Diagnosed at 35/6. I'm now 39. Such a change. Hardest part for me is finding that people aren't as interested in my autism as much as I am. For me it was life changing, like complete 180, and for others it's like I just went and got milk from the dairy, like super mundane.
I’ve been so excited for this one! Paul, you the first autistic TH-camr I connected with, nearly 4 years ago now. Thank you for being such a wonderful representative, advocate, and educator for the autistic community! Claire, the perfect podcast host as always!
Amazing podcast as usual, love these (no pressure Claire 😅). Unmasking definitely is a skill as it fights against our survival instincts of perceived threats (often internalised imagined threats). I see this in my young kids all the time. My son is so incredibly hyper-socially aware around his peers to the extreme even when he was 4 years old (if not earlier). It definitely is tied into our natural perfectionism and difficulties around understanding social situations as we're overwhelmed by all the information we are taking in (which is why one on one is so much easier for us), which most people don't even think about at all (hence why they find it so much easier to function).
Great interview with Paul! When he said that he was amazed at "how many people resonated with what I thought was a unique experience," I totally understand that feeling of finding out you're not alone. I never knew there were other people out there like me; it has been validating and wonderful and has helped fight the overwhelming isolation I felt for most of my life.
A great conversation. I do follow Paul as well. He has great content as well. Nice to hear you two talking about parts of your life in a light-hearted way.
Thank you Claire for this episode. Enjoyed very much watching with my morning coffee. Discovered Paul around the same time i found you, so it was great to see you get together for a conversation. You have both helped me immensely and i cannot express enough gratitude . Love success & blessings.
Paul has been a great resource for me and probably was the first autism TH-camr I connected with after my diagnosis. I would often find myself laughing at his experiences and anecdotes because of how familiar they were to me! In the way that was like, "Ha! Yes, that has been my EXACT experience, too." 😀
This was excellent! You two are two of my favourite people on TH-cam. Thank you both of you for all the time and effort you put into your videos on your TH-cam channels. I know it's not easy to put your story out there. I think it is a lifelong journey to understand ourselves as well!
Oh Paul! Looking forward to anything you do on Unmasking! I have had to mask all 58 years of my life and I am so tired of the constant masking in public so yes thank you for thinking about addressing unmasking.
Watched the whole thing. The part about unmasking being a process rather than a one time event interests me and I'm finding putting words that fit the meaning I'd like to extend a bit of a "thready" sort of thing. I noticed bristling, so to speak, when I heard of eventually being able to enjoy employment and or socializing without burning out. What pushed the bristling? I see I'm defensive toward the experience of burnout and I didn't realize I'm holding advocacy energy for that particular autistic experience that receives judgment from more than one point of view. Loving Paul's effort to bring adult development into the light. I'm 73 and a half and have been treated, so the record of insurance and pharmaceutical records show, for what? Cynicism and regret aside, for the process of learning and accepting and possibly changing whilst simultaneously remaining the same at least in some regards. Enjoyable for me attending to my own reactions to your conversation. Thank you for sharing your work. 🎉
Such an interesting question! I almost only see it discussed as out of fear but I think I do it a lot as well because I want people to actually know I appreciate them. That makes the question of unmasking a lot more challenging, though..
Hey there Claire, another great chat. Hope all is well with you 😊. The boys finally had their op and are recovering at home since yesterday. They have both forgiven us already and needed collars because they kept trying to wash their wound, so currently they are walking around with the blow up collars on. 1 week of watching them before we can relax properly again 😆. Looking forward to the kids finishing school for the Christmas break which I think started on the 20th of December. They are very much looking forward to some time off from school now. Any fun makes in the pipeline for you at the moment? I'm going to make some toys for the cats this week. ☺️
My Aspie psychotherapist and a psychiatrist both said why bother. Cost, inaccessibility and need to make multiple phone calls (aargh) etc. BUT I do have imposter syndrome and my husband discounts me and my needs/feelings
Oh! I’m so excited for this! Two of my favorite TH-cam personalities ❤
Diagnosed at 35/6. I'm now 39. Such a change. Hardest part for me is finding that people aren't as interested in my autism as much as I am. For me it was life changing, like complete 180, and for others it's like I just went and got milk from the dairy, like super mundane.
I am subscribed to you and paul Claire. Great to see you both! ❤
I’ve been so excited for this one! Paul, you the first autistic TH-camr I connected with, nearly 4 years ago now. Thank you for being such a wonderful representative, advocate, and educator for the autistic community!
Claire, the perfect podcast host as always!
Comment for the algorithm - watching later!
Found your channel more recently. Such a treat.
I understood 7 is the magic number of words for Algo!
