100K Downloads Later: How Friendship and Community Changed Everything

Summary

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The Neurodivergent Experience

Episode: 100K Downloads Later: How Friendship and Community Changed Everything
Hosts: Jordan James & Simon Scott
Release Date: October 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this anniversary-style episode, hosts Jordan James and Simon Scott celebrate surpassing 100,000 downloads. They reflect on their podcasting journey, the importance of friendship and community in the neurodivergent experience, and how the show has transformed both their lives and those of their listeners. The conversation is celebratory but open about struggles, touching on deeply personal growth, busting myths about autism and relationships, and the real-life power of finding one’s people.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Celebrating 100K+ Downloads and Podcast Growth

• The hosts express excitement and disbelief over reaching this milestone in less than two years (approx. 19–20 months).
• Both emphasize the organic growth and grassroots effort it took, especially as a team of two with no corporate backing.
• Simon discusses the hard work, comparing their effort to larger shows:

  “I have worked on…shows that have got six, seven people on their team, and we are doing better than some of those gigs, which is kind of crazy.” (05:17)

• Jordan notes that of all his achievements (books, photography awards), this podcast feels the most meaningful:

  “I was happier and more excited about reaching a hundred thousand downloads with the podcast then I’ve been excited or happy about any other achievement I’ve made.” (09:38)

2. The Power and Reality of Neurodivergent Friendship

• The episode is a tribute to their friendship, which contradicts pervasive autism stereotypes (“autistic people want to be alone”):

  “It’s such an amazing achievement…because autism is steeped in the myth that we are lonely, we should be alone…It’s just a myth…” (11:10)

• Both discuss how neurodivergent friendship and community have brought immense healing, confidence, and joy into their lives.

3. Debunking Harmful Myths About Autism & Community

• Simon shares how early messages about autism led him toward isolation, only later realizing this was harmful:

  “I became reclusive because I thought that’s what I had to do. No. And I shut myself off from a lot of people…This podcast has been one of the things that’s really, really helped me with that. It’s been life changing.” (13:05)

• Both talk about the need for breaks and alone time, but stress that connection and community are essential for well-being.

4. Growth, Healing, and Self-Acceptance

• Both hosts open up about how the podcast has changed them personally:
  • Simon describes starting as someone isolated and lacking confidence, now surrounded by friends, improved familial bonds, and secure in both work and personal identity:

    “It’s like, you know, in The Wizard of Oz, when it goes from black and white to color. That was my life. Genuinely.” (29:50)

  • Jordan shares his journey of managing anger and meltdowns, discovering tools like CBD, and continuing lifelong learning:

    “Mentally so much has changed for me…my anger issues…being able to completely not even manage my anger, but just, it doesn’t exist.” (37:03)

• Both reflect on the healing power of honest conversation, mutual support, and giving back to the neurodivergent community.

5. Listener Feedback & Community Impact

• The hosts read several listener reviews, highlighting the podcast’s deep resonance—especially with late-diagnosed adults and international listeners.
  • Notable listener quote:

    “I was 55 when I was diagnosed autistic and this podcast is far and away the best resource I’ve found…Never seen myself so routinely represented anywhere.” (23:14)

• They express gratitude and encourage more sharing to grow the voice of the neurodivergent community:

  “We have a tiny voice. And it needs…it needs to be big because it needs to represent the people who aren’t listened to.” (47:17)

6. Favorite Episodes & Why They Mattered

• The hosts discuss which episodes have been most personally significant:
  • Simon:
    • Echolalia Episode for being the most fun and unmasked (“greatest unmasking experience”).
    • Alexithymia Episode for being healing (“genuinely made me feel like I got a demon off my back”).
  • Jordan:
    • Steve Silberman Interview (“his book was one of the main reasons I started advocating and actually feeling better about myself”).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stereotypes and Friendship:

  “The idea that we want to be left alone is one of the most harmful things to us as a people. Because I end up wanting to be left alone simply because I, I was treated badly. But when we meet people like ourselves… I never ever want to be alone again. Unless I’m playing video games and then leave me alone.”
  — Jordan James (12:23)

• On Community & Changing Lives:

  “I don’t realize how I feel about things sometimes until I get it out…this podcast has not only given me a friendship I’m going to have for the rest of my life, but it’s also allowed me to have a friendship with myself.”
  — Simon Scott (27:43)

• On Unmasking & Authenticity:

  “It is embracing your child side and going, do you know what? Naturally I have a child brain that is capable of adulting when I need to.”
  — Jordan James (42:44)

• On the Podcast’s Unique Success:

  “As a UK based show, we are a little bit of a unicorn, my friend in like the podcasting world.”
  — Simon Scott (08:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 03:25 | Hosts reunite; reflect on break and return | | 04:16 | Reveal of 101,000 downloads milestone | | 05:17 | The hard work of independent podcasting | | 09:38 | Jordan reflects on why this podcast means more than awards| | 11:10 | Busting isolation myth around autism | | 13:05 | Simon’s journey through diagnosis and harmful advice | | 17:03 | Jordan talks reciprocal learning and mutual growth | | 23:14 | Listener reviews and global impact | | 29:33 | Simon’s transformation story, self-acceptance through podcast| | 37:03 | Jordan on anger, meltdowns, mental health improvements | | 44:15 | Discussion on “embracing your inner child” as unmasking | | 47:17 | Behind the scenes: work, “spoons,” and continuing efforts | | 48:38 | Favorite episode reflections | | 51:13 | Closing thoughts and gratitude to listeners |

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Episode Tone & Style

• Candid and genuine: Hosts openly discuss struggles and triumphs, often with humor and warmth.
• Conversational and supportive: Their dynamic showcases deep friendship and understanding—inviting listeners into their inner circle.
• Empowering: The message is ultimately hopeful, centering celebration of neurodivergent identity, growth, and self-acceptance.

