Today, we’re joined by Dr. Xenia Barnes. After a 20 year career in education, Xenia turned her attention to social justice work and trauma research, with a particular focus on how gun violence impacts individuals and communities. Then, in 2021, she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease that makes it difficult for the body to absorb oxygen from the air. Her essay “The Invisible Battle: Navigating the Minefield of Workplace Accommodation” was included in the recently published book, “Triumph in the Trenches: Navigating Success for Black Professionals.”

Xenia Barnes is a researcher, a public speaker, and a life coach. She is the author of two books on navigating trauma: “Grieving to Heal: The Shadow Boarding Experience” and “The Recondition: A Guide to Loving Yourself Through the Trauma.” She has completed one PhD degree in Theology and is finishing up a second PhD degree in Advanced Human Behavior.

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and today we’re honoring that by spending the show talking about autism and specifically late-diagnosed autism. Autism is a broad umbrella for describing how some people think, feel, and act differently from what is considered typical or normal. We did a show in January on neurodivergence. Autism is a form of neurodivergence, and autism is a disability.

Autism manifests in each person differently, but common experiences of autistic people are finding socializing challenging and/or tiring, getting overwhelmed in loud or busy spaces, having intense interests that you keep coming back to, and preferring order and routine. Some people use repeated motions or actions to calm down their nervous system and/or express joy and happiness. Some autistic people hide - or mask - their emotions in order to fit in socially. This can sometimes lead to mental illness.

For more on all of this, we are joined by Kristen Hovet, the founder and creator of The Other Autism podcast. Kristen was diagnosed with autism in her 30s. Before that, she was labeled shy, gifted, intense, sensitive, reserved, but never autistic. This, unfortunately, is a common experience, especially for women and those assigned female at birth. We’ll explore why this is and what factors lead to this underdiagnosis later in the show.

Kristen Hovet has a Master’s Degree in Health Studies from Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. She’s currently a Research Communications Specialist at the British Colombia Children's Hospital Research Institute in Vancouver.

Today, we are joined by Emily Voorde, a former Biden Administration official and a top staffer in the Pete Buttigieg Presidential campaign. We talk with Emily about the current threats to Medicaid funding that are working their way through Congress. We also hear first-hand about the challenges people with mobility disabilities and assistive devices face when flying commercially, and we get Emily’s response to a recent lawsuit challenging rules set by the Biden Administration that aimed to make air travel safer and easier for people with disabilities.

Emily Voorde is the Founder and CEO of INTO Strategies, a Disabled-led consultancy firm that assists companies, movements, and political campaigns to develop inclusive access solutions. In 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Emily to a seat on the National Council on Disability, a position she held until January of this year. Prior to joining the National Council on Disability, Emily was the Associate Director of the White House’s Office of Public Engagement under President Biden, where she served as a liaison between the Biden Administration and the disability community. During the 2020 Presidential run, she worked for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, serving as Trip Director and “Body Woman” for Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg.

Emily Voorde grew up in South Bend, Indiana. She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition that causes her bones to be brittle and break easily. She uses a wheelchair to get around. Emily first met Pete Buttigieg when he came to speak in her high school Government class during his run for Mayor of South Bend. Emily volunteered for his mayoral campaign and then interned in his office one summer. Buttigieg has credited Emily for his interest in and awareness of disability rights.