thing. I'm gonna throw everything at it. I'm like, I remember like comparing myself to a wheelchair tennis player, and I was like, look, people are out there in wheelchairs and they're playing tennis, and is it gonna be harder for me? Yes, but I will put in the extra effort to cover up who I am better and better every day. You can guess where that landed me. It wasn't great, wasn't great. But I was told it was a deficit. I was given a I was given a flyer with a description of CBT therapy, and I was like, "Well, some people may go once a week, but I'm going three times a week. I'm gonna crush it. I'm gonna master. And I did. I became a completely different person. I was miserable. I didn't know who I was. I ended up actually oddly in a cult, like I ended up super burnt out and completely lost the ability to speak. But I got a lot of credit for trying to overcome this, you know, I don't know, bad hand that I was dealt. I was like, I agree, I'm I am defective, but I will work on it. I'll tell you, people like that a whole lot more than me talking about Autistic culture. Like people were on board; they were ready to like get a T-shirt and run a 5k for me.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah, well, I can speak from my point of view that during the days when I thinking of that, I actually bought into the idea that I was a social invalid, and there was going to be nothing I could have done about that because all my social interests and all of my other interests-I mean, they have totally drowned me. And what's wrong with me? But then, in the late 2017, when I discovered The Autism Society of Minnesota and started interacting with other people like myself, and then really learning things like it's okay if you're wearing clothing that's not comfortable. It's okay to find something you're comfortable with. If you are having problems with light bothering you. It's okay. You just find an alternative. And the more the more time went forward, and the more I learned about it, the better I felt about it. And then when I started thinking, oh, I'm not disordered. I'm not. I'm not a burden on society. Maybe society is thinking that way, but I don't have to think that. And then I started Today's Autistic Moment, and let me say that my guests have empowered me in many ways more than I've empowered them. They have really shown me that accepting myself as Autistic and learning to enjoy that is more empowering, more life giving, more, you know, I accept my eternal truth. I live into it. It's not a horrible thing. What's horrible is what the world is doing to Autistic people. That can be such a major turnaround, and then you start to wake up and you say, "Oh, these things are not okay."

Angela Kingdon

Right, but you know, I don't know where you are in this journey. I went from being internally ableist and trying to fix myself to being sort of radically Neurodiversity perspective paradigm oriented, and I think I've softened a little bit as all of this hate has come out with the current administration in the U.S. and the current head of the health department. Somehow I don't understand, but all of that has made me think everyone is in a different place in their journey, and if you tried to tell me the day I was diagnosed this is good news, like I, I couldn't have heard it. I just didn't have the information, and so one thing I worry about and why I focus very intentionally on Autistic Culture, which everyone's invited to. If you start to look at this as a culture and you start to build love for our community and the people in it, then I think that's another path to releasing what we know is a false narrative that we're broken. But how would you learn that without starting a podcast and having guests?

Philip King-Lowe

One of the reasons why I keep this channel on for Autistic Adults is because we want you to feel like you are, like you are not disordered. You are, you do not need to be cured, and this Acetaminophen nonsense is just that nonsense. We want to emphasize that. Yet, Angela has said something that I think is worth thinking about. The LGBTQ communities, for example, have been going through a process of trying to accept the diversity that is in ours. You know, we have the LGBTQ communities have been whitewashed. They've been, you know, centralized on male sexuality at the expense of female sexuality. We have a lot of gay and lesbian folks, and even bisexual folks who are being terribly unkind to the transgender community, especially right now. But that doesn't mean that they're not part of it. But they're going through that struggle to try to interact with each other, learn about each other, even disagree with each other, and I think that the Autistic Culture needs to go through this period of trying to listen to each other, even if you're somebody who just can't, because I'm one of them. I just can't listen to that because it drives me. It just the mental side of me just can't deal. But what I'm saying is, we need to go through that struggle so that we can arrive at a place where our diversity kind of blends in, and we actually learn some things from each other. None of that means that we buy into the nonsense, but it does mean that we are learning over time to appreciate where they come from and dialog in a way that's going to lead to real social change. It's a hard thing to admit. It's a hard thing to deal with, and I am no expert at trying to tell anybody how to. But I will say that it's necessary to dialog and to listen to some of those who do dialog. For example, my good friend Dr. Scott Frasard has taken on this task through his books.

Angela Kingdon

He's one of my inspirations.

