147 [S11 E2] Complex lives in a binary world: reflections on the autistic experience

About this episode

Hannah Breslin shares her experiences as a late-identified autistic individual and discusses the challenges and reflections on living in a binary world.

Hannah Breslin runs her own business, Coaching for Difference, offering neuroaffirming coaching support for late-identified neurodivergent professionals, and education and consultancy for organisations looking to deepen their understanding of neurodiversity. Originally from Dublin, she lives in London and was formally recognised as autistic in 2022, with dyscalculia following in 2023 and ADHD in 2024. Now 42, Hannah spent 15 years working in Higher Education in teaching, research, academic and leadership roles and is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE. She was previously a practicing artist specialising in performance, video and installation. Hannah is also learning to embrace the fact that she is, in her words, "a mostly overwhelmed parent, an unreliable friend, an inattentive partner, an emotionally unavailable family member and a messy perfectionist." This episode is a beautiful deep dive into Hannah's experiences and her reflections on many aspects of being autistic in a world that's not set up for us and often doesn't meet us where we are. She talks about how she hasn't experienced 'relief' after being identified as autistic; reconnecting with joy after masking from a very young…

People in this episode

Host: Amy Richards

Guest: Hannah Breslin

Topics covered

• autism
• neurodiversity
• personal experience
• identity
• mental health
• parenting

Keywords

• autistic experience
• neurodivergent
• coaching
• ableism
• identity
• mental health
• parenting
• success
• joy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Coaching for Difference, Advance HE

Places: Dublin, London

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