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Final Takeaways

• Friendship and community are transformative, especially for neurodivergent people.
• Challenging harmful myths (about loneliness/isolation) is crucial for healing.
• Honest, lived experience is vital—both for personal growth and for building a more inclusive world.
• Celebrating your wins, no matter how small, is essential when you’re neurodivergent.
• The podcast succeeds not just as a show, but as a grassroots community—and everyone listening is part of the journey forward.

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“If anybody’s had half of the effect that this show has had on me, then I’m good.”
— Simon Scott (36:59)

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Transcript

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[Jordan James]

Can I make my site softer?

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Can I make my site firmer?

[Simon Scott]

Can we sleep cooler?

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[Hannah Burner]

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[Jordan James]

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[Jordan James]

Welcome to the Neurodivergent Experience podcast, a podcast where we share the lived experiences of neurodivergent people to help create a better understanding for our community.

[Simon Scott]

Join us every week as we bring you honest, raw and inspiring conversations with specialists, advocates, and individuals who know exactly what it's like to live the neurodivergent experience.

[Jordan James]

I'm Jordan James, a neurodivergent specialist, father of neurodivergent children, husband to a neurodivergent wife, and author of the Autistic Experience. And I'm joined by my best friend.

[Simon Scott]

I'm Simon Scott. I'm an autistic ADHD broadcaster, actor, and advocate. Join us as we journey into unraveling the neurodivergent experience. Hello.

[Jordan James]

Hello and welcome back to the neurodivergent Experience. Dude, it feels so long since we have sat here.

[Simon Scott]

I know. It's literally just thinking that I was like, christ, when was the last time? Like, it is literally been ages since we recorded. Obviously we've seen each other and, like, we speak on the phone and stuff like that. Sitting down in the booth, firing the booth. Been a while. It actually has genuinely, really been a while. This is probably the longest we've had a break from recording since our, like, January hiatus, which we'll probably do again.

[Jordan James]

But, I mean, it's only a couple of weeks, but it feels so much. But that's. That is why we are here, is because we love doing this so much.

[Simon Scott]

Oh, yeah.

[Jordan James]

And we have just hit 101,000 downloads. 101,000 downloads.

[Simon Scott]

A lot of downloads.

[Jordan James]

You say how many downloads?

[Simon Scott]

101,000.

[Jordan James]

Is incredible. In less than two. In less than two years. It's like 19, 20 months we've been doing this.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah.

[Jordan James]

And, yeah, in a million years, I. I couldn't have even imagined getting to, to. To this. A hundred and one thousand downloads so quickly. Like, I, I mean, I know I've got a lot of followers and, you know, I know we, we do a lot of work behind the scenes with, with marketing and, and promoting it. You. You do promotion on. On other podcasts and stuff. And we work so hard. Like, honestly, we. We really, really work hard.

[Simon Scott]

It's. It's a gig. It's a job, really, in a way, like making. Put my little producer's hat on. I suppose making a podcast happen is not easy. Like, I have so many people say to me, they're like, oh, anyone can do a podcast to go, go on then, go on.

[Jordan James]

Yeah.

[Simon Scott]

And they don't realize how much work it takes to even make one, let alone get somebody to listen to it. Because, like, you and I can both vouch for this. Your friends and family don't just go, oh, yeah, I'll listen to every single episode Nope, they don't. They really don't. So, like, doing this organically has been one of the toughest things I think I've ever sort of done, like, building this with. With no money in the background, like, no extra help. It is literally just been you and I. I have worked on. I work on shows that have got six, seven people on their team, and we are doing better than some of those gigs, which is kind of. Kind of crazy. Kind of, kind of crazy.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, it's. It's as independent as you get. It's just you, me, our old laptops, some nice new microphones, which is the only. The only thing that we bought, the only purchase that we have made for this podcast was we bought some nice new microphones to sound really profesh. Because if you listen to the very first episode, I sound like I was in the toilet. Like, I was not in the toilet.

[Simon Scott]

I was not in the toilet.

[Jordan James]

I was not in the toilet. It sounded really echoey. Really, really terrible. And after, like, three or four. I think it was after the first time we ever interviewed Brett, and his microphone sounded crisp and I. And mine sounded so bad, and I was like, okay, sod it.

[Simon Scott]

Didn't you have, like, a gaming headset on? Like, the first few?

[Jordan James]

I. I switched between them because I was just trying to make it sound right, and I was trying to get comfortable, and we were doing. We. We. We were doing video then, and we obviously don't have time for that now.

[Simon Scott]

It's hard work.

