Late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD coach and community leader Dave Grund on rebuilding identity after burnout — and why living out loud is a radical act.
In this powerful and deeply honest episode, Duena speaks with Dave Grund — late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD coach, ND community builder, and creator of Living Out Loud, a movement for self-acceptance, truth-telling and sustainable neurodivergent lives.
Dave and Duena explore what it really means to hit burnout, lose yourself inside a world not built for your brain, and then slowly rebuild your identity in a way that finally fits.
Together they unpack:
• Late-diagnosis and the emotional “unpeeling” that follows
• Autistic burnout, shutdown, and recovery cycles
• Alexithymia, rejection sensitivity & masking fatigue
• The psychology of hiding, shrinking and trying to “be normal”
• Why so many ND adults lose their sense of self
• What “Living Out Loud” means for autistic and ADHD adults
• Reparenting, boundaries & rebuilding safety
• How workplaces contribute to burnout and identity collapse
• Healing through ND community and “found family”
This is one of the most emotionally impactful conversations in the series — about identity, truth, pain, survival, and the courage to become yourself after years of not being allowed to.
⭐ KEY THEMES
autistic burnout, ADHD burnout, late diagnosis, masking, shutdown, ND identity, self-acceptance, emotional regulation, alexithymia, psychological safety, Human Debt, workplace trauma, reparenting, recovery, ND community, ND coaching
⭐ RESOURCES
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CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro & who is Dave Grund
02:15 – Late diagnosis & the ND “unpeeling” process
05:40 – Burnout, shutdown & identity collapse
09:22 – Masking, alexithymia & emotional overload
12:48 – Rejection sensitivity & why ND adults shrink
16:10 – “Living Out Loud” and reclaiming identity
20:30 – Reparenting, boundaries & healing
24:42 – Workplaces, trauma & Human Debt
28:58 – ND community, belonging & choosing yourself
32:50 – What recovery really looks like
36:15 – Final reflections
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NeuroSpicy @ Work – S1E6 with Dave Grund. Key topics: late diagnosis, autistic burnout, ADHD burnout, shutdowns, masking fatigue, identity loss, reparenting, rejection sensitivity, alexithymia, workplace trauma, Human Debt, psychological safety, ND community, neurodivergent coaching. Guest: Dave Grund, autistic/ADHD coach and “Living Out Loud” creator. Host: Duena Blomstrom — autistic/ADHD author, Human Debt theorist, psychological safety researcher.
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S1E6
