Understanding Autism and Addiction with Alex Pearson

We have wanted to address this today's topic for several years and struggled to find an individual we felt could inform and teach the complex and important topic of autism and addiction. We are excited to introduce the Team to Alexandra Pearson. Alex has a masters degree in industrial organizational psychology and was recently diagnosed with autism. Alex describes herself as 'living in the gap between the Neurotypical and Neurodivergent' (ND) worlds, as she has always worked with and intuitively understood ND's, yet pretending to be Neurotypical, via her ability to hide her autistic traits. Her social media influence expanding awareness, education, and advocacy to autism, has made a huge impact on Coach Blu and Athletic Director Marissa.

A study out of Sweden suggests that people with autism who have average or above-average intelligence quotients (IQs) are more than twice as likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol as their peers are. The risk is even higher for people who also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study is the first to look at the general risk for addiction among people with autism.

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