37. S3, Ep6: Synaesthesia, autism research and navigating employment

Victoria Evans is a linguist and liberal politician from London. She received her autism diagnosis shortly after graduating university and now regularly takes part in autism and synaesthesia research studies. Victoria believes that diversity of thought brings both social and economic benefits and wants to work to ensure that more autistic people have the opportunity to progress in work.  In our conversation we talk about: ➡ Her experience of being at university as an undiagnosed autistic woman ➡ Some of the research she’s taken part in ➡ Our experiences of synaesthesia (a real moment of connection for me!) ➡ The challenges of employment for autistic people, including workplace culture, the interview process, reasonable adjustments and self employment Squarepeg is a podcast in which neurodivergent women, and trans and nonbinary people, explore navigating a neurotypical world and share their insights, challenges and successes. I hope that these conversations will be inspiring and thought provoking, open you up to new ways of thinking about being neurodivergent, and help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences. I’m Amy Richards, and after being diagnosed autistic at the age of 37 I’m now on a mission to learn more about different perspectives and issues around being a neurodivergent adult in a world that feels like it doesn’t quite fit.   EPISODE LINKS: Victoria tweets mostly autism research news/opinion and politics at: https://twitter.com/_londonvictoria  Information about synaesthesia: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/synesthesia/the-many-types-of-synesthesia-explained/  Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet: http://www.danieltammet.net/blue-day.php  James Wannerton: https://jameswannerton.com/  Information about the autistic employment gap:https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/new-data-on-the-autism-employment-gap  https://s3.chorus-mk.thirdlight.com/file/1573224908/63516243370/width=-1/height=-1/format=-1/fit=scale/t=444848/e=never/k=59f99727/TMI%20Employment%20Report%2024pp%20WEB.pdf  https://www.gold.ac.uk/news/comment-autism-spectrum-disorder-and-employment/#:~:text=To%20put%20this%20into%20context,who%20are%20out%20of%20work.  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/15/contents    If you'd like to connect or get in touch with Squarepeg, you can find me on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarepeg.community/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarepegautism  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/  Or on my website: https://squarepeg.community/    THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS! A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast: Cat Preston, Corinne Cariad, Elise, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Lea Li, Lilli Simmons, Pete Burke, Sarah Hardy, Vera Cady If you’re enjoying the Squarepeg podcast and would like to help me carry on making new episodes, you can become a member of the Squarepeg community on Patreon from £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast