Episode 480: Bonus Conversation with Dr. Mel Houser on Navigating Healthcare Systems

2025-12-23

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Today’s episode an expert visit with Dr. Mel Houser—family physician, autistic PDAer, and founder of All Brains Belong—about the realities of navigating healthcare systems with neurodivergent kids and teens. Mel shares how their clinical work and lived experience have revealed predictable patterns in the “constellation” of intertwined neuro-immune conditions many autistic and ADHD people experience, why traditional medicine often misses them, and what families can do to get safer, more informed care. This conversation is packed with practical tools, system wo...

Today’s episode an expert visit with Dr. Mel Houser—family physician, autistic PDAer, and founder of All Brains Belong—about the realities of navigating healthcare systems with neurodivergent kids and teens. Mel shares how their clinical work and lived experience have revealed predictable patterns in the “constellation” of intertwined neuro-immune conditions many autistic and ADHD people experience, why traditional medicine often misses them, and what families can do to get safer, more informed care. This conversation is packed with practical tools, system workarounds, and hope grounded in community and bottom-up change.

Note: This is a special release of an expert conversation held inside the Differently Wired Club. Enjoy!

Key Takeaways

How advocacy can look like bottom-up systems change—building parallel supports, community-driven solutions, and using an oblique angle instead of fighting institutions head-on

Why the predictable “constellation” of medical issues in autistic and ADHD people is often missed by traditional medicine—and how a whole neuro-immune lens changes that

How self-knowledge at any age becomes a medical and emotional game-changer, empowering kids and adults to understand, predict, and manage their own bodies

Why teens who feel “tired of trying” need a new narrative and bigger framework, not just more interventions or treatment plans

How proactively preparing for healthcare encounters—with visuals, scripts, and flexible goals—reduces dysregulation and builds long-term trust and capacity