Philip King-Lowe

One of my inspirations too. Absolutely, he is doing some talking with different sides to try to bring them together to help come to some kind of common ground. So that's somebody to really look at and watch what Scott does.

Angela Kingdon

Yeah, and we need Autistic only spaces. So, an event like Autscape or Autreat, a podcast like this one, we do need spaces that are Autism affirming, where we know we can be ourselves. So, it's not an either or by any means, right? And if you don't have the spoons, like I can imagine, if you I don't know lost a loved one in World War II, you wouldn't have been signing up necessarily to host a German exchange student, right? We all have different trauma and different things that we are going through, so everyone's just in a different place and learning to let people be where they are and get the support that they need, whether that's an Autistic affirming only space or someone like Scott Frasard who is able to engage in these Socratic dialogs. Because I think that's his special interest and it's monotropic focus, so it's giving him spoons, not depleting spoons, and that's what we want to support for Autistic people is being resource, and as a community, mutual aid to resource each other where we can.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree.

Coming up after the next commercial break, Angela and I will talk about some Autistics who have thrived throughout history, those who are thriving today, how our special interests such as what we collect are part of how we thrive as Autistic people.

♫ Segment Ending Music ♫

Commercial Break II

♫ Looking Forward Life Coaching Ad ♫

♫ Actually Autistic Coach Collective Ad ♫

TAM Support Ad

Today’s Autistic Moment is a podcast where Autistic Adults from all walks of life are talking to each other. Each guest and conversation is with an Autistic Adult sharing what many Autistic Adults are feeling in this moment. Today’s Autistic Moment is telling Autistic Adults that you are perfect just as you are. You don’t need to change. You don’t need to be cured. All Autistic Adults really need is to hear how others like us are thriving in our lives.

Today’s Autistic Moment needs your contributions to bring you the conversations you are hearing on the podcast.

Support Today’s Autistic Moment in any of the following ways.

·      Make a one-time donation through the Ko-fi icon when you tap on Support Today's Autistic Moment on todaysautisticmoment.com

·      Subscribe monthly via Patreon.

·      Purchase items from Today’s Autistic Moment’s Logo Shop.

·      Share Today’s Autistic Moment with your family, friends, coworkers and others through social media and/or by telling others about us.

·      If you own a business and/or work with an organization that supports Autistic intersectional individuals by encouraging them to live with pride in who they are, advertising opportunities to support Today’s Autistic Moment and your business or organization are available.  Please send an email to todaysautisticmoment@gmail.com for more information.

Donations are not tax-deductible but help keep Today’s Autistic Moment as a safe space.

Thank you for supporting Today’s Autistic Moment.

♫Segment Beginning Music♫

Segment 3

Philip King-Lowe

Welcome back.

During the last segment Dr. Angela Kingdon and I spoke about The Thriving Autistic Culture. We talked about the 10 pillars of the Autistic Culture. The intersectional Autistic Culture uses bottom up processing.  Autistic people share justice sensitivity. Many Autistics might begin their journey of believing that they are a failure, until they begin to hear other Autistics talk about us being a culture, and come to the culture with intersectional identities, and a need to work through social change.

Now we are going to about many of the special interests that Autistics do, and give you some examples of individuals throughout history who are Autistic that have helped shape the world through their talents and contributions to society.

Philip King-Lowe

My second question, and we're already talking about the Thriving Autistic Culture, but where do we see Autistics thriving, and not just surviving?