[Jordan James]

It's hard work, but we have just plodded on. There's. There's. There's been a few times where we've just thought, oh, God, is this really worth it? And. And then we get some amazing messages from. From our fans, and it's. You have no idea how much these mean to us. Like, it's. It's so reaffirming to have real people saying that we're affecting real lives because we don't get to see it, you know, in person as much as we'd like. You know, we. We did the. We did the live, and we met our fans then and gave lots of hugs, and it was a lot nice.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, it was really sweet. I actually, like, I felt popular for the first time in my life. Like, genuinely, I was like, oh, people like me. But this is, I think, a really nice moment of, yeah, we've. We've done this together, but we also couldn't have done it without you people listening.

[Jordan James]

Exactly.

[Simon Scott]

Thank you so much for affording us the opportunity to reach so Many people, like, I've worked on a lot of shows, a lot of UK shows. We have as many listeners in the US as we do in the uk. I do not know many big professional shows that have as many listeners in the US as they do in the uk. As a UK based show, we are a little bit of a unicorn, my friend in like the podcasting world. Like I self confidence. We'll talk about me building confidence. Like if you ever listen to the first episode, I was actually there, believe it or not. I was like, hello.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, well, it wasn't just the Jordan.

[Simon Scott]

James show, you know, I was like, just like sidekick Simon. Wasn't I the first one? You were like, you can talk. You know, I was like, okay, I might mention something in episode five, but like I've, I've been to like podcasting networking events and sort of gone there and been with people that work on like BBC sounds and like directly at Spotify or big production companies like Persephone or Audio always and they go, oh, you've got a little indie podcast, Cute little indie podcast. How many downloads have you got? And when I tell them, literally, dude, the jaws hit the floor, they're like, how have you done that? And I go, perseverance, blood, sweat, tears, tism, my best friend and some awesome people that tune in. And that's literally just the magic sauce.

[Jordan James]

It's, it's another thing that I can sort of put to my CV of achievements from when I started advocating to now. And I look through all the things that I've done, you know, awards for my photography, selling my photography all over the world, doing shows, doing talks, the, the number one selling book, a self published novel that I wrote about an autistic child or me as an autistic child. And just when, when I look at obviously my page as well, that, that was there in the background, but I look at this and I, I was happier and more excited about reaching a hundred thousand downloads with the podcast then I've been excited or happy about any other achievement I've made. And that's because I get to celebrate it and I get to have that achievement with you. My best freaking friend, my brother, my comrade in arms against the evil oppressors.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, we're fighting back, aren't we?

[Jordan James]

The, the neurotypical RFK lovers.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, you're bookers. Yeah.

[Jordan James]

Not neurotypical.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah.

[Jordan James]

Anyone that makes us feel bad for being different. But yeah, yeah, it's, it's like I've always, I mean, I know I've got my family with me, but I, I always do these things. And I know my book's co written, but my relationship with, with the co author isn't. You know, she's my friend, but it's nothing compared to the relationship I have with you. So being able to achieve this with each other is why it's my biggest achievement. And the reason it's such an amazing achievement for neurodivergent people is because autism is steeped in the myth that we are lonely, we should be alone. The word autism comes from being by oneself. It means that you are trapped within your own mind, that you don't communicate, that you don't make friends, that you don't want to know what other people are doing. And it's just a myth because a lot of neurodivergent people who are seemingly trapped within themselves, it's not because they want to be. It's because it's almost like they're forced to be. And the idea that we want to be left alone is one of the most harmful things to us as a people. Because I end up wanting to be left alone simply because I, I was treated badly. But when we meet people like ourselves, when we find that camaraderie, we find that community. I. I never, ever want to be alone again. Unless I'm playing video games and then leave me alone.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, it's that nobody. It's so, so true. Like, when I got my diagnosis in the tail end of 2022, I had a handful of friends. Maybe they weren't the sort of friends that were right for me and got a lot of different circle. Now my circle is very tight now, but when I was on Autism speaks and fell down that sort of little rabbit hole, I read so much stuff that was like, you will cope better alone, says you are overstimulated by other people or the people will hurt you. And I became reclusive because I thought that's what I had to do. No. And I shut myself off from a lot of people. And I really lot like the skill regression that I went through with, like socializing or just sort of having any real self confidence really went out of the window. And I've had to really build myself back up from that. This podcast has been one of the things that's really, really helped me with that. It's been life changing, and I'll talk about that in a little bit. But I, I think that is a horrific myth that we need to be on his own. Don't get me wrong, I need breaks. I need timeouts. If I'm having like deep socializing, I need to go and have a lay down in a little corner. I was absolutely, you know, overwhelmed with joy to see Cat Burns talking about this on Celebrity Traitors. Literally the other night she went, why were you laid down in the other room? Are you tired because you're a traitor? She was like, no, I'm autistic adhd. I needed to lie down because I get burnt out. It's like, oh, I love that. I love that I'm now seeing more of that.

[Jordan James]

The, the honesty is so helpful. It makes us feel so, less alone.

