In this episode of The Autism Podcast, James Gordon and Chris Papadopoulos interview London Autism Group Charity volunteer Simeon Thompson, a British Jamaican autistic man living in London who has been working in the IT industry for many years. Simeon was diagnosed as autistic in 2007 when he was 14 years old, however he denied his diagnosis until 2015 which led to many internal conflicts that impacted upon his uncertainty on how he could fit into society.

Today Simeon, who has many interests especially music (rock, rap, R&B, video game music, jazz and more), is passionate about sharing his experiences of learning to self-accept his autistic identity which has been crucial for his mental health. In this episode, Simeon talks about his difficult journey of isolation through school life, how his friends advised him to access counselling which helped him get to a place of self-acceptance and embracing his autistic identity and diagnosis. Simeon also shares some fantastic advice from his own experiences on how to leverage your special interests to practice and sharpen your social interaction skills which in turn can yield more rewards.

If you would like to contact Simeon for any advice, then feel free to! His email is simeonthompson214@hotmail.co.uk. He also has a podcast called 'The Inner Link' (Inner Link Podcast (@innerlinkpodcast) • Instagram photos and videos) where he and his friends discuss interesting topics such as society, spirituality, politics, etc.

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The Autism Podcast is produced by the London Autism Group Charity. It is hosted by Dr Chris Papadopoulos and Mr James Gordon.

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