What does it take to advocate for yourself in systems not built to accommodate you and then turn that struggle into a path of healing for others? In this powerful episode of The Autism Roundtable, we explore resilience, rights, and holistic care through one remarkable journey.

Discussion Points:

1. Overcoming systemic barriers in higher education and professional environments
2. Navigating discrimination and advocating for accommodations
3. Clinical work with anxiety, gender dysphoria, and adjustment to disability
4. Understanding neurodivergent culture through research and lived experience
5. Integrating yoga therapy, diet, breathwork, and nature into therapeutic practice

In this episode, Matthew Lunsford shares his deeply personal journey of navigating academia and professional life while living with visual impairment, hearing loss, and cerebral palsy. He reflects on the discrimination he faced, the legal battles he fought for accommodations, and the resilience required to persist.

Matthew also discusses his current private practice, where he works with neurodivergent individuals experiencing anxiety disorders, gender dysphoria, and life transitions related to disability. His approach blends evidence-based behavioral work with holistic and somatic modalities.

The conversation concludes with a broader reflection on healing, emphasizing the nervous system, self-acceptance, and the power of integrating Western and Eastern perspectives on health.

Matthew Lunsford is a board-certified behavior analyst, licensed special education teacher, and certified yoga therapist. Drawing from both professional training and lived experience, Matthew focuses on holistic, affirming care for neurodivergent individuals, with particular expertise in anxiety, identity, and adjustment to disability.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Overcoming Barriers in Academia

02:02 Facing Discrimination in the Professional World

03:36 Advice for Navigating Discrimination

07:10 Current Social Work Practice

09:40 Addressing Anxiety Disorders

17:36 Exploring Neurodivergent Culture

30:26 Living with Visual Impairment

34:27 Growing Up Visually Impaired

35:34 Advice for Parents of Visually Impaired Children

36:43 Emotional Challenges and Acceptance

39:13 Navigating Life with Hearing Loss

41:34 Living with Cerebral Palsy

46:16 The Journey to Becoming a Yoga Therapist

48:33 The Holistic Benefits of Yoga Therapy

55:21 Breath Work and the Nervous System

59:49 Western vs. Eastern Approaches to Medicine

Ready to rethink advocacy, healing, and what holistic support can look like?

Tune in to the full episode for an honest, inspiring conversation on resilience and neurodivergent well-being.