Ever notice how nature calms you, music shifts your mood and soft textures make you feel amazing?

Sensory processing plays a role in how autistic adults experience the world—yet it’s often misunderstood. In this episode, Donna Redman and occupational therapist Cindy Duffy unpack what sensory processing really is, how it affects emotional regulation and behavior, and why so many autistic adults spend years masking sensory discomfort.

We talk about:

• What sensory processing is and how it works in the nervous system
• How sensory differences show up in autistic adults
• Masking sensory discomfort and the emotional cost of “looking fine”
• The connection between sensory overload and anxiety, agitation, and burnout
• How environment, nature, and art support sensory well-being
• Why awareness alone can dramatically reduce stress and self-blame

The Secret Genius of Sensory Processing website

The Secret Genius of Sensory Processing Quick Start Guide

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If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.

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Have you been told you’re “too sensitive?” Do you struggle to complete tasks or projects? Have you given up trying to find out why life seems hard?

In this episode, clinical psychologist Dr. Gilly Kahn reveals why many women with ADHD are stressing themselves to appear normal and how the clinical world’s focus on young boys has left millions of women without answers.

We talk about:

• The "Double Burden" of Success: Why high IQ and degrees often act as a barrier to diagnosis, leaving women to struggle in secret.
• RSD vs. Reality: Understanding Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria—not as a personality trait, but as a neurological response to a lifetime of negative feedback.
• Hormonal Interference: A look at how hormones affect ADHD and ADHD medications
• Creative Survival: Why habits labeled “quirky” might actually be high-level executive function workarounds.

Dr. Gilly Kahn’s website

Book: Allow Me To Interrupt: A Psychologist Reveals the Emotional Truth Behind Women’s ADHD

Dr Gilly Kahn on Instagram

Learn more about Sunsama!

Support the show

Sunsama free trial: https://try.sunsama.com/xi4blkokndgk

RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1,000,000 downloads!

If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.

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You’re done and you don’t know why. The brain is turned off and no words come to mind. You might not move. You might cry. You might be desperate to be alone. This is what shutdown feels like. How do you recognize a shutdown and is there anything you can do to prevent it? This episode has some answers.

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Sunsama free trial: https://try.sunsama.com/xi4blkokndgk

RATED IN THE TOP 0.5% GLOBALLY with more than 1,000,000 downloads!

If you are an autistic person who has written a book about autism or if you have a guest suggestion email me at info@theautisticwoman.com.

Instagram
Ko-fi, PayPal, Patreon
Linktree
Email: info@theautisticwoman.com
Website