Angela Kingdon

Well, I just wanted like I don't know why I want to start with Pokémon, but let's start with Pokémon. Satoshi Taheri, the creator of Pokémon, Autistic, diagnosed, proud, obsessed with collecting bugs as a kid, and I use the word obsessed in the best way. It was all he could think about. He collected the bugs, he named the bugs, he categorized the bugs. He imagined how the bugs would uplevel, and we all get the joy of Pokémon, right? And even if you don't like Pokémon, you still get it. You get to see kids' faces light up when they see a Pikachu, and that joy is Autistic joy. We are so pillar six in Autistic culture is boldly creating because we are able to make so many more connections, because we process so much more sensory information because we are able to create worlds. We get the beautiful worlds that are created, like for Star Wars or Star Trek or Dungeons and Dragons or wrestling. We have an amazing docuseries on the Autistic Culture Podcast Network coming out just about wrestling and the history of Autism and wrestling and how those worlds are overlapping and intricate and complicated and just a beautiful way to dive into the beauty of how we process information. How we find joy. My friend Ashley Story, who created the Hulu series Dinosaur, which is made by Autistics for Autistics, she talks about something called glass slipper jokes. So she says that her favorite thing about writing the dinosaur episodes is in every episode she tries to put jokes in there, just like little nods, winks, Easter eggs that only people that were Autistic and really into that special interest would get the reference. And she's committed to representing that idea of like we know so much more about our things, and we need that satisfaction of like, oh, that's our thing. I realized one of my special interests is Shakespeare. My favorite Shakespeare play is Hamlet, and there's this Tom Stoppard play about Hamlet. It's called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Dead. It's a little bit of a fanfic, and I always loved this play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Dead. And then once I realized I was Autistic, and by the way, probably so is Tom Stoppard and Shakespeare and Hamlet. But I realized I love Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead so much because it's all inside jokes you would only get if you were completely consumed by Hamlet for years and years and years, and read it 1000 times, and had a favorite actor who played Hamlet because you've seen so many different people play it. That those are all glass slipper jokes. Those are all glass slipper jokes. That is so beautiful, and so I think there's so much thriving, especially in the arts, in science and technology, there's so much I could say about math and science and the ways that Autistic people have developed systems. So, Thomas Jefferson, many Autistic traits, including the way he would sit, so he sat away. Many bendy Autistic people at the EDS sit, and other congressmen would complain, like, "Why does he have to sit such a weird way? I don't like it. He really invented the library, almost reinvented a library categorization system that is still used, and Dewey from the Dewey Decimal System also many Autistic traits. Both of those different library categorization systems are such beautiful examples of Autistic thinking. If you're a book person or a music person, and you have a unique way that you have organized your collection. Congratulations, you are a thriving Autistic because when we organize and categorize and synthesize and sort, that is the beautiful magic of being autistic.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah, yeah.

Angela Kingdon

What do you organize and sort? I don't know what you collect. What do you collect or organize or read or do? What What's your thing? Lightsabers, swords.

Philip King-Lowe

My early youth was entrenched in the organ music, organ music, music in general. In fact, I have a bachelor's degree in church music with an applied concentration in organ.

Angela Kingdon

Wow! Yeah, and beautiful.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah, and there's some stories behind that one because the organ was not originally meant for me. It was meant for my sister. My sister was born with smaller hands that had trouble with holding pens and that sort of thing, and so it was advised that she take organ lessons. One day, she had been trying to play the song "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," and was having a bit of a problem with that, so eventually she got frustrated enough to turn it off, and I just happened to be sitting in the chair next to her. Well, I got up on that organ, and I played that very song without a hitch, and really like how to do that. So, I went to a college and I earned that degree, which, incidentally, someone once said I would never go to college and earn anything, but I did, and I have spent the majority of my life doing playing in churches, directing choirs, and music programs, and that sort of thing. And it's one of those things that is an eternal part of my life. It always has been, always will be. And the thing is, is that when I discovered that I am Autistic, I realized that going into that profession again is probably not something that's going to happen because of the professional relationships, I can't recover because of problems. But and I'm so glad that we're having this conversation. It's actually in early August, but I will apply it right now to the beginning of the Fall and say, yesterday was a wonderful day, August 4th, because I was able to get a used practice organ into my home and started playing again, and I'm just so thrilled to be able to do that because the organ was like my best friend. It was like it was like this friend of mine that was always there. Now let's turn that attention over to another musician in history, who was Autistic, although they probably didn't use that word then. That's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Angela Kingdon

I wondered if that's where you were going. Yes, I was absolutely.

Philip King-Lowe

Here's some things that here's some things, and that was from his very early ages. He was already writing it out of his head, and he wrote I don't know how many operas and symphonies, concertos and waltzes and so on and so forth. And I mean, this guy was a mastermind. He could hear it in his head like he's taking dictation. Okay, if you want to talk about the Thriving Autistic Culture, if you look through the history of human existence, you will find that the ones who have given us this huge collection of things, theories like Albert Einstein and others like them. You will discover that there is the Autistic element. Some of the most brilliant discoveries in history were found by an Autistic individual. They just didn't name it that way. The thing is, is that we are we are highly intelligent. We are highly able to think and do things, write podcasting and all these things. We're very we can do things, you know, even that some just can't imagine. I refer to that episode of Law and Order Special Victims Unit because that one called Frequency, when a young Autistic boy, non-speaking, was taken from its mother and kept in a cage, and because one of the detectives had a brother whom he taught, you know, to let him know if he's if he's telling the truth, to basically touch his nose, and the other one to touch his forehead if it was false, they were able to find this boy and rescue him. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, especially since we all know how nicely that's sarcasm, folks. We are treated on the media, but anyway, I mean, it's really a touching story, and so we have, we are, we are, you know, we are stronger than we are led to believe, and you're right. Our special interests are the things that make us do make us thrive in our own little world that may or may not spill over into the rest of the world.

