Embrace Autism Podcast #05: Riah Person

In our fifth and final episode of season 1 of our podcast, Matt Medina talks with Riah Person, an autism advocate that focuses on topics including sensory processing, stimming, and the black autistic experience. She also runs the website riahsweirdjourney.com, where she shares her life experiences and knowledge she has gained along the way. One of her presentations explores play, stimming, and sensory processing in relation to autistics and divergent human experiences.

Follow Riah:

• Website: riahsweirdjourney.com
• Twitter: @lilririah

Video podcast

Below you can listen to and watch the podcast on YouTube. The topics of discussion can be found in the description on YouTube, or scroll down on this post.

Audio podcast

If you want to listen audio-only, you can find us on most podcast platforms, including Podbean and Spotify.

Topics of discussion

0:00:12 Greeting
0:00:18 Intro
0:01:23 Blackness & autism
0:02:47 Racism
0:04:28 Cycle of racism
0:05:26 George Floyd
0:07:01 Peaceful protest
0:08:04 Non-violent methods
0:09:33 Jon Stewart
0:10:48 Kenneth Clarke
0:11:50 No action
0:13:24 Blackness & diagnosis
0:15:11 School difficulties
0:16:17 Masking
0:17:09 ADHD
0:17:58 Military brat
0:18:49 Living in Guam
0:19:49 Not my fault
0:21:06 1st grade fight
0:24:01 School issues
0:26:27 Misread
0:28:43 YMCA abuse
0:31:20 Being a parent
0:32:55 Threatening appearance
0:34:54 Enter advocacy
0:38:19 Here together
0:41:47 Space for being
0:45:00 Stim-dancing
0:46:41 Mind–body connection
0:47:42 Ballroom dance
0:51:07 Western-Ayurvedic
0:52:39 What is dance?
0:56:15 Special interests
0:59:11 Neurodivergent friends
1:03:20 Diagnosis support
1:04:43 Stims
1:07:54 Squeaking teeth
1:10:27 Jamaica Thanksgiving
1:13:40 Riah’s contact information