[Simon Scott]

So helpful. It's so helpful. It's a game changer and like talking to you every week. And you know, we talk more than just once a week. We talk literally nearly every day, don't we? But that you don't believe it until you see it. I'm a big believer in don't tell people. Show them. It's like, if I make a promise to somebody, I will try and keep it and if I can't make a promise, I won't make a promise. And one of the great things that I've loved about sort of doing this show and, and going through it is it has completely turned the, every misconception I had about autism on its head a hundred percent. Like, I thought I needed to be on my own. I didn't think that I would ever be able to have like a proper full time job. I didn't think I'd be able to, to own a house or keep a relationship without feeling really disabled or very vulnerable. And in the early days I did feel like that because that's what I thought I had to feel like.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, I, I, I think that people don't realize how damaging the negative rhetoric can be because there's so many people that will say, you know, they'll say, oh, you know, you're being too positive. It's toxic positivity. It's not real. And we keep saying this is two sides of the same coin. You know, I'm equally as disabled as I am abled to do things better than others. You know, I do have special abilities and then I do have special needs. It's, it's literally day to day, environment to environment, subject to subject, demand to a demand. What has been, I think my favorite thing about doing the podcast, apart from the fact that, you know, I basically found one of the best friends I've ever had, is that I've learned a lot. Like, I started this with so much, you know, under my Belt so much experience of, of advocating and all the things that I'd done. And I'm the sort of person that will never, ever settle and say, oh, I know everything. That's why I don't like the word expert. To me, I mean, I don't know the definition in someone's head what expert means, but to me, expert means you know everything about something. And I, I would never say that I know everything about anything. That's why I'm, I'm always learning. I'm always taking in new information and seeing you and going through, through the, the journey, as I had gone through the journey on my own, essentially, you know, along with my family, but, you know, learning everything myself, having to do all of the research and stuff myself, but being able to see you thrive because I've done all that work, because I'm able to share my experiences with you, I can pass it on and then seeing it in you thriving, but then you surpassing your own expectations and reaching exactly my expectations because I always knew how good you were going to be. And I told you that right from the beginning, how much potential you had is why I loved talking to you. And you, eventually, you believed in yourself and you did so much research yourself on top of all the things I was telling you. And you taught me things that I didn't know about. You taught me things that opened my mind and undoubtedly opened the minds of the people listening because you have been a huge contributor to people's lives, which you, I don't believe that you believed that you would ever have that. Now because you, like you said, you started this because you wanted my.

[Simon Scott]

I wanted reasons. I wanted to say.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, you wanted, you wanted to, you wanted to make the podcast that you needed. But what you, you did is you made the podcast that everybody needed. And I'm not blowing our own trumpet. All you got to do is listen. And if people disagree, then why are so many people listening?

[Simon Scott]

I've got some reviews here, dude. I thought I'd, I'd bring some for the show.

[Jordan James]

Well, should we have a break and then we can, we can crack on?

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, let's do that.

[Hannah Burner]

This is Hannah Burner from Giggly Squad. Opill is the first over the counter daily birth control pill available in the U.S. let's be real. Getting a birth control prescription is not always easy. And it's so much admin. In fact, about a third of women face barriers to access prescription birth control. Between scheduling appointments, missing work class, or just trying to exist, it's a lot. But now Opail is putting birth in our control. OPILL is a daily birth control that's FDA approved, full prescription, strength and estrogen free and 98% effective when used as directed. Grab it online or at most major retailers. No prescription or doctor's appointment needed. So if you're thinking about birth control, check out OPILL to see if it's right for you. Use code giggly for 25% off your first month of opill at o p I l l dot com that's code giggly at o p I l l dotcom birth control in your control. We love to see it why choose.

[Sleep Number Announcer]

A sleep number Smart bed Can I.

[Jordan James]

Make my sight softer?

[Podcast Promo Announcer]

Can I make my sight firmer?

[Simon Scott]

Can we sleep cooler?

[Sleep Number Announcer]

Sleep number does that cools up to eight times faster and lets you choose your ideal comfort on either side your sleep number setting. Enjoy personalized comfort for better sleep night after night. And now max out your savings. The more you buy, the more you save on beds, bases and more. Plus get free home delivery on any smart bed with base limited time. Check it out at a sleep number store near you [e-mail] today.

[Simon Scott]

This is a neurodivergent experience public announcement if you live in England and you or a loved one is waiting for an autism or ADHD assessment, you don't have to wait years. RTN Diagnostics is now part of the NHS Right to Choose scheme which means if your local wait for a consultant led autism or ADHD assessment is more than 18 weeks, you can choose RTN instead and it won't cost you a penny. Jordan chose RTN for his own family because their care and attention to detail were second to none. They didn't just diagnose autism and adhd, they looked at the full picture, including pda, ocd, anxiety and more. The team is friendly, neuroaffirming and comprises many neurodivergent individuals so they truly understand getting started is simple. Download the GP referral letter and questionnaire from the link in our show notes. Take those to your GP and ask for a referral to RTN Diagnostics. If approved, RTN will be in touch within eight weeks to begin your assessment. Remember, this only applies in England and some exclusions do apply. RTN is not currently able to accept referrals for child ADHD assessments, so check the details before you start RTN diagnostics, helping you get the answers you deserve without the wait. Welcome back to the Neurodivergent Experience. Don't know if you know we've got 101,000 down.

[Jordan James]

That'S a lot of Dalmatians.

[Simon Scott]

It's a lot of. If that was Corella de Vil, it'd be a very big coat. But yes, that's a lot of Dalmatians. But just before the break we were just sort of talking about, you know, the, the successes of the show. It still feels weird saying that in my mouth. The successes of the show. But we've had some unbelievable reviews in the past. This. I'll just read a couple here. I was 55 when I was diagnosed autistic and this podcast is far and away the best resource I've found. Not an episode goes by that I don't see myself in at least one story that either Jordan Simon or one of their guests tell. I've never seen myself so routinely represented anywhere. I'd give this show 100 stars if I could, which was very, very sweet.

