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Beginning December 2025, all future episodes of The Neurodiversity Voices Podcast will be available as full video experiences. Watch along on our YouTube channel (@neurodiversityvoicespodcast) or on Spotify, and connect with our conversations in a whole new way.
I’m Paul, the host of The Neurodiversity Voices Podcast.
I’m not a clinician, researcher, or professional expert — and that’s intentional.
I come to this work as a neurodivergent individual with lived experience. I know what it feels like to navigate systems that weren’t designed for how your mind works, to question your own capacity because of labels, and to search for language that actually reflects who you are, not just how you’re measured.
This podcast exists because too many conversations about neurodiversity happen about us, rather than with us.
How This Podcast Is Different
Unlike many podcasts in this space, The Neurodiversity Voices Podcast isn’t built on credentials or clinical authority. It’s built on listening, reflection, and shared humanity.
I don’t position myself as an expert with answers. I show up as a facilitator of stories — asking curious, grounded questions from the perspective of someone who lives this reality every day.
That means:
Conversations aren’t rushed or overly polished
Guests aren’t reduced to diagnoses or achievements
Complexity, contradiction, and uncertainty are welcome
Lived experience is treated as valid knowledge
Whether I’m speaking with educators, parents, authors, creatives, researchers, or other neurodivergent individuals, the focus is always the same: seeing the person before the label.
Why Lived Experience Matters Here
Being neurodivergent shapes how I listen, how I notice patterns, and how I hold space. It allows me to ask questions that come from recognition rather than assumption — and to create conversations that feel safer, slower, and more honest.
This isn’t a podcast about fixing people.
It’s a podcast about understanding ourselves, our systems, and each other more clearly. If you’re looking for expert opinions, you’ll find many excellent shows.
If you’re looking for real conversations, grounded in lived experience and mutual respect, you’re in the right place.
The Neurodiversity Voices Podcast — Embracing Every Mind. Sharing Every Voice.
Website: https://www.neurodiversityvoices.com
Follow Us On Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn: @neurodiversityvoicespodcast
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Your feedback means the world to us. Please rate and leave a comment on your favourite podcast app so we can continue amplifying neurodivergent voices.
I, had recently posted a picture of myself hugging my younger self, an old school photo. It was an apology. It was a sorry to the little girl who hid herself away, who masked and coped and endured, who braved the lights, the smells, the sounds, the chaos of people, even when it was too much. To the little girl who fought so hard for good grades because the pressure from society and expectations from those around her weighed heavy. When what she really wanted to do was to scream help.
Stacey Smith:This is hard. To the girl who stayed gentle and empathetic even when the world felt unbearable. To the girl who suppressed, who binged and purged to manage the pain of each day.
Paul Cruz:Hello and welcome to the Neurodiversity Voices podcast. I'm your host Paul Cruz, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on this journey of exploration, advocacy, and celebration of neurodiversity. Together, we'll have meaningful conversations, share inspiring stories, challenge misconceptions about neurodiversity. This podcast is for everyone, whether you're neurodivergent yourself, an educator, a parent, or just someone curious to learn more. My goal is to amplify voices, foster understanding, and spark change in the way we view and support neurodiversity.
Paul Cruz:I'm so excited to have you as we celebrate the beauty of diverse minds and work toward a more inclusive future. So sit back, relax, and let's get started. Welcome to the Neurodiversity Voices Podcast, a space where lived experiences take center stage, and every story reminds us that there's no one way to be human. I'm your host, Paul, today's episode is called Share Your Voice. In this episode, we hear from two incredible guests, Gabe and Stacy, who both found clarity and community later in life through their neurodivergent diagnosis.
Paul Cruz:Their reflections aren't just about labels or conditions. They're about identity, longing, and learning to embrace the way our minds truly work. Settle in, take a deep breath, and listen as Gabe and Stacy share what it means to understand yourself, maybe for the very first time.
