Comedian Joe Wells on Neurodivergent Moments and Finding Humour in Everyday Autistic Experience

Comedian Joe Wells discusses Neurodivergent Moments, the new book based on the hit podcast he co-hosts with Abigoliah Schamaun, exploring autistic identity, neurodivergent culture, and why humour and lived experience sit at the heart of the book.

The title Neurodivergent Moments suggests the small everyday things people might overlook. What kinds of moments were most important for you to include? More than anything I wanted to write a funny book, so the moments I chose are all fairly ordinary - seeing friends, going to work, school assemblies and so on - because often that’s where humour lives.

Autistic people are usually portrayed as either inspiring or tragic, so it was important to me to show aspects of neurodivergent experience that are neither of those things: just normal people living relatively happy lives. I’m very inspired by the writer Donna Williams, who wrote about how there can be joy in living with an unconventional brain, and there’s a lot of joy in this book too.

Do you think humour can open conversations that more serious language sometimes can’t? Yes, although I also think humour is an end in itself. I’ve always loved comedy, funny stories and making people laugh, so if the book achieves only laughter then that’s good enough for me. The closest I get to being serious in the book is in the opening chapter, where I make the argument that neurodivergent people are a community with many shared experiences, and that “neurodivergent culture” is a real thing. Telling funny stories is part of that culture, and it’s the part that Abigoliah and I are best at.

The book covers work, travel, relationships and daily life. Was there one chapter or story that felt especially personal or difficult to write? There’s a really embarrassing story about my bum in the health chapter, but it’s a very funny story, so I felt compelled to include it.

There’s been a big rise in conversations around adult diagnosis and neurodivergent identity in recent years. Why do you think that conversation is happening more openly now? I think there are lots of factors. I’d really recommend Steve Silberman’s brilliant book Neurotribes, which explores the history of autism and the neurodiversity movement.

People often say “we’re just more open about things now”, but I think that ignores the work of neurodivergent people who fought to reduce stigma and make sure our voices were heard.

The book avoids a self-help tone and focuses instead on lived experience. Why was that approach important to you when writing it? I don’t think either of us are qualified to be giving out advice! There are already lots of excellent books in that space - Suzi Payton and Kate Laine-Toner’s Lost and Now Found is one I’d personally recommend.

The two things we do have expertise in are our own experiences and making things funny, so that’s what we focused on.

Was there a moment in your life when you realised your experiences weren’t “just you”, but connected to being autistic? In my twenties I worked in SEN education and found that many of the young people I worked with articulated things I could really relate to.

I later discovered there had been an informal diagnosis of what was then called Asperger’s when I was a teenager, and I sought out a formal autism diagnosis just before I turned 30.

Neurodivergent Moments: Sex, Sunscreen, Turtles and How (Not) to Pack a Suitcase will be published on June 18.The pre-order link is HERE.