[Jordan James]

That is very sweet.

[Simon Scott]

Another one. I've been searching for answers my entire life. No one, including myself, had. Not everything is applicable to me, but thus the term neurodivergent. Many episodes feel as if someone is inside my head and I hear myself thinking. Add avoidance, depression and extreme anxiety. Another one here from Sweden. All the way from Sweden. Love listening to you guys. I can't recommend this podcast enough. I'm 48 and have recently learned that I have ADHD and autism. I feels like I have finally found my people. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It means a lot.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, I've got one. This one was a fun one. I freaking love this podcast guys. I'm a late diagnosed woman in the US and hating the insanity going on in our country with our current administration. And your podcast genuinely has kept me from shutting down. Kept me engaged. Lots of triggering content some days, but delivered in a way that is relatable and digestible. Love your humor. Wish you'd come to the US on tour. Maybe in like four years time.

[Simon Scott]

We'll see how it goes.

[Jordan James]

Next step is ordering your book. Jordan. Yeah, everyone order my book. Either either the autistic experience, silence voice is finally heard or a little different from the rest, which is my amazing five star, five star review on Amazon. Self published books a little different from the rest. You crack.

[Simon Scott]

Yes. If you want to. If you want us to come to the US on tour, obviously we'll have to get through customs, but yeah, can.

[Jordan James]

We go on Canada?

[Simon Scott]

Yeah. Jump over the border, we'll hang out. But yeah, buy Jordan's book and then we might be able to afford to come. That'd be great.

[Hannah Burner]

Yeah.

[Simon Scott]

I Don't know what the bookshare sales are like, but, yeah, sod it.

[Jordan James]

Why not go for it. It's not a lot of money, to be honest, but it'. It's a. It is a very, very helpful book, but it is not as helpful as this podcast. I don't think so, anyway. And I, I was partly writing it, but it, what it does is it gives loads of different experiences. But we're not here about a book, we're about a podcast. So, Scotty, your journey, right, is I, I look at sort of my life and yeah, there's, there's a lot of things that have, have changed, but essentially I'm sort of still doing the same thing and still living the same life as I was. But you, my friend, I don't think I've ever seen anyone go through so much change so quickly. So, like, go, go, go through your journey of the last two years after, after, after you met me. And we, we. We confessed our brotherly love for each other.

[Simon Scott]

Little cuddle and a kiss, didn't we?

[Jordan James]

Brotherly love. And then decided, well, we decided we're just going to crack on and we're going to do the podcast. Because, by the way, everyone, it took us a year, more than a year.

[Simon Scott]

It did.

[Jordan James]

From when we first said we were going to do this to when we actually started. It took us like a year and a half to actually get going. And my goodness me, like, that. That was actually quicker than I thought because. Procrastination.

[Simon Scott]

Crikey.

[Jordan James]

Big time.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah. So in that, yeah, literally it was a year and a half, wasn't it? And I felt guilt every single day that I wasn't making this happen. I felt like it was really down to me to make it happen and to reach out to you and to sort of connect. But you also had your book coming out at the time. You were having issues with your back as well. So it was like. There wasn't. It wasn't the right time. But looking back in hindsight now, that's a good sign for me that we did it at the right time when everything sort of aligned for us. And, dude, I was working from home a lot. Very, very. Ever really left the house. I was drinking a lot on my own as well. Wasn't really spending any time with anybody. I kind of isolated myself from my family a little bit. Was very, very lonely and lived in an apartment that didn't get a lot of light and sort of was just existing, really. I was just a bit of a zombie and I'd Always sort of had these ambitions of things that I wanted to do, and a lot of that is associated with my experiences with, like, school and how I was treated. And I always had this chip that I was like, I'm gonna prove you wrong. Like, the. The biggest motivation I can ever have is a you. If I have a you, you're in bother. But, yeah, I ran out of yous. And I went, no, they were right. They were right. Like, this is. This is your life. This is what you're gonna get from it. And what I was reading about, like, autism and adhd, and I drank the Kool Aid. I was like, right, this is your life now. Just sort of accept it. And, yeah, I was very sad. I was really, really sad. And starting this podcast has not only given me a friendship I'm going to have for the rest of my life, but it's also allowed me to have a friendship with myself, because I've been able to really put things out there that I've been really afraid to talk about to myself. And I've talked about it on this show many times that I don't realize how I feel about things sometimes until I get it out. And one of the main reasons as to why I did this podcast is I was having therapy with a guy called Phil, who I. I loved having therapy with. He really did help me. And our last sort of session I had, he said, what's. What's one of your dreams that you think you're not gonna get? He says, because you can make anything happen. And I said to him, I've always wanted to have my own podcast. I said, I've always done things associated with what I wanted to do. It's like I wanted to be an actor. So I ended up working behind the scenes. I wanted to be a radio presenter. So I ended up producing radio and getting good at it, but never put myself in the opportunity to do it myself.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, always the bridesmaid, never the bride. And he literally said to me, I actually think, Simon, if you were to do a podcast and talk how you talk to me, I actually think you'd be able to really help a lot of people. And it. And it just stuck with me. It was like a record.

[Jordan James]

Insightful guy.