Angela Kingdon

Absolutely.

Philip King-Lowe

Now, yeah. Now we want to talk a lot about our intersectional identities that really are experiencing a great deal of trauma. And every Autistic person is connected to one of the intersectional identities wherever those happen to be. Not only are Autistic people experiencing the social stigmas of the current administration, but so are LGBTQ people, people of color, and people with various other forms of Neurodivergence. We're all experiencing this push, this pushback to some of the things we've understood about ourselves, and I would like to say that we thrive because, as Autistic people, we actually are more accepting of our diversity within ourselves than actually a lot of other communities are. That doesn't mean we're perfect. That doesn't mean we still don't have things to work at. But I don't know about you, Angela, but I do find that there is so much support for a lot of our intersectional folks in the Autistic culture. What are your thoughts about that?

Angela Kingdon

Yeah, for sure. Actually, I want to tell you a little story about intersectionality and Autistic thriving in Autistic culture, and it is about the playwright Emily Dickinson. So a lot of people don't know this, but Emily Dickinson grew up obviously long before the word Autism existed. She grew up in Massachusetts. Her dad was the president of Amherst College. Her family was super political, and I don't mean like running for office political, although there were some of that. But just like keeping up with the Joneses political, like they every Sunday instead of Facebook groups, every Sunday the family would go door to door and meet people and have a cup of tea with your neighbors. Not just the family. This was like calling cards and that era, and Emily Dickinson, who had many, many, many Autistic traits and would have likely been diagnosed or self-identifying, was not into the visiting people's houses at all. And so she did some pretty creative things to do what she wanted to do, which was first of all to read every book in her father's very impressive library. Second of all, spend time with her girlfriend. So she arranged in a very creative way to get her girlfriend to marry her brother, and then to get her parents to buy her girlfriend and her brother a house across the street. So when everyone would go off, Emily and her girlfriend would walk naked in the woods, the same Walden woods that are very famous, and she would write poems about walking naked in the were in the woods with her girlfriend, but sort of write it in a way that she could be talking about baring her soul to God, because they were very churchy people, and so if all of Emily Dickinson's God poems tend to be about like sex with her girlfriend, which is super fun, and she had one rule, and you can find this in her poems, which is if you talked about Emily Dickinson's childhood or if she wrote about it, she insisted you only refer to it as her boyhood. Interesting.

Philip King-Lowe

Yes.

Angela Kingdon

So she had to be very creative, of course, because it was not like there was, you know, Pride parades in downtown Amherst. But she found a way to have some sort of non-binary gender identity. She found a way to have a girlfriend. She found a way to change her social obligations. And one more thing I love about what she found was she insisted on same clothing. So she had one white dress. She made it herself. She had many of them. Obviously, you know this because this is what we all do. But she had one style. She made the pattern. She made 100 of these dresses. It had to be the same fabric, and she would only wear this one white dress because it worked. And she really liked being naked. But if you got to have clothes on, you got to be comfortable if you're going to write 1,800 poems.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah.

Angela Kingdon

So, I know you were talking about support today, and I do agree. We have so much support, but I don't know. I have this hunch that her brother's wife was also Neurodivergent, and that we've been finding each other for hundreds of years in bird watching, and I don't know writing epic poems while walking along seashores, and we find each other through our special interests, which is why they're so important to treasure.

Philip King-Lowe

Yeah, and you know, as I do scroll through Facebook, my own page actually, you know, I have a lot of autistic friends who they will see something happening with regard to same-sex marriage, and they will say, "Person may be straight, but they're still like this just isn't right." You know, so I see things like that, and then I've been saying this for over a year, but I am distressed for our trans communities because of how many of us are Autistic, and it's been all the time something comes up about us about transgender folks, and it's so very difficult. But I've also seen a lot of transgender folk, Autistic transgender people, who just will not let themselves be someone else's tool of oppression. They will take a stand and say no. Now, a month ago, Dr. Jessica Hickstead we were talking about Self-Care: Navigating Trust, and one of the things that we spoke about was that if you know within your heart who you really are, then you live into that person and believe that truth, regardless of what any politician or any group of people may say, and you claim that for yourself and don't let anybody derail you from it. And even with all the negativity, you still have enough positivity within yourself to take that truth upon yourself, live into it, and be proud of yourself.

