Hans Christian Andersen: His Neurodivergent Journey as Shared by Autistic Children's Author, Sandra Nickel
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What is the purpose of Uniquely Human and who are the hosts?
The primary purpose of Uniquely Human the Podcast is to educate and inform. The views expressed during all episodes are solely those of the individuals involved and do not constitute educational or medical advice. Listeners should consult with professionals familiar with each individual or family for specific guidance.
Uniquely Human, the podcast, is produced by Elevated Studio. Music is graciously provided by Matt Savage of Savage Records.
Hi, I'm Dr. Barry Prazant, clinical scholar, researcher, and consultant on autism and neurodiversity, and a Brooklyn boy raised in the big city. And
I'm Dave. I'm none of those things, and I grew up on a farm in Illinois. But being on the spectrum myself, I have plenty of personal insight to lend.
And
this is
Uniquely human the podcast, a show that illuminates and celebrates autism and neurodiversity.
Today on Uniquely Human the Podcast, uh, Dave and I have a guest that we're very, very excited to to speak to, um in terms of her enthusiasm and her work, uh, and that is Sandra Nichols so Sandra, welcome.
It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me to be here, Barry.
Oh, sure. Uh and uh I'm gonna tell you a little story. Uh and I it's a little bit of a coincidence. A few months ago, um I was traveling in California and uh a little bit north of Santa Barbara we went to this wonderful Danish inspired town called Soldang. Um, and I went into uh a museum that was upstairs from a bookstore, and it was a museum about Hans Christian Andersen. And then one thing led to the next, and we found out that Sandra was had written a book, a wonderful book, um, for children, but actually for everybody, about Hans Christian Andersen. And that's what we're gonna be talking about today. Uh so Sandra, uh if you would tell us a little bit about uh your personal and professional journey and then I'll share a little bit more about you, okay?
Well sure. So um so I only learned a few years ago that I was autistic. For most of my life I didn't know. And so I Like what uh like a lot of girls I masked a lot and I was trying to live up to other people's expectations. So I did a lot of different jobs. And ended up at a giant New York City law firm um Where I was Quite miserable. And ended up in a hospital um where they said I had an undiagnosable disease. Um Yeah. My my symptoms at that time were that I couldn't digest anything and I couldn't eat anything. Like I could only drink clear fluids for after when they released me for six weeks. And I was just exhausted, just completely exhausted. But then when I got over that, um I still didn't quite get the message from my body.
And then I just had nonstop migraines. Um that just you know, I'd go to sleep with them, I'd wake up to them and um I went to a I went to a neurologist and he said, I I know where you work. Do you do you like your job? And I said, Well, no, not really and he said, Well, I recommend that you quit. And um and so yeah, and so I did. Um and now looking back and now knowing that I'm autistic, I think it was just me trying to find myself in all the wrong places.
Mm. But Sandra, you you eventually moved out of the bad situation.
Mm-hmm.
And let me just share some of your achievements here. I mean, you're an award-winning author of picture books. You're the winner of the Christopher Award, and a two time winner of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Award. Um, my goodness, I mean, you found the right path, right? I mean, uh, you know, you Have an MFA in writing and I don't know if that happened after the law firm situation. Um, but you you obviously found the right path. So how did that happen and how did that get you to Hans Christian Andersen?
Yeah, so so um it really was only when I had my daughter and she was someone who said, Tell me a story, not read me a story. And so I was always telling her stories. And then at one point I I just clicked and I thought, Wow, you know, I have always a lifeline of mine has always been reading. And I thought, why don't why don't I start writing stories for children?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the purpose of Uniquely Human and who are the hosts?
0:00–5:22
2
How did Sandra Nickel discover she was autistic and what challenges did she face early in life?
5:22–11:28
3
What motivated Sandra to write ‘The Real Ugly Duckling’ and how did her daughter influence it?
11:28–18:00
4
How does Hans Christian Andersen’s neurodivergent background shape his fairy‑tale themes?
18:00–24:36
5
What is unique about the book’s paper‑cut illustrations and how were they created?
24:36–30:47
6
What messages does Sandra hope readers take away from ‘The Real Ugly Duckling’?
30:47–35:20
7
How do personal adversity and neurodiversity fuel creative storytelling?
35:20–37:58
8
What final thoughts and calls to action do the hosts share with listeners?
37:58–38:04
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Uniquely Human: The Podcast
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Two Dads Who Connected with Uniquely Human Interview Barry
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