There are, by some estimates, 5.4 million adults with autism in the United States.

Maybe that's 5.4 million plus you.

It's Depression Mode. I'm John Moe. I'm glad you're here.

People with autism are just as susceptible as anyone else to things like depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, all manner of mental health problems that are happening all over the place.

And autistic people have added factors like difficulty socializing or hyperacusus and increased sensitivity

to sound. Just functioning in a world that wasn't built for them could be a huge challenge.

Lauren Ober is a journalist and veteran podcast maker. Not long ago, Lauren was adding up a lot of

different aspects from her past and present, Lauren's in her 40s,

and began to wonder if she might be somewhere on the autism spectrum. Spoiler here, she tested,

and she was. The experience is chronicled in Lauren's recent podcast, The Loudest Girl in the

world. In a little bit, I'll talk with Finn Grattan, a therapist who specializes

an autistic and neurodiverse clients and is autistic themselves. They'll talk about why they don't

use the word disorder to describe autism and why having an official diagnosis might not be so

crucial. But first, Lauren Ober.

Lauren Ober, welcome to Depression Mode.

Oh my gosh, thanks for inviting me.

And we go way back to two pivotal places. One, we worked at the same place doing really great shows that aren't at that place anymore. It's true. It's true. Yeah, yeah. And I once wrote something

about a radio show where they talked about what was happening on podcasts. It was all about how

what you could be listening to instead of this radio show.

And I made fun of that concept.

And you were hosting that show.

It's true.

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