Episode 42: Horses, Hyperfocus, and the Accidental Autistic Gathering Place

Matt and Erin are joined by Eleda Towle, an Autistic store owner whose lifelong focus on model horses turned into a business—and a gathering place for other Autistic people. This one moves the way Autistic conversations often do: tangents, deep dives, and a lot of “wait, that connects to this.”

It’s about discovery, community, and what happens when people finally find their thing—and their people.

We cover:

Eleda’s late autism discovery at 52—and the moment everything started to make sense
Building a business around monotropic focus (yes, plastic horses) and accidentally creating Autistic community space
Why Autistic conversations “maze” instead of staying linear—and why that’s not a problem to fix
The deep (and very real) Autistic roots of toy culture—from model horses to My Little Pony lore
Intrinsic motivation, PDA, and why “just try harder” doesn’t work for Autistic people
Self-directed learning, reward systems, and a nonprofit using play to support neurodivergent kids

Side note: yes, we go from horses → Ninja Turtles → Brainspotting → electric towers → taxes → government frustration… and it all makes sense if you’re following the thread. That’s the point.

This is what it sounds like when autistic people talk to each other. A little chaotic. Very real. And honestly, kind of the best way to understand how our brains actually work.

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Episoder(53)

Episode 48: Leaky Foundations, Low Spoons, and Building Something That Lasts

Matt and Erin are wrapping up Season 1 of The Autistic VOICE Project this week — and after 48 episodes, they’re talking honestly about burnout, sustainability, community, and what it takes to keep sho...

29 Mai 27min

Episode 47: Friend-Shaped People, Autism Sparkle, and the Spreadsheet Method of Making Friends

Matt, Erin, and friend of the show Hunter Hammersen are here this week talking about something a whole lot of Autistic people want and struggle with at the same time: friendship. Specifically, how do ...

25 Mai 50min

Episode 46: Autistic Grief, Co-Regulation, and the People Who Keep Us Human

Matt and Erin are back for another mailbag episode — and this one gets deeply personal. From losing an “anchor person” to navigating autistic grief, relationships, PDA parenting, and co-regulation, th...

15 Mai 46min

Episode 45: Nintendo Fidgets, Neutrality, and the Nervous System We Forgot About

Matt, Erin, and guest Nyck Walsh are here this week — and this episode turns into a really good conversation about somatic therapy, autistic processing, nervous systems, sensory joy, and why neutralit...

8 Mai 41min

Episode 44: Perimenopause, Medical Gaslighting, and Figuring It Out Without a Map

This episode gets into perimenopause through an autistic lens—what it actually feels like, why it hits differently in autistic bodies, and how little real guidance exists. Matt, Erin, and Eleda talk t...

1 Mai 32min

Episode 43: Special Interests, Safe Spaces, and Saying No to Shame

Matt, Erin, and Eleda get into special interests, collections, and what it means to have a space where Autistic joy isn’t hidden—it’s the whole point. This one’s about building community through the t...

28 Apr 48min

Episode 41: Crystals, Experiments, and Figuring Out Who You Are (Without Losing Yourself)

Matt, Erin, and Jamie Roberts are here this week—and we get into identity development for autistic teens, the pressure to turn yourself into something “useful,” and what it actually looks like to figu...

10 Apr 40min