Interviews Archives - Spectrum Women

Arts

‘What I (Don’t) Know About Autism’ – Interview with Jody O’Neill

October 27, 2021 Spectrum Women

Interview by Maura Campbell, Spectrum Women Features Writer. When writer and actor Jody O’Neill reached out to Spectrum Women about ‘What I (Don’t) Know About Autism’, I couldn’t resist getting in touch with her to find out more about the woman behind this groundbreaking Irish theatre production (soon to be available on demand). Performed by a cast of autistic and non-autistic actors and inspired by Jody’s own experiences, the play takes the audience on a journey that celebrates autistic identity and offers deeper insights to those less familiar with autism, smashing some tired old myths along the way. […]

Featured

“MILDLY DIFFERENT” – Interview with Anna Czarska

August 25, 2020 Spectrum Women

Mildly Different is an exciting new film project which aims to shed light on what autism in women looks and feels like from an autistic perspective. Maura Campbell met up with Anna Czarska, Managing Director of Sticky Tape Productions, to find out more. How did the idea for the film come about and what are you hoping to achieve through this project? The film was inspired by my own experiences. I went through most of my life not knowing about my autism and believing there was something inherently wrong with me. This not only led to a great deal of […]

Book Releases

Interview with Author of Uncomfortable Labels, Laura Kate Dale by Yenn Purkis

July 10, 2019 Spectrum Women

In this interview, author Laura Kate Dale discusses her new book Uncomfortable Labels with Spectrum Women Pride Page editor and autistic and non-binary advocate Yenn Purkis. The book is an autobiographical account of Laura’s life as a gay autistic trans woman. Why do you think you weren’t diagnosed as autistic sooner? I think for me personally, the issue was two-fold. Firstly, I was the kind of child on the autism spectrum who presented at a young age as very rule following, very detail oriented, and very able to follow set instructions. I wasn’t physically aggressive during meltdowns and was generally […]

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Seeing the Unseen Premiere Thursday June 6, 2019

June 6, 2019 Spectrum Women

By Christine Jenkins, Spectrum Women Magazine international correspondent. I talked recently with Kristín Vilhjálmsdóttir about this new documentary. She is a translator based in Reykjavik, Iceland, and one of the 17 voices in the 90-minute film, Seeing the Unseen. When you consider the whole population of her country is 340,000, about one third of my urban municipality of Ottawa, Seeing the Unseen is a major achievement. It looks at the lives of 17 teen girls and women on the autistic spectrum and is presented by the Icelandic Autistic Society. The narration is based on a large portion of the poem […]

Book Releases

Spectrum Women Interview Series with Jen Elcheson: Camouflage by Dr. Sarah Bargiela, Illustrated by Sophie Standing

April 7, 2019 Spectrum Women

Interview by Jen Elcheson, Spectrum Women Sections Editor, Feature Writer, Interviewer Camouflage is a Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP) new release this year in the ever growing literature on autism in girls, women, and gender-non-conforming people. Are you or someone you love newly diagnosed and don’t know where to begin, what book to start with, and looking for an informative, user friendly basic primer on how autism can present in girls and women? Are you a clinician who is brushing up on your research? Look no further! This accessible easy to read book is a great starting point of reference on […]

Book Releases

‘KNOW YOUR SPECTRUM!’ – BOOK REVIEW AND INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR FINN MONAGHAN

February 9, 2019 Spectrum Women

Interview by Maura Campbell, Spectrum Women Senior Editor and Features Writer Finn Monaghan is a Northern Ireland based specific learning difficulties teacher working as a freelance Autism and Dyslexia Tutor and Disability Needs Assessor at Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University. She received a late diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, aged 38, and the impact of growing up without a diagnosis inspired her to write a book to help autistic teenagers recognise their own individual spectrum of autism. Maura: Why did you think a book like this was needed? Finn: I found it difficult to grow up with undiagnosed autism and […]

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Spectrum Women Interview Series with Jen Elcheson: Meet Shadia Hancock

January 30, 2019 Spectrum Women

Shadia Hancock is an 18 year old Australian entrepreneur, coach, speaker, writer, animal empath, university student, and visual artist professionally identified as autistic at the early age of three. They recently started their own business where they are proud to offer life coaching and academic tutoring from an autistic perspective for other young people on the spectrum. In addition, Shadia is involved in other projects aimed to assist autistic people in finding their purpose in this often tough to navigate world. Since we at Spectrum Women are all about working to help empower fellow autistic and neurodivergent people, I knew […]

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Interview: Meet Cynthia Zuber

November 6, 2018 Spectrum Women

Spectrum Women Magazine Interview by Jen Elcheson Cynthia Zuber is a health and wellness writer from the U.S. who lives in the state of Minnesota with her husband, their adorable dog Jonah, and their 18 year old black cat, Juniper. Cynthia, now 43, professionally identified as having Asperger’s (which in North America, according to the DSM-5 is ASD Level 1, or autism) at age 40, recently joined the autistic blogosphere with her Facebook based blog, The Neurodiverse Woman, which she hopes to eventually turn into a website. Her musings are deep and insightful, brimming with self-awareness, and empowering sentiments that […]

Advocacy

Barb Cook on the Autism Gender Gap, Being a Chameleon and Finding Your Tribe

May 2, 2018 Barb Cook

Barb Cook is founder and editor in chief of the international publication Spectrum Women Magazine, co-founder and director of the Australian Autism Aspergers Network Inc., and founder of Bikers for Autism Australia. Barb is a passionate autism advocate, keen motorcyclist with a love for visual arts. Barb has been recognised nationally and internationally for her work spanning from her original publication the Autism Aspergers Network Magazine. Today Nick McAllister from Autism West catches up with Barb for an exclusive interview. You were diagnosed as being autistic at the age of 40, is that unusual to have such a late diagnosis? Getting a diagnosis […]

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Mental Health Care and Gaming — The CheckPoint Organisation

April 30, 2018 Spectrum Women

Interview by Spectrum Women feature writer Renata Jurkevythz Video Games are a common special interest among autistics. They provide experiences and teach tools in a safe environment ruled by logic, where you can fail and retry as many times as you need without getting hurt, or can simply enjoy a beautiful world that is not governed by confusing social rules. Especially for autistic minds, that must bear a never-ending flow of thoughts and emotions, they can provide a moment of focus and immersion that silences the brain while entertaining. Video games have been one of my major interests since I […]