E25 — Phenomenally Autistic

It's ⁠#WorldAutismMonth⁠⁠⁠ and today we're digging into this fascinatingly complex neurological condition that one of our co-hosts was actually recently diagnosed with (listen to find out who!).

Plenty of autistic folks manage to live fulfilling lives, but obviously we don't all enjoy the same privilege as Elon Musk⁠ or ⁠Greta Thunberg⁠ — and navigating a neurotypical world as a neurodivergent person can pose challenges.

Viral sensation Ayanna Davis — aka. Phenomenally Autistic to her thousands of followers — joins us to speak to some of these challenges. We'll also learn about her work dispelling ableist myths, and building affirmative community care as a Black autistic artist, author, dance choreographer, and social media influencer from Westchester County, New York.

Conservative Member of Parliament Mike Lake also joins us. Mike's autistic son Jaden inspired ⁠a powerful speech⁠ he ⁠recently delivered⁠ in Canada's House of Commons, as well as a bill he managed to fast-track in Parliament after gathering unanimous multi-partisan support.

The bill — which was first introduced in the Senate, then sponsored by Lake in the lower chamber — requires Canada's health minister to table a national autism framework in the next two years. Hopefully in a couple years time, this framework will deliver results for the Canadian autistic community.

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Are you autistic, raising an autistic child, or just hoping to learn more about autism and other forms of neurodiversity? You're not alone! Here are some resources we found helpful while producing this episode:

https://www.autismspeaks.ca/

https://www.myautism.org/wam

https://autismcanada.org/resources/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JFeZygXL4A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTLUYda-0O8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDXo83OtzgE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbwRrVw-CRo

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/how-greta-thunberg-s-autism-helps-give-her-a-singular-focus-1.5301634

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City and Nuuchimii is independently produced and co-hosted by Maïtée Saganash and Jenn Jefferys. Reach us at [email protected] or @citynuuchimii. Click here to subscribe now.