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- Beany Brain #38: It's a Circle, Not a Line
Beany Brain #38: It's a Circle, Not a Line
Abigail Munday
April 23, 2025
Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!
Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope today’s newsletter will bounce us up as we contemplate the upsides and challenges of being neurodivergent, a little beauty, some creativity, and just general yeehawesomeness.
Table of Contents
Photo by Abigail Munday
It’s a Circle, Not a Line
Because it’s called ASD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, most folks think that autism support needs and/or abilities are linear.
Not so, says Everyday OT.
In the past (and sometimes now), labels like high functioning vs. low functioning; autism levels by number; and words like “severe/moderate/mild” have been used.
From the same article in Everyday OT:
Autistic researcher Dr. Stephen Shore describes the problem with functioning labels clearly:
“It lumps together the common differences shared by Autistics, and ignores the constellation of characteristics that blend together to make a unique person with unique strengths and support needs.”
For example, a child could be considered “high functioning” at school, but seem completely different at home. Invisible needs might not be taken into account at school.
The article says:
Spikey Profiles are a more accurate way to think about the autism spectrum.
The image below is from somewhere else, but you get the picture:
(source unknown)
Spikey Profiles reveal areas in which an individual may need support, but more importantly, the areas of strength that may be overlooked by a placement based on a linear scale.
I really recommend reading this Everyday OT article for more specific client examples of these “spiky profiles.”
And here’s how they sum it up:
We recommend talking about your Autistic clients, students, or family members in terms of their Strengths & Support Needs. Over time, create a Spikey Profile — do it with them if you can! Consider how programs and activities meet these needs and how willing they are to lean into the strengths.
This might be a good idea to do for yourself, Beany Brain friends. I haven’t created my own spiky profile yet, but just considering it has helped me to deliberate more, slow down more, and cogitate more on what I actually need.
After I realize my own needs (hello, interoception!), my next step of encouragement might be to consider my personal strengths and gifts.
Stop, collaborate, and listen, folks!
Stop kicking yourself.
Collaborate with your own set of specific needs and with others who might support you.
Listen to yourself and those around you who can name and appreciate your strengths.
Photo by Abigail Munday
Beyond Lonely: BBC Sounds (Episode 1)
(Content warning: references to suicide and self-harm.)
Beany Brainers, I’m starting a 5-part series today, sharing tidbits from each episode of the BBC Sounds podcast series called Beyond Lonely. This is not to cast judgement on folks feeling lonely (hey, I regularly feel lonely too) or to be a downer, but to raise awareness and to share helpful and hopeful tips for meaningful connection and healthy living.
I recommend listening to the episodes for yourself—they’re only about 15 minutes each. Here’s the first one.
The host and writer of the podcast is Professor Jason Arday, a professor of the sociology of education at Cambridge University and an autistic person himself. He was diagnosed as a young child, had speech therapy for about 10 years, and also had to use sign language for a long time.
According to Noreena Hertz, a guest on the podcast, an economist, and author of the book The Lonely Century: A Call To Reconnect, loneliness is now considered by the WHO to be a global health threat.
And that’s for neurotypical and neurodivergent people.
However, if you’re neurodivergent, it’s easier to get into a tailspin and harder to get out of.
And you don’t want to live in a state of constant loneliness: You have a 30% chance of dying prematurely if you’re constantly lonely, and your blood pressure, cortisol levels, and heart rates go up in states of loneliness. Unfortunately in our modern life, many of us stay in these heightened periods of stress due to lack of community.
Professor Arday’s friend, Rotimi Akinsete, is a therapist and works with folks individually and also looks at social justice issues that contribute to loneliness, such as poverty.
Mr. Akinsete says that he sees clients who end up “coping” with loneliness by using alcohol, drugs, and self-harming.
He says we have to consciously do something to reconnect, and he recommends activities to his clients such as going to football matches or playing football (which is what he loves), going on walks with a walking club, or joining a book club.
Professor Arday started feeling intense loneliness at age 23 and still deals with it today. He said that in his 20s it led to unhealthy obsessive behaviors involving talking to himself very negatively and withholding food or activities from himself if he didn’t live up to his own expectations for his work.
This first episode really highlights the drawbacks of loneliness. The professor wants to share his own struggles and give more insights and helpful ideas in the next 4 episodes.
Stay tuned.
And if you are feeling intensely lonely and currently unable to cope and are considering suicide or self-harm, please call or text 988 if you are in the US, or the Samaritans if you are in the UK.
If you are in another country, here’s a list of worldwide options.
And if you are feeling like you need to talk to a therapist, PLEASE DO. Ain’t no shame. I do!
Folks, lots of love to you. Every one of you.
There is hope. You are loved. We want you here.
Selfie by Abigail Munday
Yeehawesome!
Yeehawesome! is a happy-brain roundup in each issue of Beany Brain. What’s happening that’s good in brain land? What’s bringing me joy?
Little Free Libraries! I’ve found 3 in Marlow within walking distance. (Notice my bookshelf earrings I wore in honor of the Bovingdon Heights LFL.)
Sands Films Cinema Club. This is a film production nonprofit and tiny cinema in London that also streams online, and I started watching some of their films during Covid. They take any amount of donation for each film you watch, and this year they’re celebrating their 50th year, so they’re showing films from the year they were founded, 1975. That was a good year for me too!
Cotswold Boatmobility is a nonprofit here in the UK that gets folks with mobility issues out on the water in specialized boats (that can fit wheelchairs) and katakanus (stable katamaran canoes). I saw some of the disabled folks interviewed on TV here, including one lady who is blind, and they were so happy to be out on the water. I love water myself and so I was happy for them.
Beany Brownie Points and Extra Bonus Funniness
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Wonderful Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesday was a day once a year in college when they would suddenly and surprisingly call off all classes and we’d play all day. The cafeteria provided special fun food and we’d do stuff outside like slip ‘n slides and jello wrestling in sumo suits. This segment of Beany Brain is dedicated to that memory of silliness and fun—no words, just a photo from the week that I’ve taken or found that reminds me to let the joy in. Since Beany Brain is published on Wednesday every week (at least, Wednesday in Japan), I hope you enjoy this Wonderful Wednesday.
Photo by Abigail Munday
Today’s Beany-full Summary:
The autism spectrum of support needs and abilities is more like a circle than a line.
I shared thoughts from the first episode of the BBC Sounds Beyond Lonely podcast, hosted by an autistic professor at Cambridge named Professor Jason Arday. Loneliness is a health problem, and we need to consciously work on connecting with others.
Go forth in Beany joy. What will help you feel yeehawesome this week?
Thank you for reading this installment of Beany Brain! You’re very welcome to hop on by any old time.
If you’re enjoying Beany Brain, please share with a friend or seventeen at www.beanybrain.com. Cheers big time!