ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Lindsay Watkins has spent about 15 years in the autism space, starting in recreational camp settings in college, then teaching special education, then moving through clinical, vocational, and ed-tech settings looking for one thing: a system that actually works. What she found instead was systems failing families, over and over. Now she is building NeuroBloom, an assistive technology app for non-speaking autism and higher support needs, built on a simple idea most systems miss: access to skills is state-dependent, and the first job is always regulation.
This is a conversation between two neurodivergent people coming at the same problem from different angles. James naming the framework, Lindsay doing the implementation work with real families. No script, no agenda, just an hour of two people who care about the same thing talking it through.
Lindsay opens with the story of Camp Sunshine, the overnight camp she signed up for to skip a school field placement, and the woman named Mandy she was paired with, who had no words and changed the entire direction of her life in four days. From there she gets into why the systems keep failing, what spelling to communicate opened up for a non-speaking friend who now talks about going to college, how NeuroBloom's flagship Regulate feature works, the 5-out-of-10 baseline she is aiming for, and why she has stopped chasing the perfect app and started building a worldview instead. From friction to flow.
A Few Lines Worth Lifting
"Stop looking for other people to give you the answers that you want, and go find them, and where they don't exist, create solutions."
"It's not that you have a different skill set, it's because you have access to the skill set that you didn't have when you were dysregulated the previous day."
"There is a human soul in that body, and you need to treat them as such."
"What I'm really trying to build is my own worldview, which will drive the app."
"The neurodivergence community is a sum of the people who are in it."
Topics in This Episode
15 years in the autism space, and the throughline: the systems aren't working Camp Sunshine, meeting Mandy, and four days that redirected a whole life The year Asperger's left the DSM, and starting with no map at all Lived experience over credentials, and why you can't whiteboard what autism is Why the clunkiness in communication never fully goes away, and why that's fine Spelling to communicate, and a non-speaking friend who now wants to go to college NeuroBloom, and one platform for regulation, communication, and executive function State-dependent skills: why access changes day to day, not the skill set itself Regulate, the flagship feature, and getting back to a baseline you can build from The 5 out of 10 goal, leveling the playing field, and dropping the perfectionism Autism is not a medical problem to eradicate, and the harm in treating it like one Assistive technology as a ramp, not a kids' app One dashboard, two roles, and where multiple caregivers and schools come in Prototype done, the 18K-per-feature math, and the rich-people-PowerPoint phase The consulting model with an OT, and building the framework before the app A connection across a theater lobby, and the unspoken bond Advice to her 19-year-old self: stop looking for the answers, go make them Building a worldview, not just an app One message for allies and caregivers: listen, and believe people
About Lindsay Watkins
Lindsay Watkins is an innovator working at the intersection of autism support, neurodiversity, and tech. Her background spans clinical service delivery, special education, telehealth, and educational tech platforms, with experience leading cross-functional teams across startups, multi-state operations, school districts, and enterprises. Her current focus is NeuroBloom, an app leveraging AI and data-driven approaches to improve service access for non-speaking autism and higher support needs.
Find Lindsay Watkins
Website: www.neurobloom.app
Instagram: @neurobloomapp
LinkedIn: NeuroBloom
YouTube: NeuroBloom app
About the host
James Hickey is the founder of PathWays Collective and host of The Sight Side. He is an AuDHD systems architect, Licensed Peer Recovery Supporter, and author of Cyberspace Psychosis and the Virtual Reality Blues. He was identified as autistic and ADHD in his forties, after decades of being labeled unfocused, underperforming, or not living up to his potential.
Website: https://pathwayscollective.net/the-sight-side LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/james-hickey-9b8ab43a2
Happening in Cleveland
NeuroSpicy Happy Hour, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Pins Mechanical Co., 1880 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113. Cleveland's first happy hour built for neurodivergent professionals: burrito bar from Ohio City Burrito, free arcade and console games, mocktails, and your people. The networking event for people who hate networking events. 21+, valid ID required. Tickets are limited to 30. Grab one here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/neurospicy-happy-hour-tickets-1989111436853
