Siena Castellon is my youngest ever guest. She's a 17-year-old activist and mentor. She is autistic, has dyslexia and dyspraxia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. And she's just published her first book.
Her book, The Spectrum Girl's Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic, is a brilliant guide for neurodiverse girls navigating a neurotypical world. It is packed full of information and insight into many of the challenges that autistic teen girls face. There are sections on how to date, how to deal with social anxiety and sensory sensitivity and an analysis of the fact that autism is routinely underdiagnosed in girls (in Siena's words: 'we’re really good at hiding our autistic traits. In fact, we become so good at pretending to be “normal” that we convince everyone that we’re neurotypical.')
Siena joins me to talk about being bullied at school, being misunderstood by teachers and failed by a mainstream education system that seemed unable to appreciate her difference. We discuss neurodiversity, sexism, dogs, prejudice, challenging the stereotypical 'Rainman' view of autism and why it's important to stand up for yourself. As Siena puts it: 'I've learnt that you can't assume that people experience the world the way you do and that it's important to express yourself to avoid people making untrue assumptions about you.'
Siena is AMAZING. Listen to her and feel inspired (and also probably quite old).
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The Spectrum Girl's Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic by Siena Castellon is out now and available to purchase here.
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I've written a new book! Failosophy: A Handbook For When Things Go Wrong is out in October. It's a practical, inspirational and reassuring guide to the seven principles of failure I've developed since doing this podcast. Packed full of contributions from loads of former guests, as well as listener stories, it is also beautifully illustrated by Paul Blow and I would love it if you wanted to pre-order a signed copy here.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. We love hearing from you! To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
Siena Castellon @NCWeek
How To Fail @howtofailpod
S11, Ep1 How to Fail: Graham Norton
BONUS EPISODE How to Fail: Dr Alex George
S10, BONUS EPISODE How to Fail: Adrian Dunbar
S10, Ep8 How to Fail: Kazuo Ishiguro
S10, Ep7 How to Fail: Emma Reed Turrell
S10, Ep6 How to Fail: Jim Down
S10, Ep5 How to Fail: Dr Nicole LePera, The Holistic Psychologist
S10, Ep4 How to Fail: Emma Barnett
S10, Ep3 How to Fail: Alexandra Burke
S10, Ep2 How to Fail: Matt Haig
S10, Ep1 How to Fail: Jameela Jamil
SPECIAL EPISODE! How to Fail: Leanne Hainsby
How to Fail: A Christmas Message
A How to Fail Miniseries: Rebecca Anderton-Davies
A How to Fail Miniseries: Bassel Deeb
A How to Fail Miniseries: Ross Barr
A How to Fail Miniseries: Yinka Bokinni
S9, BONUS EPISODE! How to Fail: Jamie Dornan
S9, BONUS EPISODE! How to Fail: Claudia Rankine
S9, Ep8 How to Fail: James Acaster
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