Amazing podcast as usual, love these (no pressure Claire 😅). Unmasking definitely is a skill as it fights against our survival instincts of perceived threats (often internalised imagined threats). I see this in my young kids all the time. My son is so incredibly hyper-socially aware around his peers to the extreme even when he was 4 years old (if not earlier). It definitely is tied into our natural perfectionism and difficulties around understanding social situations as we're overwhelmed by all the information we are taking in (which is why one on one is so much easier for us), which most people don't even think about at all (hence why they find it so much easier to function).
Great interview with Paul! When he said that he was amazed at "how many people resonated with what I thought was a unique experience," I totally understand that feeling of finding out you're not alone. I never knew there were other people out there like me; it has been validating and wonderful and has helped fight the overwhelming isolation I felt for most of my life.
Nice. You two were among the first people I found online when I was first diagnosed a few years ago at the age of 65. Thanks for what you do.
Do you have a TH-cam channel?
@@lindadunn8787 Linda, I do--a baby one in support of my book. It's under the name MySo-CalledDisorder.
A great conversation. I do follow Paul as well. He has great content as well.
Nice to hear you two talking about parts of your life in a light-hearted way.
winner combo 🏆✨🍋🟩
(i did the lime just because i felt like it😭)
Thank you Claire for this episode. Enjoyed very much watching with my morning coffee. Discovered Paul around the same time i found you, so it was great to see you get together for a conversation. You have both helped me immensely and i cannot express enough gratitude . Love success & blessings.
I put this at the top of my to-do list for this morning after I saw it drop last evening! 🎉
Thank you both 💞💙👊👊
I may have to finish this tomorrow sooo tired right now
Really Awesome Discussion; Learned a lot more about both of you and myself 🥰
yaaay! this was great, thank you 2 wonderful peeps!
Watching, commenting afterwork
So thrilled to see two of my favorites interact! This is great and so relatable! Thank you! ❤
Paul has been a great resource for me and probably was the first autism TH-camr I connected with after my diagnosis. I would often find myself laughing at his experiences and anecdotes because of how familiar they were to me! In the way that was like, "Ha! Yes, that has been my EXACT experience, too." 😀
Yup, Paul is the O.G. of autistic TH-camrs. His videos helped me self-diagnose.
I really love your hair color, Claire! And two of my favorite Autistic Content Creators! Thank you!
Camino minimum distance, to get a certificate, is 100 km.
Enjoyed the interview with Paul 😊
This was excellent! You two are two of my favourite people on TH-cam. Thank you both of you for all the time and effort you put into your videos on your TH-cam channels. I know it's not easy to put your story out there. I think it is a lifelong journey to understand ourselves as well!
Oh Paul! Looking forward to anything you do on Unmasking! I have had to mask all 58 years of my life and I am so tired of the constant masking in public so yes thank you for thinking about addressing unmasking.
Well done Claire and Paul...
Great episode, love both your channels. Love from Shropshire UK ❤
I really enjoy the podcast 💗
Watched the whole thing. The part about unmasking being a process rather than a one time event interests me and I'm finding putting words that fit the meaning I'd like to extend a bit of a "thready" sort of thing. I noticed bristling, so to speak, when I heard of eventually being able to enjoy employment and or socializing without burning out. What pushed the bristling? I see I'm defensive toward the experience of burnout and I didn't realize I'm holding advocacy energy for that particular autistic experience that receives judgment from more than one point of view. Loving Paul's effort to bring adult development into the light. I'm 73 and a half and have been treated, so the record of insurance and pharmaceutical records show, for what? Cynicism and regret aside, for the process of learning and accepting and possibly changing whilst simultaneously remaining the same at least in some regards. Enjoyable for me attending to my own reactions to your conversation. Thank you for sharing your work. 🎉
Paul and Paige L was my first autism channels.
💚
Masking can have many purposes and motivations. Do we mask out of fear or for love (of neighbor)?
Such an interesting question! I almost only see it discussed as out of fear but I think I do it a lot as well because I want people to actually know I appreciate them. That makes the question of unmasking a lot more challenging, though..
Hey there Claire, another great chat. Hope all is well with you 😊. The boys finally had their op and are recovering at home since yesterday. They have both forgiven us already and needed collars because they kept trying to wash their wound, so currently they are walking around with the blow up collars on. 1 week of watching them before we can relax properly again 😆. Looking forward to the kids finishing school for the Christmas break which I think started on the 20th of December. They are very much looking forward to some time off from school now. Any fun makes in the pipeline for you at the moment? I'm going to make some toys for the cats this week. ☺️
My Aspie psychotherapist and a psychiatrist both said why bother. Cost, inaccessibility and need to make multiple phone calls (aargh) etc. BUT I do have imposter syndrome and my husband discounts me and my needs/feelings
I had the hair thing, red hair and also blonde hair were my masks. I’ve gone back to my natural colour now.
Hi Paul, I've sent you a message via your website contact us page regarding your diagnosis.