[Simon Scott]

I really. I really want to do something about it. And once we started doing the show, dude, it's like, you know, in the wizard of Oz, when it goes from black and white to color. That was my life. Genuinely like, oh, I feel a bit emotional, but no, that was my life. I've got friendships now that I never thought I could have, not just with you. I've got multiple friendships now that I've got such a wonderful circle of friends. And if you're listening, thank you. I'm a lot closer with my family than I used to be. Now the relationship I've built with my partner, which she is my life partner now, I got good with money, which I never thought I'd be able to do. I now have a dream job. I'm literally. Not only am I running my own podcast with one of my best friends, I'm now working with somebody who I genuinely. I love going to work every day. I love my job. And we're now setting up an autistic culture podcast network together, which is creating shows by neurodivergent people for neurodivergent people on so many topics. I actually feel like I am now creating a huge resource for our culture and our people and preserving it.

[Jordan James]

Yes. So you're not just doing the podcast yourself, but now you're creating a network to give the ability for other people to do what we did, but with. With help from you, because we could.

[Simon Scott]

We were able to. Yeah.

[Jordan James]

I mean, I couldn't have done this by myself. I know I'm the one with, with the following and, And, and, and the, the, the reputation. But I tried doing a podcast and I don't. I don't know how to edit. I don't know how to produce. I didn't know how. Where to put it. I stuck it on Spotify, and it's just me rambling on for about an hour, and it was never going to work. And I always wanted to do it with someone because that's the best way to do it is having discussions rather than just talking and talking and talking. So what, what you're able to do with podcasting and, and, and adding on to. To your experience as well, it's. What an amazing thing to, To. To think that that that's the future. That's where you're at.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah. I feel like my life started genuinely. Like I've listened to so many interviews of late. Diagnosis 20 to 55, 60. And I. And I have the pleasure of being a fly on the wall for a lot of these conversations through my work. And I feel so lucky, which it feels strange, but I feel lucky that I got diagnosed at the time that I did. It happened at exactly the right time. I had the tools to do something about it. And I feel so fortunate now that I see A lot of people around me, and I see the signs of what I was struggling with, what I was sort of internalizing or processing or masking. And I actually feel like now I have the tools, I have the language, I have the confidence to reach out to somebody and go, I know that you don't ask for help, and I know that you don't necessarily need help, but if you do, I'm here. And if you want something, this is what, this is the advice that I would give. If you want to do something with that, that's entirely up to you. And I tell you what, man, if somebody had been able to have done that to me, where I was at, it would have been life changing. And then I remember that they did. It was you. So. So sort of having this relationship in my life, I've, I've never had siblings. I'm an only child. I do now. I've got a big brother issue. So that's what we've sort of built with this show. I've built an extended family. Like, I feel like you and Sylvia and your kids are now almost like an extension of my own family.

[Jordan James]

Dude, you, you are part of our family just as much as, like, I've.

[Simon Scott]

Got so much from it. It's been the best thing that I ever did. Genuine. It's the best thing that I ever did. Yeah. And I'm just so grateful that I get to do this once, twice a week.

[Jordan James]

Sylvia adores you, dude. Sylvia do you know, and Sylvia is so closed off when it comes to, to anyone, really. You know, it's not like she's, she doesn't like people, but she, she won't openly be like, oh, I can't wait to hang out with that person. And there's, there's, there's a few of my friends where, where she's just like, oh, I'm, I'm. I'm really, really, really like that person. But yeah, you are definitely, like, right up there. Like, Sylvia absolutely adores you. Like, you're literally part of this family.

[Simon Scott]

Oh, the weekend that we had when I came down, like, we were up literally until like 1, 2 in the morning, just all hanging out. We all went, oh, shit, we should probably go to bed. And it was just so sort of like, one of the things that I absolutely love about our people, but my people as well, is that I cannot see you and Sylvia for some times like that. It has been years at a time, sometimes in person. Every time I hang out with you, it's like, I just saw you yesterday Literally, like, literally just saw you yesterday. It's like, oh, hey, we just pick up where we left off.

[Jordan James]

It's almost like you press pause and then. Right, carry on.

[Simon Scott]

And that's one of the things that I've learned about our culture is we as people do that we can sort of be on our own and be just sort of in your own space and like, you know, monotropic, you know, you can lose yourself sometimes in like hyper focus and flow states. But what I love is, you know, that I can sort of maybe not see you for nine months. And it doesn't change your perception of me. It doesn't change who I am to you or anything. It's just, we just are. It's like there's no sort of like hidden pretense or, or any underlying thing. Like we can literally talk to each other about anything. And we do. We are such a support network for each other. And that's one of the things that I really hope you as a listener feel like. I feel like, you know, that on a Thursday and on a Friday and on a Monday you can listen to a mindfulness session with Ashley or listen to some news on a Friday or an emotional, sometimes a bit over the top episode on a Thursday and know that somebody cares about you, somebody wants to support you and helps here if you need it. And that's more than I could have ever, ever hoped for when we first started this show. Yeah, I selfishly did it for me. I was like, I want to make, you know, if no one's going to make it for me, then it's going to have to be me. And I really hope we've inspired a lot of people to, to talk about what they've got going on or research more or realize their neurodivergent or choose to unmask safely. And you know, if anybody's had half of the effect that this show has had on me, then I'm good.

[Jordan James]

I mean I, I keep saying, oh yeah, no, nothing much has changed but like really mentally so much has changed for me and, and the biggest thing by far is, is my anger issues. Like, oh God. And I think, I think like this morning I'm driving home from work, so I did a night shift and I'm driving home in the morning and it's a 50 zone and someone's doing 25 mile an hour and they're, they're three cars in front of me.

