The Immigrant Experience and Neurodivergence with Sandhya Menon

Listen to this episode from The Neurodivergent Woman on Spotify. This week’s guest is author and educational and developmental psychologist, Sandhya Menon. Sandhya is an autistic ADHDer. She was born in Singapore, is of Indian-Swiss heritage. She moved to Naarm/Melbourne in Australia after high school, where she lives and works today.    Sandhya has written the book The Brain Forest to help children understand neurodiversity and inclusive practice. Her upcoming book, The Rainbow Brain, is the first children's book of its kind to outline both autism and ADHD in one person. Sandhya is a sought-after speaker at autism conferences and has spoken at Reframing Autism, Autism from the Inside Out and Yellow Ladybugs. Understanding intersectionality is an important part of her work, committing herself to the pursuit of anti-racist, neurodiversity-affirming and queer-inclusive education, acknowledging it is a process and journey.    We cover a huge amount of topics in this episode, including Sandhya’s professional work as a psychologist and author, her experiences as a BIPOC woman, an immigrant, and a neurodivergent woman, cultural difference in the experience of neurodivergence, Sandhya’s experience of how autism and ADHD live together within her, ‘ikigai’, and Sandhya’s top tips for others.   More from Sandhya: Check out Sandhya’s website, Onwards and Upwards Psychology, here: https://www.onwardsandupwardspsychology.com.au/ Grab a copy of ‘The Brain Forest’ or pre-order Sandhya’s book ‘The Rainbow Brain’ here. Sandhya also recommended the book ‘Living Sensationally’ by Winnie Dunn.   Want polished copies of our episodes in pdf article format? Grab them here.   Enjoyed this episode and want more content? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive ad-free episodes, basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, 50% off our episode articles, plus access to a huge backlog of bonus content, including bonus episodes, access to online courses, tip sheets and workbooks, and guided meditation practices. Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.   Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.