Gabe Galland:Hi, my name is Gabe. I'm a producer in Vancouver, BC in Canada. I've lived here for about eight years and for most of my life, I was undiagnosed with ADHD, and I'm also on the autism spectrum. I was born in 1991 in Paris, France, and to this day, France remains a country that doesn't really recognize ADHD, and at least for the longest time, it's actually refuted all evidence. And so growing up in the '90s and early 2000s, I was marginalized by other kids at school, primary school, and then middle high, there was no one to turn to for help.
Gabe Galland:And when I would speak to therapists and psychologists, they would treat my case as though I was a 50 year old man going through a self confidence crisis, and evidently it didn't work. So I grew up thinking I was a weirdo, that I didn't belong, that I didn't deserve, and that I was not able to do the same as other people. But it wasn't until I lived in other places, like, in The UK. I lived there for half a year in Australia. I lived there for two years in Korea for a year.
Gabe Galland:And those experiences really showed me that people are allowed to act and think differently. I didn't get any treatment. I wasn't there long enough to. But when I did move to Canada in 2017, and shortly thereafter got a doctor, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 29 or 30, something like that. And so for the past five, six years, I've been looking back at my life, and so many things make sense now.
Gabe Galland:And I wish I could go back and tell my younger self not to feel bad about, the way my brain works, the way I see the world. And I can see how knowing all this information is a double edged sword. It really offers a relief to explain past occurrences. But there's so much more to do to inspire and to just, like, make people feel better. So I would love to be part of your podcast.
Gabe Galland:Thanks.
Stacey Smith:Hi, everyone. My name is Stacey Smith, and I'm just going to share a little something about my most recent diagnosis at the age of 35. So I've never hidden the fact that I'm a passionate advocate for neurodiversity. After awaiting almost three years, I finally had my autism assessment last week. And today the email arrived, my formal diagnosis.
Stacey Smith:I wasn't shocked, not really. In truth, I've always known, but still something shifted. It's given me clarity and with it a chance to reflect on all the years that I've felt like an outsider in my own home, in classrooms, in friendships and in workplaces. I had recently posted a picture of myself hugging my younger self, an old school photo. It was an apology.
Stacey Smith:It was a sorry to the little girl who hid herself away, who masked and coped and endured, who braved the lights, the smells, the sounds, the chaos of people even when it was too much. To the little girl who fought so hard for good grades because the pressure from society and expectations from those around her weighed heavy. When what she really wanted to do was to scream help. This is hard. To the girl who stayed gentle and empathetic even when the world felt unbearable.
Stacey Smith:To the girl who suppressed, who binged and purged to manage the pain of each day only to be force fed by dinner ladies in front of everyone. To the girl who bed wet through primary school, who longed for the noise in her head to quieten, for the tabs in her brain to finally close. To the girl who never felt enough, never funny enough, never liked enough, needed enough, caring enough, just never enough. And to the woman she became, the new mother who thought she was losing her mind, drowning under post natal depression, not knowing that her senses were simply on fire from the hormones. You weren't a bad parent, you were overwhelmed, but still you persevered.
Stacey Smith:To the woman whose social battery runs out completely, who walks into overstimulating environments for her family's sake, holding it together even when every sense is screaming. To the woman who finds it hard to give herself fully to one person because the world has always asked too much of her. I see you now. I'm holding you. I understand you now.
Stacey Smith:I can't promise to always get it right, but I will try to give you grace. I promise I will try to cut you some slack.
Paul Cruz:Thank you so much for listening to the neurodiversity voices podcast and for joining us on this episode, share your voice. Huge thanks to our guests, Gabe Gallant and Stacy Smith for their honesty, courage and vulnerability. Their stories reminds us that every voice, especially the ones that have been quiet for too long deserves to be heard. If today's conversation resonated with you, take a moment to reflect what part of your story might help someone else feel seen. Can connect with us on our Instagram and share your thoughts using the hashtag neurodiversityvoices subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss the Do you have a story about neurodiversity you'd like to share?
Paul Cruz:Visit our website at neurodiversityvoices.com to find out more. Keep sharing your voice. The world needs to hear it. Hear from you. Until next time, take care, stay curious, and keep celebrating the beauty of diverse minds.
Paul Cruz:Thanks for listening to the Neurodiversity Voices podcast.