78. S6, Ep11: The challenges of being autistic at work, and exploring the link between autistic trauma and our health

Claire Gardener is a homeopath and primary school teacher in London in the UK. She is 45 and self diagnosed as autistic five years ago, after experiencing burnout in her teaching role.  A special interest in children’s literature lead to her first career in book editing, which came to an end as a result of workplace bullying. Since her burnout, she has trained in homeopathy, and continues to work part time as a teacher. Her specialism as a homeopath is in working with other late-diagnosed autistic women and non-binary people to help them come to terms with their autism by exploring the impact that autistic trauma has on their nervous systems, and how they cope with and manage the effects of this day-to-day. In our conversation we talk about  ➡ The challenges of being an autistic teacher  ➡ Managing the social aspect of workplaces, and her experience of workplace bullying ➡ Trauma and how it manifests in autistic people ➡ How trauma, anxiety and the nervous system interplay in autistic minds and bodies    If you are a Patron you can find an extra recording of me and Claire in my Patreon! If you'd like to become a Patron, click here. 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: Claire’s website: https://www.clairegardenerhomeopathy.com  Her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claire_gardener_homeopathy/  Her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/greenwichhomeopathy/ 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: Abi Hunter, Amy Adler, Amy-Beth Mellor, Abigail J Moore, Ben Davies, Benita Borchard-Thierbach, Caroline, Cat Preston, Catrin Green, Cindy Bailey, Corinne Cariad, Danielle Warby, Dawn Trevellion, Emily, Elizabeth Williams, Jackie Allen, Jeff Goldman, Kate Faust, Katharine Richards, Katherine Lynch, Kenneth Knowles, Lea Li, Leo Ricketts, Lilli Simmons, Lyb, Mandy Allen, Pete Burke, Rebecca Kemp, Sarah Cottrell, Sarah Jeffery, Sarah Ivinson, Sarah Swanton, Sioned Wynn, Suzanna Chen, Suzanne, Tree Hall, Una Walkenhorst, Vera Cady, Vicki Temple, Victoria Routledge and Zephyrine Craster. 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 just £3 per month: https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast