The Monstrous and the Neurodivergent
Added 2023-06-26 21:00:02 +0000 UTCThis week your horror hosts are getting a little personal. We're talking about all the ways each of our neurodivergences intersect with our fascination with horror and other genre stories. Join us for as we discuss the autistic-coded Frankenstein and the Werewolf as a metaphor for ADHD, among other things.
And as always, feel free to reach out to us if you want to hear more about our experiences, or have questions about your own. We're always open to having conversations, about Frankenstein, horror in general, or anything else.
Comments
Yeah, autism is definitely a very misunderstood disorder. Like you said, it's often portrayed as debilitating, or if there's any reference to a spectrum, it's a linear spectrum of how high or low functioning someone is. The reality is way more complicated. Different people have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to autism. I am still definitely on my journey of understanding what my diagnosis means for me, but just having a name for it, and finding other people online behaviors and mannerisms has been comforting. And I actually started looking into autism because of a friend who works with autistic kids! I definitely wanted to start this show to create a safe space for me to geek out about Frankenstein and horror in general, and also to find like-minded folks who might need a space like that as well. And if we have been useful to you in that way, that makes me so happy. And if anything I've said about autism has been useful to you on your journey with that, I'm honored to have been helpful! If you've got a good support system of friends and loved ones who appreciate you for who you are and don't mind the occasional infodump, that's a very good thing. And if you ever want to discuss Frankenstein or autism (or anything else!) you know where to find me!
Anthony Bowman
2023-06-27 20:54:24 +0000 UTCMan ever since I started listening to you guys and hearing Anthony specifically talk more about being on the spectrum I’ve really started to look back on my own personal experiences, moments in my life where I really did not understand my interactions with other people, or certain issues I have relating to most people in general, and I’m fairly certain I’m on the spectrum. It never occurred to me because until the last couple of years, I had no real idea that autism truly was a spectrum and not everyone that has it will be an extreme case to the point that they’re non-verbal or something like that. What really kind of locked it in for me was when I was talking to my mom about a year ago and she told me she thinks my dad is on the spectrum, she has been working with kids with autism and other neurodivergent issues and learning disabilities over the last 2-3 years. She listed a lot of traits my dad has that I also share and that on top of my own personal experience of the world has made me pretty sure that I’m on the spectrum somewhere. I also know for a fact I have some learning disorder that nearly made me fail high school and was one of the reasons I eventually dropped out of college. But I’ve especially been able to relate with Anthony on the obsession aspect. I genuinely think if you guys hadn’t started this podcast that I may have eventually done something either similar or exactly the same. TJ and John can take my info dumps about comics and stuff but I didn’t really have anyone who I felt really gave a shit about how much Frankenstein I had rolling around my brain all the time. My wife would listen sure but she reeeaaaally didn’t care and was just listening because she loved me, which I’m thankful for but you eventually need someone else who can appreciate the obsession to talk to I think. Anyways, long story short I truly am thankful you guys are doing the show and that you’ve been so open about your own neurodivergent brains and allowed others to be able to relate to you.
Hayden Orr
2023-06-27 15:49:06 +0000 UTC
