Talking Children Podcast

Neurodiversity and Chronic Illness Part 2

Talking Children Podcast

Show Notes

In Part 2 of this series we look into the genetic link between neurodiversity and chronic illnesses.

See references below:

Carrozza, C., Foca, L., De Paolis, E., & Concolino, P. (2021). Genes and pseudogenes: complexity of the RCCX locus and disease. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12, 709-758. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.709758

Dechene, L. (1993). Chronic fatigue syndrome: influence of histamine, hormones and electrolytes. Medical hypotheses, 40(1), 55-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-9877(93)90197-X

Quadt, L., Csecs, J., Bond, R., Harrison, N. A., Critchley, H. D., Davies, K. A., & Eccles, J. (2024). Childhood neurodivergent traits, inflammation and chronic disabling fatigue in adolescence: a longitudinal case–control study. BMJ open, 14(7). https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/7/e084203

Sala, R., Amet, L., Blagojevic-Stokic, N., Shattock, P., & Whiteley, P. (2020). Bridging the Gap Between Physical Health and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 1605–1618. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S251394

Weir, E., Allison, C., Warrier, V., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2021). Increased prevalence of non-communicable physical health conditions among autistic adults. Autism, 25(3), 681-694. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320953652

More from Talking Children Podcast

Oct 11, 2026

In this episode we chat with fellow speech pathologists Carla and Jamima from The Happy Space Allied Health about evidence-based early intervention, language intervention, their intervention tool the Game of Language Abilities (GOLA), Intensive Interaction for minimally verbal children and much more.

Oct 7, 2026

Lucia and Sarah explore the phenomena of "maxxing" and how it can be applied to improving quality of life for neurodivergent people. Key references LaPoint SC, Kiernan B, Heinly J, Hector BL, Benevides TW, Maddox B. Quality of Life Defined by Autistic People: A Thematic Analysis. Autism in Adulthood. 2026;8(4):664-676. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0180Mason, D., McConachie, H., Garland, D., Petrou, A., Rodgers, J. and Parr, J.R. (2018), Predictors of quality of life for autistic adults. Autism Research, 11: 1138-1147. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1965

Sep 9, 2026

In this episode we look at why people have different accents, understanding speech diversity and when a speech pathologist might get involved.

Apr 7, 2026

In this episode we explore the pure joy and peace that comes from engaging in special interests. Neurodivergent people often have special interests which were formerly referred to as "obsessions". We talk about neuroaffirming approaches to supporting special interests and share some special interests of our own. #autism #adhd #audhd

Mar 30, 2026

Early intervention is so important! But have you ever wondered how to spot the earliest signs of communication delay and neurodivergence? We've got you covered! In this episode we talk about early signs of developmental language disorder (DLD) and Autism, ADHD, and other communication needs. These helpful tips will let you know when its time to see a speech pathologists. #SLP We also talk about easy, free techniques you can use to support early communication whether a child has additional needs or not.

See all episodes →