Welcome to Part Two of the Different Show Podcast.

In this second series I will share the ongoing research for my upcoming book ‘Desperately Seeking Safety’. My research so far has included medical professionals, academics and members of neurodiverse and other communities.

During my research I discovered that many older or late diagnosed autistic women suffer from chronic medical conditions that are often missed, or mis-diagnosed.

I was diagnosed as autistic when I was 58. Since then I have been on the receiving end of several unwelcome diagnoses.

A review, published in the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology estimated that over 89 per cent of autistic adults aged 40+ in the UK are undiagnosed. The review was conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London and supported by the British Academy and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre.

The podcast is about women. We’ll be discussing the effects of menopause on neurodiverse women and the current war against neurodiversity that is going to impact them directly.

The difficulty in obtaining a diagnosis is placing obstacles in the way and some areas of the country are introducing temporary pauses to new referrals or imposing stricter criteria due to soaring demand and funding issues.

There will be a guest monologue in each episode based on the trauma suffered by a girl within a family where violence and lack of appropriate parenting in the 1970s was the cause of long-term unwanted issues. The girl eventually found safety in creativity.

I’d love to hear from you if you have experienced any of the above. Please contact us in confidence on our private group on Facebook if you would like to be represented on the show, or message the group directly so we can contact you.

Our email address is: thediffshow@gmail.com

We are not funded or sponsored by anyone and all communication is confidential.

We hope to hear from you soon

Gina and John

This month we’ll be talking with Actor and stand up comedian Mark Newsome about his life, his bonkers work schedule, being in prison on the tele, his demons  and his attempts at finding love on the comedy circuit. We caught up with him in a cupboard somewhere in Oldham.


More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening. 

This month we talk with Charlotte Hughes The blogger and activist about work, social media, politics and Ken Loach.

Ginz will also be sharing her experiences of work before she found out she was autistic.

More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening.

This month we’re going to be chatting to Dynamic Duo friends Sharon Hooley and A.J. Valliant.

Sharon is and alternative lifestyle and human rights activist. She creates her own music and jewellery, and her dog Emily is the very first Emotional Support Dog in Salford. In 2017 Sharon was arrested while protesting at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, but quickly un-arrested when the police realised that they couldn’t get her wheelchair in the van. She was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Condition in 2018.

AJ Valliant is a former voluntary Radio Presenter and music producer for the Heroes Project in Salford Quays, run by MBE Terry Snowden and Vikki Teri. He recorded demos for those who were Neurodiverse, in order to get them on the first rung of the ladder within the music industry. A fully qualified electrical engineer, he uses his skills to fix anything that “ticks on electricity”. He has now started to write and produce his own Dance Tracks and Songs which when put on iTunes, will be used to raise money for Autistic Charities.

More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening.

In this month's episode of The Different Show we’ll be chatting to Catia our resident Psychologist about her intriguing new project ‘Let Your Roots Grow’. She’ll also be telling the story of how and why she built her ‘Rainbow House’.

John talks to Award Winning Dan Gaze about his inspiring journey, dyslexia, prison and his mission to support young people with choosing the right road to success.

 Music this week come from Kamara with their song about how successful long-term relationships are definitely possible for neurodiverse people. 

More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening. 

This month we'll be talking to writer and stand-up Heena Patel about peddling down the United States, Early Noughties Vampire Drag Dance Routines (Yes, that was actually a thing) and getting an Autism diagnosis.

John catches up with Actor and Director Karl Cam to talk about Dyslexia, the business of acting and the techniques involved in absorbing a script into your body. We also find out why his nickname is 'Custard'.

Music this month is a song from Kamara: 'Lizzie' was written for the play 'Lizzie's Charter' in support of the 1950's born women who were subject to the pensions scandal inflicted upon them by the Government.


More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening.

This month we'll be talking to two busy professional actors, Hayley Cartwright and Steve Cain about ADHD.

Hayley Cartwright has been a professional actor for twenty-two years (although she doesn’t look old enough!) Her work includes a regular role in Coronation Street, Cold Feet, Magic Hands and portraying Ellen Wilkinson for the Peterloo Festival. She is also a TV and Radio presenter and is a Burgess of her home city, Preston.

Steve Cain can be seen as ‘Ketchup Kevin’ in Jason Wingard’s feature film ‘Eaten by Lions’ on the BBC iplayer. His work includes TV roles on Coronation Street and theatre roles for the Manchester Shakespeare Company.

Gina will be talking about her lifelong relationship with music and we'll be hearing her perform the song 'Some Kind of Monster' from the Manchester Shakespeare Company production 'Summer Dreaming'.

More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening.

In this month's episode of The Different Show we ask our guests about their experiences of the Covid 19 Lockdowns.

John talks to Peter Marshall, autistic activist, about how the lockdowns have impacted on his own work, embracing new technology, Aut-scape and Traffic Lights.

We catch up with writer and actor Selina Jayne Helliwell to find out how she's been spending her days after nearly two years of the theatres being closed. Her one-woman show 'The Formidable Lizzie Boone' premieres in Manchester in October 2021.

And we find out how our resident Psychologist Catia has been coping with work and family life during the lockdown.

Kamara provide the music with an ode to unwanted electrical brain activity: 'Wired'.

More details about the podcast can be found on our website www.squarecircletheatre.co.uk.

We’d love to hear from you if you have any ideas for future shows or you would like to be a guest. Please contact John on thediffshow@gmail.com. Or message us on our social media pages.

The Different Show is supported by Square Circle Theatre and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Thank you for listening.