[Simon Scott]

I could just see you now and.

[Jordan James]

In the past I'd have got so angry I'd been BEEPING I'd have been like, oh, what the. Now I absolutely am like, that person's a complete prick. Because if you're going to go that slowly in a 50, move over, let people buy. Because, like, maybe they're looking for something, maybe their cars. I mean, there's, if, if you're going that slow, you should have your hazards on anyway. But if you choose to do that, don't be selfish and make everybody else slow just because you are slow. Like, otherwise you're just selfish. But their selfishness is. Their self is their problem. And, and, and I wasn't gonna make it my problem. I, I just let it go. Like, I didn't get angry, you know, it doesn't stop me from having thoughts of rocket launchers attached to my. So I wish I had a James Bond car, but it's like, I don't get angry. And, and it's like. Because the angriest I think most people get is, is when they're driving like that. That's, that's when, like, genuinely, I'm absolutely fine. And then someone gets in the car and they just turn into a lunatic. Yeah. That's when most anger seems to reach the absolute pinnacle for a lot of people. That, and social media seemingly. And I think being able to completely not even manage my anger, but just, it doesn't exist. Like, it's, it's not even. There is just when driving, it just, it flows through everything else. So, like, it's. Very rarely does anything make me angry. And that doesn't mean I don't have meltdowns. That doesn't mean that I don't get overwhelmed and I don't like, have, have little mini meltdowns, but the mini meltdowns are just like, I could snap and I'm good and I haven't thrown anything. I haven't punched anything. I haven't.

[Simon Scott]

You really haven't any. Really haven't. You've done a lot of healing, dude. It's been.

[Jordan James]

Dude, a year ago, I punched a wall so hard I broke my knuckles.

[Simon Scott]

And you threw your Gandalf Pop as well. I remember that. You were so upset when that broke.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, I, I, I did a lot of things. And recently I, I was biting myself because I didn't want to punch things or throw things. So I was trying to deal with it by, by biting myself. And I did it to the point where I was bruising myself and I was like, okay, this isn't good. So I've actually gone out of my way because sometimes I do get very, very overwhelmed, Very, very upset. So it's not even angry. It's just like, know what? Where this energy, I've got all this pent up energy from, from being so overwhelmed and I'm like, I don't know how to release this. I don't know what to do with this. That doesn't end up with me in a meltdown. So I bite things, but so I've got an actual thing, like a baby biting thing. I've ordered that and I'm literally gonna have like a baby chew thing to really buy on because it just helps me release. And again, that's not anger. That's. That's a meltdown in a control. It's just being super upset with something to the point where I just can't cope with it. And that's, that's just a typical meltdown. But it's. It's really great that I can think about these things and go, okay, I know what to do now. And I know, I know how to help me. Cbd, like, doing the episode about cbd. My whole thing was, oh, I think CBD is, is probably not going to work. And then I did the episode and talked to you about it and read about it, and suddenly, like, I. I have CBD oil nearly every day and it's so relaxing.

[Simon Scott]

It's game changer for me, dude. So.

[Jordan James]

Oh, dude, it's so good. And just the, the things that I've learned that have helped me deal with with my meltdowns and my anger issues and my mental health in general is. It's been unbelievable. And, and that is. That is down to. To doing this podcast. So it has changed our lives massively. Just hugely. And I feel like we've really grown, but luckily we're still not grown ups.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah, not yet. Still trying.

[Jordan James]

No, I don't want to be. And I want to bet.

[Simon Scott]

No. I have eaten a ridiculous amount of Halloween sweets this past week. Why. Why would Caris buy the bowl a week early? I told her not to. It was like, if not sweet, why sweet shaped? So, yeah, I've been eating a lot of refreshers and love heart candies and. Yeah, but that's, you know, embracing my inner child is something that I, I purposely chose not to do the amount of times. Dude, I'd play video games and be like, you're an adult. Why are you doing this?

[Jordan James]

Oh, it's the ultimate unmasking for any neurodivergent person out there. If you want to know what real unmasking is it is embracing your child side and going, do you know what? Naturally I have a child brain that is capable of adulting when I need to. It's, it's when we don't accept that, that's when it leads to burnout because we're trying to mask when we don't need to. And we've been over this about like, sometimes it's okay to mask. Sometimes you have playing the game. Yeah, yeah. Know how to play the game and then try and play it better than everyone else. You, you have to play the neurotypical game. Sometimes. It's, it's, it's just how it is. But if you choose to do it, then you choose how you do it and how often you do it and how much energy you're willing to spend on doing it and having that self awareness of. I know that if I do this thing, just like if I'm trying to lift weights in the gym, I know there's a certain amount of weights that I can lift before I'm too tired to lift anymore. So I know it's going to take energy, but is it worth it? So it's picking your battles, finding out if something's worth it and then doing it and then all the other time, anytime you get a chance to just be a big kid, just, I guarantee you you will be happier for it.

