Neurodivergent Insights with Dr. Megan Anna Neff

The autism rate in the U.S. has risen from 1 in 150 to 1 in 31 over the past two decades. But the story behind that number is far more nuanced than the headlines suggest. In this conversation, Dr. Megan Anna Neff and Dr. Donna Henderson walk through the history of autism in the DSM, the systemic shifts driving increased recognition, and why "epidemic" framing misses the point.
This video is for Autistic adults, late-diagnosed people, clinicians, parents, and anyone who has been asked "why is autism on the rise?" and wanted a deeper, more grounded answer to offer.

📩 If you want to go deeper on this topic, we have a visual guide and transcript available alongside this video on our website:https://neurodivergentinsights.com/episodes/why-is-autism-on-the-rise/

Two Autistic burnout authors in conversation for the first time. Dr. Megan Anna Neff sits down with Amelia Nagoski, co-author of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, to talk about what it means to complete the stress cycle when you're Autistic, alexithymic, and your body doesn't always tell you when it's stressed.
They cover the science of the stress cycle, why removing the stressor doesn't remove the stress, alexithymia and interoception, sensory-based ways to find safety, Autistic persistence as strength and risk, the link between autism and long COVID, and why collective care (not self-care) is the real path out of burnout.

When autism is identified first, ADHD can hide in plain sight, tucked behind the structure, the routines, and the focused intensity that autistic neurology creates. If you've been told your focus looks "fine" while you're quietly drowning in cognitive noise, half-finished tasks, and a nervous system that won't settle, this video explores what might be going on underneath.
This video is for AuDHD adults, late-identified Autistic people exploring whether ADHD is also part of their experience, and clinicians working with neurodivergent clients.
If you want to go deeper, I wrote a companion article that maps out all six patterns in detail:
https://neurodivergentinsights.com/adhd-hides-autism/
How autistic routines and structure can compensate for and hide ADHD distractibility

Why shutdowns and meltdowns get attributed to autism alone, missing the ADHD cognitive overwhelm

The difference between autistic inertia and ADHD task paralysis, and how both can operate at once

How special interests can mask ADHD novelty seeking (the "special interest solar system")

Why quiet, inattentive ADHD is especially vulnerable to being missed when autism is already known

How monotropism can look like excellent focus while ADHD fragments attention outside that channel

Defensive monotropic mode: when deep focus becomes an escape from ADHD overwhelm

Diagnostic overshadowing from co-occurring mental health conditions

If you’ve been told “it’s just ADHD,” there may be autistic traits hiding in plain sight under AuDHD. In this episode, I walk through six ways ADHD can overshadow autism in AuDHD adults, and what that actually feels like in everyday life.
Whether you’re a neurodivergent adult or a clinician, we explore how diagnostic overshadowing shows up in real life and why so many AuDHD adults, especially women and marginalized folks, don’t get the full autistic picture until later in life.
Read the companion article and resources:
https://neurodivergentinsights.com/adhd-hides-autism
In this episode, we cover:
Why social struggles get read as “just impulsive” or “ADHD social skills issues” instead of autistic communication differences

How sensory seeking and sensory overload get filed under ADHD “hyperactivity” instead of autistic sensory processing

Executive function differences that go deeper than ADHD alone, especially in AuDHD adults juggling multiple roles

Emotional responses to change being misread as “poor frustration tolerance” instead of autistic need for predictability and transition support

Special interests being collapsed into “ADHD hyperfocus,” hiding autistic passion, depth, and pattern‑seeking

How masking uses ADHD traits to cover autistic traits, and what unmasking can look like for AuDHD

This episode is for education only. It is not medical advice and is not therapy.
More from Neurodivergent Insights:
Weekly newsletter and resource vault: https://newsletter.neurodivergentinsights.com/resource-vault

Self-Care for Autistic People: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/self-care-for-autistic-people/

The Autistic Burnout Workbook: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/autistic-burnout-workbook/

Workbooks and tools: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/workbook/

Trainings: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/trainings/

Website: https://neurodivergentinsights.com

#AuDHD, ADHD, autism, diagnostic overshadowing, adult neurodivergence

AuDHD is a community-created identity term for people who are both autistic and ADHD. In this episode, Dr. Megan Anna Neff—ADHD and Autistic clinical psychologist, founder of Neurodivergent Insights, and author of Self Care for Autistic People and The Autistic Burnout Workbook—explains what AuDHD means, why it isn’t a formal DSM diagnosis, and why so many people describe discovering the term as a “lightbulb moment.”

You’ll learn why AuDHD isn’t simply “ADHD + autism,” but a dynamic interplay that can create a familiar “push–pull”: structure vs novelty, quiet solitude vs loud impulsivity, deep focus vs overwhelm with “pingy thoughts,” and more. Dr. Neff also shares why language matters—how naming our experience can reduce shame and increase self-compassion—and what’s coming next in future Neurodivergent Insights episodes on diagnosis, burnout, energy, and daily life.

Follow/subscribe to Neurodivergent Insights for more conversations on AuDHD, autism, ADHD, and neurodivergent education and resources.

Note: This episode is educational and not medical advice.