Drawing the Circle Wider: Creating Belonging for Neurodivergent Love and Life

Welcome to the very first episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum with therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT—known lovingly to many as Blaze.

In this grounding introduction to the podcast, Blaze offers a tender and radical invitation: What if love isn’t something you earn by shrinking, masking, or performing—but something you create by drawing the circle wider?

Using poet Edwin Markham's words as an anchor, Blaze speaks directly to the lived experience of feeling like an outsider, especially as a neurodivergent person navigating relationships, family, and identity.

You’ll be guided through:

• A reflective story designed to move your nervous system toward belonging
• A redefinition of love as something inclusive, not conditional
• A gentle Home Play practice to begin widening the circle for yourself

If you’ve ever felt “too much,” left out, or unseen—this episode offers a new starting place: one rooted in worth, presence, and compassionate connection.

Takeaways:

• You are not too much. You are not broken.
• You belong—without needing to earn it.
• Love can begin with how you hold space for yourself.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #NDVisibility #RelationshipInclusion #AutismAcceptance #ConnectionWithoutConditions #YouBelongHere #NeurodivergentLove #AuthenticConnection

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

Sensory Sensitivity in Neurodiverse Love: Navigating Intimacy Without Overwhelm

In this insightful Waking Up Neurodivergent Wednesday episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, highlights a powerful truth: love isn’t just emotional—it’s sensory.

For many neurodivergent individuals, connection depends not on feelings alone, but on what the body can comfortably hold. Touch, sound, light, movement—these sensory inputs shape how safe or overstimulated we feel in moments of closeness.

Blaze shares personal insights and a story from her work with a couple navigating differing sensory needs, reminding us that these needs aren’t flaws—they're invitations to deeper, safer intimacy.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• How sensory thresholds impact neurodivergent relationships
• Ways to validate your needs without guilt or shame
• How to start compassionate conversations with your partner about intimacy and sensory safety
• Why setting boundaries can actually deepen trust and connection

Home Play Prompt: Reflect on one sensory input that supports connection, and one that leads to overload. Share it with your partner—or simply honor it within yourself.

Love can be quiet, soft, and sensory-safe—and still be real.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #SensoryNeeds #NeurodivergentIntimacy #NDRelationships #LoveMeGently #AutismAndLove #TraumaInformedLove #SensoryProcessing #NeurodiverseConnection

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

Loving the Neurodivergent Self: Reclaiming Worth in a World That Told You Otherwise

In this validating Therapy Insights Tuesday episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, offers a tender counter-message to one of the deepest wounds many neurodivergent people carry:

“I’m too much.”

Whether it was said directly or communicated through subtle cues—too emotional, too sensitive, too intense—the impact runs deep, shaping how safe we feel in relationships and how fully we show up in the world.

Blaze creates a gentle, grounded space where your whole self is welcome and honored.

You’ll experience:

• A reflective story that invites healing from past moments of dismissal or invisibility
• A powerful reframe: “You were never too much—you were just never fully seen.”
• A practical Home Play practice to reconnect with your truth and expand into self-acceptance

This episode is a warm embrace for anyone told to shrink—and a quiet revolution for those ready to grow back into themselves.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #YouAreNotTooMuch #NeurodivergentHealing #NDRelationships #SensitiveAndStrong #NeurodivergentPower #EmotionalValidation #UnmaskingShame #AuthenticSelfLove

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

A Love Letter to Neurodivergent Hearts: Affirmations for the Ones Who Feel Everything

In this deeply affirming Waking Up Neurodivergent Wednesday episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, sets aside techniques and tools to offer something more essential: presence.

This is not a lesson. It’s a love letter—written gently and spoken with care—for anyone who’s ever felt like too much, not enough, or both. It’s for the listener still healing, still hoping, and still showing up, even when it’s hard.

You’ll be reminded:

• You don’t have to perform to belong
• Your pace of healing is not a problem
• Your emotions, your needs, your way of loving are all valid

Blaze speaks directly to the part of you that’s been asked to mask, shrink, or stay quiet, and offers a soft, grounded invitation back to your full self.

You are allowed to rest.

You are allowed to feel.

You are already enough.

This is an episode you may return to—especially on the days when the world feels too loud and your heart feels too tired.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #LoveLetterToYou #NeurodivergentSupport #NDHealing #SelfCompassion #EmotionalSafety #NeurodiverseEmpowerment #GentleValidation #YouAreWorthy

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

Masking in Relationships: How Pretending Impacts Neurodivergent Love and Connection

In this emotionally attuned Therapy Inights Tuesday episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, explores a tender truth in many neurodiverse relationships: masking may feel like survival, but it often comes at the cost of real connection.

Through the fictional—but deeply familiar—story of Harry and Sally, Blaze unpacks how masking begins with safety and admiration, but slowly leads to disconnection. Sally hides her needs to avoid rocking the boat. Harry misreads her silence, unsure how to meet emotions he doesn’t fully understand.

