Autistic Ageing ‘The Quiet Terror’: Autistic Elders Discussion – Special Event
This event invites participants into a powerful and necessary conversation on the realities of aging as an Autistic person, grounded in Bridgette Hamstead’s essay “No One Is Coming”: On Aging, Autism, and the Quiet Terror We Don’t Talk About (hyperlink)
Bridgette Hamstead (AuDHD community weaver, speaker & advocate), KJ Wiseheart (AuDHD+ Narrative therapist, counsellor & Autistic Elders facilitator) and Meg Carter (Autistic retired sociologist and researcher, Autistic Elders facilitator) will gather for discussion and explore the fears, questions, and urgent truths raised in the article:
• What happens when an Autistic adult can no longer meet all their own needs?
• Who helps when executive function fails—or when mobility changes?
• What if there is no family to advocate, or systems don’t understand how to support us?
• How do we ensure continuity of essential ADHD and mental health medications in care?
• How do we challenge being labelled “noncompliant” when setting boundaries is survival?
• What happens when we stop being seen as “quirky” and are dismissed as “difficult”?
• How do we prepare for futures where “no one is coming”—unless we build something different?
Why Attend:
This is not an abstract academic conversation, it is a conversation to open up space for truth-telling and collective imagining. The last 15 minutes will allow for attendees to ask questions.
We may not have time for everyone so questions will be collated and sent through to our facilitators.
This session has a limit of 30 people.
Sponsored by Neurokindred Foundation & NobleKinnections
Pre-Read: “No One Is Coming”: On Aging, Autism, and the Quiet Terror We Don’t Talk About
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-coming-aging-autism-quiet-terror-we-dont-talk-bridgette-hamstead-jk3nc
KJ Wiseheart
they/them
Autistic, ADHD, PDA
KJ Wiseheart (they/them) is a multiply-neurodivergent nonbinary elderqueer with a Profound Desire for Autonomy. They are an unabashed word-nerd and describe themselves as lit from within by curiosity and appreciation. KJ is a counsellor and narrative therapist, collaborative storyteller, Therapeutic Gamemaster, and game designer, who delights in exploring therapeutic applications of tabletop role-playing games. KJ runs Nerd Therapy and is also an ACA Registered Supervisor.
As a neurodivergent and neuroaffirmative counsellor, KJ is committed to respectful practice, and an approach that is integrative, person-centred and trauma-informed. They are committed to co-creating neurocosmopolitan conversations and communities, where all neurocognitive differences in experience, communication, and embodiment are appreciated and affirmed. They focus on assisting clients in reclaiming storytelling rights over their personal narratives to improve their quality of life.
KJ holds a Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Human Services from LaTrobe University, and a Master of Narrative Therapy and Community Work from Melbourne University. They have presented at Reframing Autism’s Community Summit, The International Autistic Burnout Conference and published the powerful collective research document “How we deal with Autistic burnout: A living document created by Autistic Adults for Autistic Adults” .
They are available for counselling conversations either face-to-face (in Adelaide) or via zoom (anywhere!).
Nerd Therapy
Bridgette Hamstead
she/her
AuDHD
Bridgette Hamstead is a neurodiversity consultant, keynote speaker and advocate, and the founder of Fish in a Tree in New Orleans. She writes and speaks with honesty about Autistic women’s experiences, masking, radical acceptance, and neuro-affirming practice. Recognised by NEXT for AUTISM and invited as a featured keynote at major events, Bridgette brings lived experience together with deep expertise to create powerful, compassionate spaces for connection and change.
Fish In A Tree
Meg Carter
she/her
Meg is an autistic elder living in Wiradjuri country. Now 68, she began to identify as ‘aspie’ in her 40s & embraced an autistic identity 10 years later. Although meeting criteria for a full salad she has never sought a diagnosis. Meg withdrew from paid work 10 years ago after a multiply burned out career in social policy & research, mostly around families & mental health. She has a PhD in sociology that focused on what counts as evidence in those settings, or ‘whose story wins, & how’. How people who live with unshared realities make sense of our experience is her enduring special interest.