About this episode

Phoebe Taylor discusses her experiences as an autistic person navigating life and work, including her journey into self-employment and the challenges she faces.

Phoebe Taylor is a Canadian writer and artist whose work attempts to translate the experience of autism from the inside out. 'Fired from every job she ever had', she decided to explore self employment during the pandemic. Now 32, she was formally identified as autistic a couple of years ago, and has spent the last few years figuring out how to make a life that works better for her. Phoebe was a shortlisted finalist in the 2024 Grit List Festival for her essays on the interior experience of autism, and is currently writing about autism, feminism and disability and working on a collection of essays that explores the tensions between these marginalised identities and white privilege. She is also the co-founder and Creative Director of Do You Ever Media, a space and community giving artists and creatives the confidence to tell their story. She manages and coaches artists to bring their visions to life, and to produce and market their art. In our conversation Phoebe talks about still feeling like a 'baby autistic', returning to herself since diagnosis, and her grief over the person 'that she thought she could be'. She shares her experience of meltdowns, being an extroverted autistic…

People in this episode

Host: Amy Richards

Guest: Phoebe Taylor

Topics covered

• autism
• self employment
• feminism
• disability
• identity
• mental health

Keywords

• autism
• self employment
• mental health
• feminism
• disability
• identity
• meltdowns
• employment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Do You Ever Media

More episodes of The Squarepeg Podcast

• 157 [S11 E12] Talking to strangers: podcasting my way into a late autism discovery · July 18, 2026 · 1h 7m
• 156 [S11 E11] Coming home to myself: feeling 'good enough', unmasking and moving towards self love · July 11, 2026 · 1h 6m
• 155 [S11 E10] Unravelling: masking, personality adaptation and meeting my real self · July 4, 2026 · 1h 12m

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