The Autism News NetWORK

Dr. Gwynette speaks with Dr. Jessica Hellings, recipient of the 2024 APA George Tarjan Award for Contributions in Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Hellings is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She earned her medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Board-certified in general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Hellings has developed specialty services for individuals with developmental disabilities at institutions like the University of Kansas Medical Center and The Ohio State Nisonger Center. With over 40 years of clinical and research experience, her work has focused on severe challenging behaviors in children, adolescents, and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD), addressing issues such as aggression, self-injury, and property destruction. Dr. Hellings has co-authored a book on the gut-brain axis, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity in neuropsychiatric illness. She also works to improve psychiatry training programs on ASD/IDD and serves on the Missouri board of ECHO Developmental Disabilities.

What does clothing have to do with self-expression and identity? Kaede and Vell chat about autism and fashion.

Kaede interviews Vell and David about their marriage.

Ainsley Knight joins Dr. Gwynette to talk about her favorite bullrider.

Special guest Dave DeFalco and Dr. Gwynette dice it up on all things AI!

How is social interaction unique for autistic individuals? How do we embrace differences in other people?

How do we know ourselves and our capabilities? How do we introduce ourselves to the people around us? And what do we do to maintain our self esteem and confidence in our social skills? Get ready to hear our experiences!

David and Kaede discuss the challenges autistic individuals face with respect to transportation.

This podcast is about autistic individuals working hard at their job. They face unique challenges as David, Vell, and Kaede discuss in detail.

In this serious podcast, Dr. Gwynette talks to David and Kaede about their past traumatic experiences. Some things that Kaede said were bleeped out because of a curse word. The music for the intro and outro were AI generated on AIVA by Kaede. The art was AI generated as well, but edited by Kaede. There are some audio issues and there may be triggers in this podcast. Note from Kaede: Trauma is a very serious subject and should be understood no matter what. I made the intro and outro songs sad because of how serious this subject is. Anyone can be traumatized, whether they have autism or not. Having PTSD can be VERY debilitating and can affect anyone, including people around the sufferer. The song at the end of the podcast is especially sad, enough to make me want to cry. I hope you understand trauma better after you listen to this podcast.

Russ talks about bullying during childhood and youth and finding refuge in music.

Ainsley hosts this podcast and talks about her new favorite sport with Dr. Gwynette.

Scott “The Godfather” Biehl asks Dr. Gwynette: “What causes autism?”

Russ returns to the podcast to talk about his work, his quirks, and growing up in a time before most people knew what autism is.

Kaede hosts this episode on classic gaming and Patrick (Zephyr Blaze) and Dr. Gwynette join in for a throwback to the era of command prompts, sound cards, and VGA graphics. Kaede's Notes: We had some audio issues and Patrick (aka Zephyr Blaze) had looked up the wrong thing for Powerslave. Powerslave (game) was actually released in 1996. MS-DOS was released in 1981. We did go off topic for the Atari briefly. Here's the links to D-Fend Reloaded and where to get MS-DOS games: http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/ https://www.myabandonware.com/ https://dosgames.com/ For my Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IunDno9hPwY

Beatles superfan Russ talks about his nearly lifelong interest in the Fab Four.

Kaede hosts and Jacob and Spencer join in for the first ANN retrograming episode. (Does using emulators kill the experience?)

In this episode, the Autism News NetWORK's Vell Baria shares the mic with her best friend, Joshua, who traveled across the globe from the Philippines to visit the USA.

Jackson Hamilton makes his debut on the podcast to join Dr. Gwynette in indulging their mutual Taylor Swift fandom. Or, rather, to explain how Swiftie fandom provides fertile ground for the discussion of various mental health topics.

Chris and Katie Mai have been married for ten years. Chris has Autism and his wife Katie previously worked in support of The Autism News NetWORK and Project Rex. In this interview, they talk about their relationship.

What does it mean to say someone has mild, moderate, or severe autism? Kaede and The Godfather join Dr. Gwynette to talk about the different ways in which autism can present and about their experiences growing up on the spectrum.

Dr. Eric Dobson, an MUSC psych resident, joins Magnus and Dr. Gwynette to discuss potential therapeutic uses of MDMA and other psychedelics.

Magnus hosts and Scott, Dr. Gwynette, Erin, and Mariah join in for this nostalgic reminiscence of a time when families would drive to the movie rental store and browse the aisles to select which title they would take home for movie night.

This third installment of the “Autism and Independence” series with Josh Miller and Clay Seim covers the experience of taking on education and employment opportunities, experiencing increasing levels of stress/anxiety until burnout, quitting, and then repeating the cycle.

This second installment of the “Autism and Independence” series with Josh Miller and Clay Seim covers: - Loneliness - What it's like to have few “IRL” friends (In Real Life) - Isolation in the context of COVID - Financial pressures - Why having roommates can be stressful, for example sensory issues and figuring out social cues from other people.

Clay Seim and Josh Miller join Dr. Gwynette to talk about what independence means for autistic adults and the experience of falling off of the “transition cliff” of services and support.

Magnus hosts and Chris and Kyle join the podcast this week to discuss the place of Pokémon in both the card game and wider culture.

Zephyr Blaze and Jennifer talk games! You can find them on your favorite platforms at ZephyrBlaze456 (or ZephyrBlaze) and CheesyMacaroni.

