Interview | Anjeli Shah speaks with Sarah McCulloch

Monday, 11th December 2023

Sarah McCulloch MSc is an autistic occupational therapist with experience across a range of acute mental health, community, and paediatric settings. She currently works as an NHS manager in North London. Her lived experience as an autistic adult and her professional experiences of meeting unidentified autistic people in every service in which she worked led her to found the Autistic Empire in 2018. The Autistic Empire is an autistic social organisation built by and for autistic adults to form a community based on autism as a civic identity and to provide practical tools and services for all autistic people. Sarah’s increasing professional focus is the importance and development of positive autistic identity. Sarah is based in London, UK.

During the show Anjeli and Sarah discussed her journey in life towards being diagnosed with autism, her previous work as an occupational therapist and her current work as an NHS manager. They spoke about what autism means, the biggest challenges faced by autistic people, the importance of language and identity and about the organisation she set up Autistic Empire, and about autistic pride which the organisation sponsors.