Episode 17

Written By Michaela Carlin
 
 

Join the psychedelic Mom, Michaela Carlin for an intimate conversation with special guest, Aaron Orsini, an expert at the intersection of psychedelics and autism. Michaela and Aaron discuss Aaron’s profound journey of self-understanding and transformation with the help of psychedelics, as well as the gifts and challenges Michaela has experienced being the mom of an autistic daughter.

If you’re tuning in to today’s episode and seeking support with your own autism or that of someone you care about, including how psychedelic may help, please visit PsychedelicAutism.com where you can contact Aaron directly to set up a Zoom consult to explore your questions and be guided towards further resources.

Aaron Paul Orsini is one of the world’s leading experts on the intersection of psychedelics and neurodivergence. In the years since being diagnosed autistic and ADHD, Aaron has had extensive firsthand experience with a variety of psychedelics including LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA, all of which helped him to heal, grow, and motivate him to publish three books on the topic — Autism On Acid, Autistic Psychedelic, and Introduction to Psychedelic Autism — in addition to co-founding AutisticPsychedelic.com, an online hub for autistic individuals, their family members, and the professionals who seek to support them amidst their intentional explorations with psychedelic medicines.

Since helping to establish the Autistic Psychedelic Community in March of 2020, Aaron has gone on to serve as an autism-focused psychedelic research co-author for University College London, and has also served as a diversity committee member for the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association. He presently serves as the lead instructor of the online “Introduction To Psychedelic Autism” course, and as a neurodiversity-affirming lecturer for Alma Institute and SoundMind institute, two of Oregon’s legal, M109-compliant psilocybin facilitation training programs. Aaron also continues to influence progressive educational approaches by serving as an expert advisor for a harm-reduction-focused adult autistic substance use program known as A.D.A.P.T., which recently received funding from ResearchAutism.org.

In this episode, Michaela Carlin and Aaron Orsini discuss …

  • Conventional vs. more nuanced interpretations of autism spectrum disorder  

  • The fluidity of autism trait presentations from individual to individual and moment to moment  

  • The simultaneous grief and elation Aaron felt when he was diagnosed with autism at age 23 

  • Why someone diagnosed with autism might feel relief having experienced social and mental health challenges before diagnosis without understanding why

  • How autistic people are challenged by society's expectation that they mimic non-autistic behaviors

  • How psychedelics have helped Aaron understand his emotions more clearly and simultaneously process cognitive and somatic information

  • The clarity Aaron’s early psychedelic experiences helped him reach about how he was in “devastation thinking” without realizing that he could access calmer, more present states of consciousness

  • Championing mindfulness and psychedelics as preventative mental health care

  • Aaron’s first MDMA experience and the realization that he had been run by fear his whole life up until that point

  • How psychedelic don’t “cure” autism, but can offer new insights, experiences and perspectives that can be cultivated further

  • Enhanced somatic awareness as a way to develop a greater sense of safety

  • The effect microdosing LSD has on Aaron

  • How MDMA can provide an opportunity for an internal check in: What’s my lucid take on my life when my fear systems are offline? And what is possible when I feel I can forgive the worst harms? 

  • How helpful it can be to cry to process deep emotions

  • Michaela’s experience finding Aaron’s work and getting involved with his content 

  • The value of non-judgemental encouragement as the parent of an autistic child

Aaron Orsini’s Links 

Resources Related to This Conversation

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Special thanks to Jeremy Colbert (Taragápe) for the original podcast theme music.

You can find out more about Jeremey’s work here:
taragape.com and @taragape

Michaela Carlin
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