Joshua Miller steps into the host seat and Kyle Kilvington co-hosts as they interview Dr. Andrea Boyer. Dr. Boyer is a Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist at the Medical University of South Carolina. She speaks about her heart for Autism, career aspirations, and her thoughts on the Autism News NetWORK!

In this episode, members of the MUSC SPARK program speak with Dr. Gwynette about their work on the world's largest genetic autism study.

In a new turn for the podcast, Scott "The Godfather" Biehl joins us as co-host for the first in a special series of episodes. This week, Scott and Dr. Gwynette are joined by ANN staff Jennifer, Chris, Kyle, and Erin to review some recent news stories and provide commentary and perspective on them.

Dr. Gwynette and ANN staffer Josh Miller host Wendy Dawson, the Executive Director of Social Motion Skills, and Social Motion Education Director Brandi Timmons. Social Motion Skills is based in Houston, TX and works to inspire and empower individuals with autism and similar special needs to achieve their full potential.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg joined the ANN crew for a group interview over Zoom. We are releasing the audio from the interview as a special podcast. You can watch the video at the ANN website: https://www.theautismnewsnetwork.com/featured/interview-with-charleston-mayor-john-tecklenburg/

ANN Editor in Chief Ainsley Knight is back on the podcast with her mother Amber. We discuss how Coronavirus has affected Ainsley's routines, find out about her work, and hear about her dreams for her future.

Joshua Miller returns to the podcast for a free-form conversation with Dr. Gwynette. He shares how he has been dealing with the "isolation" of the pandemic, his interests, goals, and fears.

On today's episode of the Autism News Network podcast, Dr. Gwynette interviews Dr. Daniel Moreno De Luca, a world expert on Autism and Genetics. Dr. Moreno De Luca is also a musician and he recently released a song inspired by his experience getting to know individuals with Autism! The song is called “Outer Space” by Brúnn. Dr. Moreno De Luca talks about the inspiration for the song and his career path that has taken him across the globe.

On today's episode, we are joined by Jennifer Engel, an Autism News Network participant and avid gamer. Hear how Jennifer is coping during the pandemic. And did we mention there's a tortoise?!! #TACOCAT (just listen to the end and you will understand!)

On today's episode of the Autism News NetWORK podcast, Dr. Gwynette has an in-depth conversation with his 13-year-old daughter, Reagan. They talk about all things quarantine, and how the Coronavirus is impacting this young girl's life.

In this episode of the Autism News Network podcast, Dr. Frampton Gwynette is joined by his wife, Dr. Gretchen Gwynette, to discuss the latest COVID-19 medical news and what it means for YOU. We are in the grips of a true pandemic, so this is critical information. And yes, this episode does mention toilet paper!

On today's episode, Dr. Gwynette is joined by Dr. Cam Mateus (Ma-TAY-us), an Internal Medicine and Psychiatry Resident at the Medical University of South Carolina, to discuss the very latest regarding the Coronavirus/COVID-19. They talk about how to protect yourself, how the virus attacks the body, and its impact on our mental health.

What is it like to grow up without realizing there is an explanation for why you feel so different from your peers? Ben is a 35 year old male who was diagnosed with ASD two years ago. He is a researcher at MUSC who manages a lab that does Autism research and was kind enough to tell us his story.

On today's Autism News NetWORK podcast, Dr. Gwynette and Dr. Amanda Eblin, a nurse practitioner at the Medical University of South Carolina, bring you the very latest information about the Coronavirus epidemic. From worldwide data to how it's impacting our lives on a local level — it's all here.

What is the current situation with the coronavirus outbreak? What is expected to happen? What should we do? Dr. Gwynette answers these questions in a special episode of the podcast.

With Ainsley Knight & her father Bubba. Ainsley shares her joy of books as well as some favorite titles. Ainsley & Bubba also talk with Dr. Gwynette about media selection, the introduction of topics at a developmentally appropriate stage of life, and staying safe while making friends and being online.

How have things gone so terribly wrong with the Star Wars franchise? Magnus, Jennifer Engel, and Avery Wojdyla join Dr. Gwynette to count the ways.

Starring Patrick Reid @ZephyrBlaze456 on Twitter and @ZephyrBlaze#2645 on Discord. Also guesting is Ms. Debbie Reid, Patrick's mom. We discuss setting and achieving Patrick's goal of becoming an Eagle Scout as well as his role with the network.

John talks about the Iowa caucus system, his interest in history & politics, and gives some takes on Star Wars

Which character would you want alongside you on a mission? What is the best episode? What even is a Mandalorian? Clay Seim and Josh Miller join Dr. Gwynette to talk about Stars Wars in this special bonus episode of the podcast.

Josh joins the podcast to talk about growing up as the child of a divorced single mother, how his autism affected his relationships with his family, his perspective on feeling "gifted" with autism, struggles with completing ambitious goals, the benefit of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on his depression symptoms, and working to attain social skills and milestones later in life.

Clay Seim shares with Dr. Gwynette his perspective on "non-apparent disabilities" vs. "apparent disabilities" and the effects of the former on work and social relationships, how he uses "masks" and "scripts" to "pass" in social settings, and how struggling with performance at school or life can lead to a self-reinforcing cycle of anxiety & depression.