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Self-Love for Autistic Adults: Root to Rise Framework | Chandra Lynn

Adulting with Autism

Release Date: 01/26/2026

News Without the Ragebait: Kira Shishkin on Rebuilding Trust in Media for Sensitive Brains show art News Without the Ragebait: Kira Shishkin on Rebuilding Trust in Media for Sensitive Brains

Adulting with Autism

If reading the news leaves you overwhelmed, angry, or completely checked out—you’re not broken. The system is. In this episode of Adulting with Autism, I’m joined by Kira Shishkin, founder and CEO of informed.now, a platform built for people who want to stay informed without being manipulated, overstimulated, or emotionally drained. Kira shares how her own struggles with attention, overload, and disability shaped a radically different approach to news—one that prioritizes facts, primary sources, and respect for the reader’s time and nervous system. We talk about: Why modern news is...

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What if hiring autistic adults wasn’t about charity—but about brilliance, innovation, and real business results? In this episode of Adulting with Autism, I sit down with Tara May, CEO of AspiriTech, a tech company with 90% autistic employees doing QA, cybersecurity, and data services across the country. What started at a kitchen table is now a $6M company proving what autistic talent can actually do when workplaces are designed differently. Tara and I talk honestly about: Why autistic adults are still massively underemployed—and why that’s a business failure, not a talent issue How...

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Living with anxiety spikes, focus fog, or constant sensory overload as an autistic, AuDHD, or ADHD adult—and wondering if music could actually help your brain calm down? This episode of Adulting With Autism explores music therapy for autistic adults with Dr. Barb Minton, a psychologist and neuroscientist who started as a pipe organ major and went on to create the Calm the Storm album with guitarist Peppino D’Agostino.​ Dr. Barb explains how music can entrain brain waves—how tempo, rhythm, and sound textures can gently guide the nervous system toward...

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Caught in “not enough” or “too much” loops as an autistic or AuDHD adult—stuck in old patterns, feeling like your needs are a burden, or burning out trying to keep everyone else okay? This episode of Adulting With Autism dives into self-love for autistic adults with Christina Ketchen, a certified life and relationship coach trained in HeartMath®, Gottman, and the Hoffman Process, who brings both neuroscience and hard-won personal wisdom to healing.​ Christina talks about trauma loops—those familiar patterns and relationship dynamics that feel terrible but...

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Feeling stuck in survival mode as an autistic or AuDHD adult—checking all the boxes on paper but still burned out, unfulfilled, or unsure what you actually want? This episode of Adulting With Autism explores self-love and life direction with Chandra Lynn, a certified transformation coach, former Apple/Mercedes marketing leader, and author of Root to Rise: How to Love Life When It’s Messy, When It’s Hard.​ Chandra breaks down her Root to Rise framework, which looks at key areas of life—like career, relationships, health, and creativity—and helps you...

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Growing up with labels like “too emotional,” “overreacting,” or “ice queen,” and now struggling to understand what you actually feel as an autistic or AuDHD adult? This episode of Adulting With Autism dives into emotion regulation for autistic adults with Jenn Veilleux, clinical psychologist, professor, and author of Open to Emotion, who blends her theater background with science to support authentic emotional expression. Jenn shares her own journey from being called “too emotional” to seeing emotional intensity as a form of being a “super-taster” of...

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Stuck in limiting beliefs as an autistic or AuDHD adult—thoughts like “I am not good enough because of autism” or feeling like different “parts” of you are constantly fighting each other? In this episode of Adulting With Autism, Tamara Andreas joins to talk about Core Transformation, a gentle inner-work process she co-developed that has been taught worldwide for over 30 years.​ Tamara explains the idea of “parts” in a grounded way: the part that wants to keep you safe, the part that is scared of change, the part that believes you have to mask. She walks through...

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Struggling with routines, self-doubt, or turning your creative passions into a real career as a late-diagnosed autistic or AuDHD adult? This episode of Adulting With Autism features JD Barker, a New York Times bestselling thriller author with 19 books to his name, co-writing credits with James Patterson, and a late autism diagnosis at 22.​

JD shares his journey from finance to full-time writing in his 40s, including ghostwriting multiple NYT bestsellers before building his own care

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Feeling stuck in toxic relationships as an autistic, AuDHD, or ADHD adult—constantly people-pleasing, doubting your reality, or feeling like you are “too much” or “too sensitive”? In this episode of Adulting With Autism, therapist, coach, and author Shannon Petrovich joins to talk about toxic relationships, trauma bonds, and boundaries for neurodivergent adults.​

Shannon, author of Out of the FOG Into the CLEAR and creator of the TherapistTalks channel on YouTub

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Feeling masked-out, sensory-flooded, or side-eyeing all things “spiritual” as an autistic, AuDHD, or ADHD adult? In this episode of Adulting With Autism, Ashmita Arora—teacher and founder of The Intuitive Practice and Eva & Isla®—shares a grounded take on spiritual awakening for autistic adults that does not bypass mental health, trauma, or lived experience.​

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More Episodes

Feeling stuck in survival mode as an autistic or AuDHD adult—checking all the boxes on paper but still burned out, unfulfilled, or unsure what you actually want? This episode of Adulting With Autism explores self-love and life direction with Chandra Lynn, a certified transformation coach, former Apple/Mercedes marketing leader, and author of Root to Rise: How to Love Life When It’s Messy, When It’s Hard.​

Chandra breaks down her Root to Rise framework, which looks at key areas of life—like career, relationships, health, and creativity—and helps you line them up with core emotional needs such as security, variety, growth, connection, and contribution. She shares simple journaling prompts like “What do I want? Why? What am I willing to try?” to help you get out of autopilot and start making choices that actually fit you, not just what others expect.​

You will hear how her own path from high-pressure corporate roles into more aligned, heart-centered work unfolded in zigzags, not straight lines—and why that is normal, especially for neurodivergent adults. Chandra offers practical tools for exploring purpose through experiments and “try-ons,” building authentic relationships, and practicing self-love in the middle of messy, imperfect life rather than waiting to “fix everything” first.​

This episode is especially helpful if you:

  • Feel like you are surviving but not really living

  • Are questioning your career, relationships, or direction as a late-diagnosed autistic or AuDHD adult

  • Want a grounded framework to check in with your needs and make kinder, more aligned choices

If this conversation supports you, follow/subscribe to Adulting With Autism on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify and leave a 5-star review so more neurodivergent adults can find it.

Merch for your Root to Rise journey:
Get 20% off journals, tees, and “Root Your Rise”–style merch with code PODCAST26 at the Adulting With Autism Fourthwall shop (Linktree). Your support helps keep this podcast free for the community.

Resources mentioned:

  • Root to Rise: How to Love Life When It’s Messy, When It’s Hard

  • Chandra’s quiz, courses, and coaching at glowliving.com