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Mike and Chaya sit down with Kristin Walker, founder and CEO of Mental Health News Radio Network, who returns to the show to share the profound impact of receiving an autism and ADHD diagnosis in her 50s. Kristin opens up about the strange and beautiful work of unmasking after a later-in-life autism and ADHD diagnosis, shedding old survival patterns, and rejecting the deficit mindset often placed on neurodivergent minds.
We Also Cover:- The grief, relief, and disorientation of late-diagnosed autism and ADHD
- Building the Mental Health News Radio Network across 12 years while fully masked and unaware
- Why neurodivergent masking can hide your strengths, not just your struggles
- How relationships can help us find our way back to ourselves
- Slow processing and the exhaustion of performed competence
- Learning boundaries without abandoning connection
- How threat-mapping shapes neurodivergent relationships
- Letting go of scripts, shortcuts, and conversational over-prep
- The difference between living from self-protection and living from self-trust
- How deficit-based views of neurodivergence are a trap
- "I got diagnosed with autism and ADHD right after I turned 54… that has been a really trippy ass journey." — Kristin Walker
- "I’m done editing myself. I’m done. The best parts of me are the unedited parts." — Kristin Walker
- "That’s not Mike that’s talking. That’s scripts that are talking, and I don’t really script so much anymore." — Mike
- "Every time I peel back something else and bring something out into the open... every time I say no, another chamber opens that I get to explore." — Kristen Walker
Kristin Walker is the founder and CEO of Mental Health News Radio Network, a platform for conversations about mental health, trauma, neurodivergence, behavioral health, and lived experience. She is also connected to everythingEHR, where her work bridges behavioral health, technology, and systems-level support.
As an Electronic Health Records Expert for Behavioral Health Organizations, she regularly speaks at healthcare conferences and consults with hospital systems across the country. Kristin's unique approach emphasizes collaborative leadership and creating inclusive spaces for different perspectives on mental health, making her a respected voice in both the technology and mental health communities.
Connect with Kristin Walker:- Mental Health News Radio Network: https://www.mentalhealthnewsradio.com/
- Mental Health News Radio Podcast: https://www.mentalhealthnewsradionetwork.com/our-shows/mental-health-news-radio/
- Lawn Chairs in Space Podcast: https://www.mentalhealthnewsradionetwork.com/our-shows/lawn-chairs-in-space/
- Kristin Walker on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kristinswalker
- Mental Health News Radio Network on Instagram: @mhnrnetwork
- Mental Health News Radio Network on Facebook: facebook.com/MentalHealthNewsRadioNetwork
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Stay Connected:
- Website: https://sparklaunchpodcast.com/
- All podcast listening methods: https://episodes.fm/1758785803
- Play Our Game - For ADHD Minds: https://play.sparkade.app/
- ADHD Learning Solutions: https://www.sparklaunch.org/
- Chaya on Instagram: @the_sparklaunch
- Mike on Instagram: @followshisghost
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As always, thanks for lending us your ears and keep igniting that spark!
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