Unmasking with Charlotte Bergslein (The Spectrum Girl): Late Autism/ADHD Diagnosis, Complex PTSD, and Ehlers-Danlos

The host interviews Charlotte Bergslein, a Norwegian creator known as “The Spectrum Girl,” about her personal neurodivergent story. Charlotte shares feeling different and depressed from early childhood after her parents’ divorce, lifelong loneliness and misunderstandings, bullying and social rejection, and years of conflict in school, work, and relationships. After a major life crash, severe depression, and intensive trauma therapy, she was diagnosed at 38 with autism and ADHD, describing masking and how complex PTSD and burnout were shaped by years of being undiagnosed and mislabeled. She discusses family reactions, including her mother’s guilt, her sister’s earlier ADHD diagnosis, and her belief that her father is likely undiagnosed autistic. Charlotte talks about building community online, the benefits and harms of a larger platform, and how reaching out to followers helped during a December crisis involving betrayal, bullying, and self-harm risk. She also explains being diagnosed at 39 with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome after years of medical gaslighting, how she adapts to chronic pain and mobility limits (including using airport wheelchair assistance), and what she wishes people understood about invisible disabilities. She ends by calling for more kindness, patience, and space for autistic people to ask questions without judgment.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:49 Meet Spectrum Girl

03:32 Feeling Different Early

06:53 Life Crash and Diagnosis

09:23 Taboo and Self Doubt

11:45 Therapy and Masking

18:08 Trauma Roots in Childhood

21:50 Bullying and Social Exclusion

25:12 Abuse and Workplace Harassment

31:51 PTSD vs Autism Clarity

35:57 Family Reactions and Heredity

42:16 Sister Relationship Dynamics

44:04 Social Media Advocacy Challenges

50:44 Crisis and Reaching Out

53:19 Community Support Saves

55:28 Fighting Back With Tools

57:00 December Rejection Fallout

01:00:36 Exposure Plans and Logistics

01:04:43 Small Steps Talking Again

01:05:18 Ehlers-Danlos Diagnosis Journey

01:15:07 Living With Pain and Limits

01:17:16 Invisible Disability Awareness

01:25:02 Mobility Aids and Travel

01:29:03 Kindness and Final Takeaways

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contains adult themes listener discretion advised

Pacifying With Wormi: ABDL, Healing, Boundaries, Spirituality & Sobriety

ABDL creator Wormi (@BBWORMI) joins the podcast to talk about what pacifies her—little space, pacifiers, bottles, diapers, and nighttime routines—plus the mental health side of ABDL, staying safe in the community (red flags/grooming/boundaries), spirituality/omnism, and her sobriety journey.

Next week: an interview with Charlotte Bergslein (The Spectrum Girl).

29:28 Asking Wormi about neurodivergence

31:18 Wormi's love of diapers

42:30 Faith. Spirituality and Omnism

55:45 Wormi's substance use and journey to sobriety

contact the podcast: neurorainbow@neurorainbowproject.com

find out more: www.neurorainbowproject.com

follow on social media: @unmaskingautiauri

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this powerful episode of DisElectAbility, host Aar Jae Williams is joined by Ashleigh Talbot, co-founder of the independent trans news podcast What The Trans?!. Together, they explore the current political, social, and media landscape affecting the UK’s trans and disabled communities. The conversation spans the deeply controversial Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland v. Scottish Ministers, the impact of the Sullivan and Cass reviews on trans healthcare, the role of right-wing US influence in shaping UK policy, and the devastating proposed cuts to disability benefits like PIP under the Labour government.

Ashleigh, a wheelchair user and MS patient, brings a razor-sharp critique of media transphobia, the NHS’s failures in supporting marginalised identities, and the performative neutrality of mainstream journalism. The episode also features a heartfelt voice note from trans activist Bex Foulsham responding to the Supreme Court ruling, emphasizing the psychological toll and erosion of legal protections for trans people in the UK.

From media myths to grassroots resistance, this is a call to action: resist, organize, support one another, and push back against a growing wave of ableism and transphobia.

• Transphobia in State and Media: Media’s complicity in pushing gender-critical ideology and exclusionary narratives.
• Healthcare Access & Censorship: The Cass and Sullivan reviews as state-sanctioned mechanisms to restrict care.
• Disability Rights & Welfare Cuts: Harsh critiques of Labour’s and Tory policies on PIP, universal credit, and NHS reforms.
• Intersectionality: Being trans, disabled, neurodivergent – how multiple identities face compounded marginalisation.
• Activism & Mutual Aid: Highlighting protests by Crips Against Cuts and DPAC; the importance of mutual care networks.

Ashleigh Talbot – Co-founder of What The Trans?!, journalist, activist, disabled trans woman living with MS.

Bex Foulsham - non-binary trans woman who is a member of the Liberal Democrats and campaigner

EMAIL: neurorainbow@neurorainbowproject.comm

FOLLOW ASHLEIGH ON BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/ashleigh.whatthetrans.com

FIND MORE ABOUT WHAT THE TRANS?!: https://whatthetrans.com/

SIGN PETITION ON THE SUPREME COURT RULING: https://www.change.org/p/overturn-the-uk-s-new-legal-definition-of-a-woman

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.