Angela Kingdon

Yeah, for sure

Philip King-Lowe

That's a message I want to say.

After the final commercial break, Angela will share more information about the Autistic Culture Podcast network as a great resource for today’s topic.  Today’s Autistic Community Bulletin Board will follow.

♫ Segment Ending Music ♫

Commercial Break III

TAM Autistic Consulting Services Ad

TAM Autistic Consultation Services is an opportunity for Autistic Adults to meet with me to get some information about Autism, the Autistic community and find resources that are helpful. Being Autistic myself, I understand what it is like to suddenly find yourself in a place where you need to talk to someone with your shared experience to navigate a world that was not made for Autistic individuals.

TAM Autistic Consulting Services are not therapy or legal advice. 

Go to todaysautisticmoment.com and read about TAM Autistic Consulting Services.  If interested, please fill out the intake form and make an appointment so we can begin working together.

♫ ITI Assistive Technology Ad ♫

Future Shows

On September 27th, Jonathan Domsky and I will present Thriving Autistic Entrepreneurship.  Many Autistic people have started their own businesses. When many Autistic people have found that being employed by others is unsuccessful, so self-employment is the best way to go. Jonathan Domsky is an Autistic business owner. Jonathan will share his stories of how his business was started and found ways to accommodate diverse employees.  Jonathan made his business a great example of what can be accomplished when employers listen to their employees to make improvements for everyone.

On October 11th, Wally Glasscoff is a graduate from Minnesota Independence College & Community will present AuDHD in the Workplace. In recognition of Disability Employment Month, Wally will talk with me about his work as a pharmacy technician at a hospital. Wally, an AuDHD individual fills prescriptions including setting up IV’s. Wally will share how he manages his sensory needs in a face paced environment.

Remember to visit the Episode Schedule 2026 Page on todaysautisticmoment.com for details and updates.

Thank you for listening to Today’s Autistic Moment.

♫Segment Beginning Music♫

Segment 4

Philip King-Lowe

Before we conclude our time together, what are some resources that you might recommend for our audience regarding the Thriving Autistic Culture?

Angela Kingdon

Yeah, I'm gonna be a little self-promotional here because it is hard to find stuff on Autistic Culture. So I'm gonna promote us for a second, but I promise it is. There are some great resources from a lot of great Autistic creators. So first of all, I mentioned. So we have a podcast network. We are a mutual aid community. So no, no, nobody's paying for services. It's all or being paid for services. All of our creators are Autistic people who experience something that they want to share with the community. And I mentioned we have shown on wrestling, on roller coasters, on menopause, on friendships, so business, so many different shows. So if you go to Autistic Culture Podcast Network, you will know that those shows are made by Autistic people for Autistic people. And if there's anything you're interested, you can find it there. We also have our own Surgeon General, Dr. Mary Sims, who is an Autistic doctor from Montana, she is so incredible. She has a show called Clinical Misfits, and you can request topics. So if there is a medical mystery that you are going through, she's covered the endocrine system, autoimmune hormones, so many great topics. We have our Minister of Education, Becca Engel. If you don't know Becca's work, she's incredible. She is an Autistic teacher, and she has a concept called regulation stations, and we could build them into every classroom, whether you're Autistic or not, you should have the tools of self-regulation. She talks about that and interviews a lot of great educational leaders who are also Autistic and helping Autistic people. So, Autistic Culture Podcast Network. Every single show is really a treasure trove, and there's different life stages, different medical issues, different hobbies and interests. Find your show, underpinning all of them. There are two shows of mine, Autistic Culture 101, that walks you through that State Department training of what is our culture, so you can recognize it, and then we put those 10 pillars in action in the Autistic Culture Podcast. This week, for instance, is Eminem is Autistic and talking about what hypergraphia and hyperlexia look like and why so many musicians, especially rappers, are also Autistic and many of them coming out and talking about it. So lots of great examples of what Autistic joy looks like, and finding that joy and holding on to it wherever you can is key. And if you are listening and you think part of that could be making a show, we provide all of the editing, all of the marketing, all of the resources, so you can focus on the thing you're super into, whatever that is.