[Simon Scott]

Yeah. Preach. Preach. Game changer for me, absolute game changer. Embrace a minor child. And the sort of wonder that I now see in the world, now that I allow my inner child out, I feel like I've really managed to connect all the different versions of me, sort of put them into one person rather than just having all of these different masks and this, these different personalities to suit who I'm in front of. And, you know, the most important relationship that I've had to work on is the one with me and talking on this podcast and to other people. And just like the sort of overall confidence that it's given me has just been, it's just been the most rewarding thing I've ever done. And I can't wait to see where we're gonna be in a year's time. 200. I can't wait to see where we're gonna be, dude. And like, I'm so excited to take you, the listener, with us. I mean, man, you listen to that first couple of episodes. If you, if you've listened to every single episode, you're an absolute hero and I love you, but even you must be listening now, going, yes, Simon and Jordan have come A long way from, like, day one to, you know, whatever episode number we're on now. I lose track almost. There's that many. And we're not even at, like, episode 100 yet.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, we got to 100,000 before 100 episodes. It's amazing.

[Simon Scott]

It is. It genuinely really is. And I'm really proud of us. And I'm just. Yeah, I'm just so excited to keep going. And you've got a really, you know, that's why we're doing this episode. You've got to celebrate your victories and not undermine yourself and really, you know, sit with your achievements. And I'm, I'm very proud of us and thank you for giving us the opportunity to, to make something like this. All you lovely people out there and, yeah, it just means the world to me.

[Jordan James]

Yeah, I think that's a really good point, is that it's, it's so important to celebrate achievements when you're neurodivergent and you struggle or with any disability and you struggle to do things that you don't think that you can do. And we have fought tooth and nail to be able to give episodes out to you listeners every single week. It takes up a lot of our time and it's, it's so rewarding knowing that people are actually listening. Like, it's, it just feels so much more like, oh, it was worth all that energy. It was worth all that time. Because it, most of the time it does sound like we're having fun, but my goodness me, this takes up so many spoons, man. And there's so much goes on behind the scenes when we prepare for episodes, the research that we do, the meetings that we have. Sometimes I think we've had like two three hour meetings.

[Simon Scott]

Oh, we were on the phone for what, two and a half hours the other day?

[Jordan James]

Yeah, literally, just, just, just thinking of different episodes, thinking of different things. You know, we. We've got potentially more episodes a week when, when, when we finally have time to be able to do it, we're always looking to build on what we've already got. Because we are not settlers. We are goal seekers, we are dream catchers, and we will continue to build this, and we cannot do it without you. So if you're listening, if you want to support us, the best way to support us is download every single episode. Listen to as many episodes as you can, share with as many people, get everyone out there to download. Because the more downloads we have, the more seriously we are taken and therefore, the more people we can reach in the future, and the more people we can help because we. We have a tiny voice. And it needs. It needs to be big because it needs to represent the people who aren't listened to. And that's what we're here for. I would say one. One more thing I was going to ask before we go is what was your favorite one episode? What's your favorite episode?

[Simon Scott]

Oh, I'm gonna say exactly the same one as you. I know I am. The Echolalia episode. I have never laughed. I've had to edit out. I had to edit out so much of my own laughing in that episode. I had the greatest unmasking experience doing that one. And if I've got to sort of say, like, another one as well, the Alexithymia episode that we did was really healing for me. Like, I didn't realize how much I struggle with Alexithymia.

[Jordan James]

So many people do not understand Alexithymia, do they? It's a game changer.

[Simon Scott]

It's. It's literally the biggest disability of my life. And doing that episode genuinely made me feel like I got a demon off my back. So. Most fun one I've ever had. Echolalia, like, I was starstruck with Steve Silverman and Dr. Luke Bearden. But the Alexith emu one, I feel like I really put a demon to bed with that one so they would be mine.

[Jordan James]

My favorite episode was Steve Silverman because, like, his book was one of the main reasons I started advocating and actually feeling better about myself. It really helped me want to do more for the community, and it made me feel like I wasn't just a piece of crap that didn't deserve to have a say. And being able to actually speak to him and for him to have read my book and praised my book was, dude, unbelievable. Just unbelievable. And definitely doing the Echolalia episode was just so much fun, just making that episode, even though not a lot of people have listened to that episode in comparison to a lot of other episodes. But echolalia is just like, lately I've been watching League of Gentlemen, and all I'm doing is, are you local? Are you local?

[Simon Scott]

This is a local shop for local people.

[Jordan James]

We'll have no trouble here.

[Simon Scott]

The one that always gets me is the butcher. And he's like, you like it, don't you?

[Jordan James]

It's my special mate. Special mate. Special mate, yeah. Anyway, hilarious. So thank you for listening. Keep on listening. Keep on sharing. Keep sending those messages. Give us some more fuel for our fire. And we will continue to bring you great content every week.

[Simon Scott]

Yep, we will. Thank you so much. We love you and nightly. Bye everybody. See you on Friday Nightly.

[Jordan James]

Bye.

[Simon Scott]

Thanks for tuning in to the neurodivergent Experience. We hope today's episode sparks something for you. Whether it's a new idea, a bit of validation, or just a moment of connection. Remember new episodes. Episodes are every week, so be sure to join us for the next one for more conversations and insights into the neurodivergent Experience. If you've enjoyed this podcast, help us grow. You can do that by rating and reviewing this show. Your support makes a huge difference in helping us reach more people who could benefit from these conversations. You can connect with us on social media, find us on Instagram, Facebook, Tick Tock. Just search for the neurodivergent Experience. Thank you again for listening and until next time, take care of yourself. You're not alone in this journey.

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