Today we are joined by Asia, who is pursuing her PhD in clinical psychology at UConn. Join us for a fruitful discussion about the unique strengths and needs of those graduate students on the autism spectrum.
Asia hopes to remind other ASD graduate students that they aren’t alone, their work is important, and that their struggles are not insurmountable, no matter how it may seem in the moment. She takes us through several discrete phases in her life, from early adolescence and realizing that the traditional education system was poorly equipped to handle her needs, to finding hope in the new environment of a performing arts middle and high school where everyone “embraced the weird,” and the return of having to fight the system in college. Throughout our conversation, a clear theme emerges: the importance of building an environment of your choice to prioritize your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses.
Square Pegs is a series of intimate conversations about navigating life and learning within the neurodiverse community, hosted by Dr. Arash Zaghi, Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Engineering. In each episode, we talk to neurodiverse students and experts in the field of neurodiversity.
Send feedback about Square Pegs to hello@squarepegspodcast.com or find us at squarepegspodcast.com.
00:52 Guest intro, Asia, PhD candidate in clinical psychology
04:13 Arash and Asia exchange their first traumatic memories with schooling and not being understood by the system
07:04 Innocence lost: the internalized effects of the system failing neurodiverse students
14:35 Autism and difficulties with the “implicit rules” of standard education
19:08 The catch 22 of getting accommodation and understanding, but only if you disclose your neurodiversity
23:50 The importance of environments, sound, and learning how to be productive in undergrad
29:22 Isolation and the importance of learning to communicate difficulties
35:54 The strengths-based approach: distilling what strengths autism brings to PhD work
40:45 Navigating the advisor-advisee relationship and avoiding pain points
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