Melanie Deziel, keynote speaker, branded content creator, and autistic self-advocate shares her creative insights on how she navigated her late self-diagnosis journey as an autistic adult and what advice she has for others going through their own self-discovery.

In this episode of the Happy Space Podcast, Melanie Diezel, keynote speaker and highly creative autistic self-advocate explores her journey as a late-diagnosed autistic woman. Melanie delves into the challenges and misunderstandings surrounding autism, particularly how it manifests differently in women compared to men. Melanie shares her personal experiences with self-discovery through social media, the role of self-acceptance, and how her diagnosis has transformed her understanding of herself. The discussion covers the importance of recognizing and advocating for neurodiversity, as well as the nuances of diagnosis. The episode also covers insights on the spectrum of autism, the societal perceptions that influence diagnosis, and the significance of language in discussing autism.

As a keynote speaker, author, and award-winning branded content creator, Melanie has spent her career developing the skills to think differently and discover new ways to engage audiences through content.

Having been the first-ever editor of branded content at The New York Times, a founding member of HuffPost’s brand storytelling team, and Director of Creative Strategy for Time Inc's 35 US magazines, Melanie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on how content can be used as a strategic tool, and how processes can help unlock its power.

She’s supported 30 of the Fortune100 companies with their content (so far!), given keynotes and workshops around the world, and has developed courses for several universities.

She co-founded The Creator Kitchen with fellow marketing speaker Jay Acunzo to help experienced creators continue to pursue creative growth and mastery of craft.

Since 2015, she has worked with some incredible brands and spoken on stages around the world at leading conferences, building her reputation as one of the leading voices in content marketing. Melanie Deziel is frequently named on as a top influencer, expert, and person-to-follow in marketing. You can access her book “Content Fuel Framework” and “Prove It” in paperback, e-book or audiobook form.

CHAPTERS

4:28 How Melanie’s autism journey began

7:35 The differences between diagnosing autistic men and women

11:21 How hyperfixations can be mistaken for autism

14:57 Melanie’s books - Content Fuel Framework and Prove It

16:45 The signs that you may be autistic

20:33 Who are the female autistic role models?

21:36 The discussion around autism and language

24:50 Introversion and extroversion

25:46 Melanie’s inclination to speak on stage despite being autistic

28:52 Self-advocating and accommodating when you are autistic

32:52 Why most women are late-diagnosed autistic

37:15 Self-diagnosing vs. medical diagnosing autism

41:40 Autism and creativity

45:47 RAADS-R Autism Test for diagnosing autism

LINKS

For active links, visit www.clarekumar.com/podcast

Melanie Deziel’s website

EPIC Conference

Late Diagnosed Diaries - Substack

Words Matter: Language preferences in a sample of autistic adults (corr. 87%)

Schueberfour

Content Fuel Framework by Melanie Deziel

Prove It by Melanie Deziel

Phil M. Jones

Temple Grandin

Hannah Gadsby

The Canary Code by Ludmila Praslova

HSP Quiz

Happy Space Inclusivitees (T-shirts)

#nevermindthelabels T-shirt

RAADS-R Test

IMAGE CREDITS (see images on Youtube video)

Phil M. Jones - LinkedIn

Ludmila Praslova - LinkedIn

Temple Grandin - Wiki

Temple Grandin with animals - Wiki

David Bowie - Wiki

Annie Lennox - Wiki

Epic Conference Photo - Clare Kumar

Melanie Deziel Headshot - Melanie Deziel

Other images - Canva

Other graphics - Capcut

Learn more about and follow Melanie:

Instagram

Youtube

Twitter

LinkedIn

Website