This episode offers a compassionate reframe:

• Masking is not a flaw—it’s a nervous system adaptation
• Disconnection doesn’t mean failure—it means unmet needs
• Authenticity can begin gently, one safe step at a time

With empathy and clarity, Blaze invites you to reflect on your own relationship patterns and begin unmasking where it feels safe. Love doesn’t require pretending. It asks for truth, offered slowly and sincerely.

Includes a reflective Home Play practice to help you begin sharing more of who you really are, without fear.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #MaskingInLove #UnmaskingAutism #LoveWithoutPretending #NeurodivergentCouples #AuthenticityInRelationships #NDPartnerships #RealYouRealLove #NeurodiverseHealing

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

For the Neurodivergent Leader Who Loves Deeply and Feels Everything: Honoring Emotional Intensity Without Burning Out

In this powerful and intimate Waking Up Neurodivergent Wednesday episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, speaks directly to neurodivergent leaders. Such leaders show up for everyone else while quietly carrying the weight of their own inner world.

Whether you’re a doctor, veterinarian, educator, first responder, tech leader, or caregiver, this episode offers deep validation for the emotional labor of leading with sensitivity, intuition, and unspoken grief. (All "fixer" professions)

Blaze names the quiet exhaustion that comes from masking, dissociating, or caring without pause and offers a space to exhale, to feel, and to remember that leadership and humanity can coexist.

Inside this episode:

• Validation for neurodivergent leaders who feel everything deeply
• A grounding reflection to reconnect with your own inner wisdom
• A Home Play ritual to care for your nervous system—not just everyone else’s

You’re allowed to lead without abandoning yourself. You’re allowed to be intuitive, tired, and wise—all at once. And you’re allowed to rest.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #NDLeader #NeurodivergentLeadership #FeelingEverything #SensitiveLeadership #EmpathicLeader #AuthenticLeadership #NDVisibility #LeadingWithHeart #EmotionalLabor

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

Love Without Scripts: How Neurodivergent Relationships Thrive Through Authenticity, Not Performance

What if everything you’ve been taught about love… wasn’t meant for you?

In this empowering Therapy Insights Tuesday episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, invites you to examine the cultural “scripts” of love—and consider how they may be working against your nervous system, your truth, and your real capacity for connection.

From fairy tales and romantic tropes to invisible expectations about how fast or how much you “should” feel, neurodivergent individuals often feel pressured to perform instead of be. Blaze offers a compassionate reframe: there is no one right way to love—only what’s true for you.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• How harmful love scripts show up in neurodiverse relationships
• Why you’re not broken—the rules just weren’t built for your wiring
• A grounding Home Play prompt to start reclaiming your relational truth

Whether you’re single, partnered, or redefining what love means, this episode offers a spacious invitation:

You’re allowed to write a love story that honors your pace, your body, and your way of connecting.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #LoveWithoutScripts #UnmaskingAutism #NeurodivergentLove #AuthenticConnection #NDRelationships #MaskFreeLove #NeurodiverseHealing #YouAreEnough #LoveAsYouAre

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**

You’re the Right Parent: Supporting Your Neurodivergent Child with Confidence and Care

In this tender Waking Up Neurodivergent episode of Love on the Autism Spectrum, therapist and neurodivergent coach Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, speaks directly to parents raising neurodivergent children. Whether their child is autistic, has ADHD, sensory differences, learning challenges, or is healing from trauma.

This isn’t a how-to episode. It’s a soft place to land. A gentle reminder that you’re not failing—you’re learning to love your child in the language their nervous system understands.

Blaze offers a moment of rest and deep validation for parents navigating the emotional, invisible labor of raising a child who may not meet cultural norms but holds undeniable beauty and brilliance.

Inside this episode:

• A reframe of “behavior” as nervous system communication
• Why your presence, not perfection, is the greatest gift you offer
• A grounding Home Practice to support your own emotional regulation

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, judged, or unsure if what you’re doing is enough, this episode will remind you:

You are already loving in ways that truly matter.

You are the right parent.

#LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum #NeurodivergentParenting #NDChild #ParentingOnTheSpectrum #YouAreEnough #AutismParentSupport #NervousSystemParenting #NeurodivergentFamilies #NDParentConfidence

Explore more tools, relationship guidance, and weekly blog posts at:

🌐 www.LoveOnTheAutismSpectrum.com

For behind-the-scenes reflections and bonus content, follow along on Instagram:

📸 @BlazeLazarony

✨ Come for the real talk. Stay for the support. You’re not alone here.

**This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, LMFT, is licensed in California. Listening does not create a therapeutic relationship or imply individualized advice.

Any tools or techniques shared are for general education only and do not guarantee results. Participation in educational offerings does not establish a client-therapist relationship.

All client examples are fictional and used solely for illustrative purposes.

If you’re in crisis or experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or contact local emergency services.**