Philip King-Lowe

Dr. Angela Kingdon, thank you so much for this incredible conversation. I think, while again, my guests as well, me as you know everybody, this is really great, and we hope that listening to us will help you thrive in your place in the Autistic Culture. And of course, if you have any questions, you can always reach out to Dr. Angela Kingdon or myself. Thank you so much for being here, and we always wish you well.

Angela Kingdon

Thank you for having me.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Sign up for a subscription to Ad Free Interviews on todaysautisticmoment.com. The subscription is only $12.00 a month or $144.00 for a whole year. Once you buy the subscription, you can click on any show where you see the logo for Today’s Autistic Moment Ad Free Interviews to hear only the interview without interruption, segmentation and music. You can listen to all Ad Free Interviews going back to July 2025 and all upcoming shows. 

Today’s Autistic Community Bulletin Board

All these events and many others such as sensory friendly concerts, art activities and museum information links are available on

todaysautisticmoment.com/bulletinboard.

The Adult Coffee Club for Autistic Adults in Minnesota are held on the second Tuesday of every month (weather permitting) at Dogwood Coffee located at 2700 University Ave W. Suite 100 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Zip Code for your GPS is 55114. The Adult Coffee Clubs will begin at 3:00pm to 5:00pm on October 13th. November 10th. December 8th.

Understanding Autism virtual classes are offered by The Autism Society of Minnesota. The next classes will be on September 14th, 6-7pm. October 12th, 10-11am. November 9th, 12-1pm. December 14th, 6-7pm.

Join the fun at AuSM’s 9th annual Jigsaw Puzzle Competition! Held on October 3rd, beginning at 8:30am to 3:30pm in the iconic Huntington Bank Rotunda at the Mall of America or online on Zoom.  The Mall of America is located at 60 E. Broadway, Bloomington, MN 55425.

AuSM is accepting applications for speakers now through November 6th for the Annual Minnesota Autism Conference in 2027. They are seeking speakers for subjects like AAC and Communication. Ableism. Aging. AuDHD. Current climate for disability issues. Dating. Executive Functioning. Guardianship. Grief. Gender. LGBTQIA, and more.

Go to ausm.org to learn about these and other social and recreational programs, educational events, counseling services and support groups at The Autism Society of Minnesota.

MNeurodivergent is a social club rooted in a vision of bringing Neurodivergent Minnesotans together to build meaningful connections.  Its core principle is to foster an environment where all are treated with dignity and respect regardless of ability or preferences. Go to their website mneurodivergent.org for more information, become a member, volunteer and attend their events.

Register today for MICC’s Annual Independence 5K Run/1-Mile Walk on October 10th, 2026, at Donaldson Park in Richfield! This is more than just a race—it’s a powerful community gathering to support MICC’s mission to educate and guide Autistic and Neurodivergent adults in creating and sustaining the lives they want to live. From competitive runners to casual walkers, enthusiastic cheerleaders to dedicated volunteers, everyone plays a vital part in this family friendly event. Whether you’re racing for a personal best or cheering from the sidelines, your involvement helps amplify Autistic and Neurodivergent voices, foster acceptance, and support lifelong independence. Bring your friends and family, lace up your sneakers, and be part of this most impactful MICC Independence 5K yet! Learn more and register at micc.org/events.

Be sure to check out the events at Queermunity. Events include finding out about local LGBTQIA+ resources for those who have relocated to the Twin Cities on the 4th Wednesday of every month. Trans Health Insurance Enrollment. Fruit Salad Queer Open Mic on the fourth Thursday of every month. Crafting and Game Night on Fridays at 4pm to 8pm. Beats and Breath Yoga Based Movement Class every Saturday at 11am. Go to their website at queermunitymn.com to learn more about Queermunity and their many events.

Today’s Autistic Moment is here because of the generosity of supporters and sponsors.  Go to todaysautisticmoment.com and select Support Today’s Autistic Moment to donate. 

If you have questions about Today’s Autistic Moment, please send an email to todaysautisticmoment@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening to Today’s Autistic Moment: A Podcast for Autistic Adults by An Autistic Adult.

May you have an Autistically Amazing day.

♫ Closing Background Music with credits ♫

All of the guests meet with me on Zoom to record the interviews. The interview transcripts are provided by Otter. The podcast is prepared and edited on WavePad Masters Edition by NCH Software. The podcast is published by Spotify for Podcasters.  The music that you hear is licensed to Today’s Autistic Moment by premiumbeat.com