I Miss Talking With You
Why this space is becoming less polished, more personal, and more connected
Hi friends,
I miss talking with you.
Several years ago, I started a Facebook group because I genuinely loved going live and interacting directly with people. I loved the conversations, the questions, the shared experiences, the humor, and the connection. It felt less like broadcasting and more like sitting in a room together trying to make sense of life, relationships, neurodivergence, and being human.
But over time, social media platforms changed. I’d go live in a group of 2,500 people, but Facebook would show the live to maybe 125 of them. I experienced similar challenges when I streamed on YouTube for a while, too. Eventually, it started to feel less like connection and more like talking into the void while an algorithm decided who was allowed to see it.
That was frustrating because so many people told me that what I was sharing about both my personal experiences and professional work around neurodivergence was making a real impact. So I kept showing up through videos, podcasts, and articles.
Eventually, well over a million people watched my YouTube videos, and hundreds of thousands listened to my podcasts and read my articles.
But I keep coming back to this: my favorite thing is connection.
I respond to YouTube comments as much as possible, but it’s disjointed and never quite feels like an actual conversation. Some of my favorite moments happen during podcast conversations, whether on my own show or as a guest on someone else’s. More recently, my newsletter has become more like a personal letter to you, and so many of you have taken the time to reply via email, sharing your own experiences with me - and I love getting those emails!
That’s why I’m excited to move to a new way of interacting with you that’s more in the moment. This new platform (Substack) is more than just an email newsletter. It is a community.
Some of you will read these posts in your email inbox and never use the Substack platform, and that’s completely fine. If that’s all you ever want to do, nothing really changes for you. You will receive my newsletter (like this one) with updates about new articles or podcast episodes, and you can still reply to me via email.
You can also click the link below (bookmark it) to read all of my newsletters (going forward), browse my podcast episodes (including archives), and read my shorter “Neurodiversity Nugget” notes (brief bits of what’s on my mind, and what’s going on in my world).
All in one place!
But, if you’re like me and you’d like a more interactive experience, you can log in to post comments on newsletters and other posts to interact with others (and me) much like you do on Facebook or other social media platforms.
I’m genuinely excited about having more conversations with you again.
Going forward, my engagement with you will look a little different from the old newsletter format. More conversational. More in-the-moment. Less polished. More human.
And honestly… that aligns more with me.
Warmly,
ANNOUNCEMENT: Podcast Guest Appearance
Today, I want to share a podcast episode with you where my colleagues and friends, Stephanie Holmes and Barbara Grant, invited me to talk about my upcoming book, The Misunderstood Mind, which is also what I chose to name this community and newsletter, because it truly captures what my work has always been about.
This is the first time I’ve spoken publicly about the book, which releases in October (with preorders opening in July).
So if you’d like a sneak preview of The Misunderstood Mind: What We Got Wrong About Autism, ADHD, and Neurodivergence, I’d love for you to listen.
I’m especially excited to announce a new podcast show that I’m co-hosting with Mona Kay, Navigating Neurodiverse Love & Life, premiering May 26. Mona and I are both ADHD professionals with neurodivergent families, and each episode is basically a casual coffee chat about whatever is on our minds - and yours!
We’ll be sharing stories from listeners and responding to listener questions and comments about neurodiversity in life and relationships.
So please send them to me at podcast@jodicarlton.com.
Each episode will come right here to your email inbox, and if you’re subscribed to my podcast on any major platform, you’ll still get them there, too.
Explore articles, podcast episodes, videos, resources, and my Neurodiversity Nugget notes about neurodivergence, relationships, communication, and everyday life.
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Jodi Carlton, MEd
Neurodiversity in Life and Relationships
770-685-7973 (call/text)