Making Podcasts Work for Neurodivergent Listeners

Let’s face it, all podcasters want to expand their audiences. But we often forget to eliminate barriers for people who appreciate our ideas the most. Some people in your ideal audience can accept your show at face value. Others won’t be able to engage with your podcast’s ideas until you remove obstacles and clarify your message.

As you plan your podcast, consider the needs of neurodivergent audiences. Intentional podcast design helps neurodivergent audiences by enhancing a podcast’s clarity without sacrificing creativity or personality. In turn, you’ll open the door to podcast growth and audience engagement. 

Yes, but What Kind of Neurodivergent Audiences?

“Neurodivergent” is a very broad term. It means “having or relating to a condition that impacts the way the brain processes information.” No two diagnoses or situations are alike, and many neurodivergent people experience a combination of symptoms that vary in intensity. For this article, I’ll focus on two traits that affect neurodivergent people in the audio podcasting realm: executive dysfunction and sensory processing disorders. 

Neurodivergent audiences have as wide a spectrum of tastes, preferences, senses of humor, and so on as neurotypical audiences. By limiting the scope of our discussion to a couple of symptoms and technical solutions, there’s plenty of room for podcasters to reduce barriers and exercise their creativity without diluting their ideas. 

Executive Dysfunction, Episode Structure, and Show Notes

Executive Dysfunction symptoms include difficulty with focus, task initiation, prioritization, transitioning between tasks or states, and memory. For these individuals, a lengthy conversation between colleagues may confuse neurodivergent audiences because their brain chemistry prevents them from recalling what people were discussing ten minutes ago. If the conversation jumps from topic to topic, neurodivergent audiences may lose motivation to continue paying attention. Or, they can misinterpret the episode entirely.

To make your content resonate with people who have issues with executive function: 

• Use a consistent podcast format, so your audience knows what to expect and when to expect it. 
• Guide clear verbal transitions between segments. This can be as simple as, “and now, here’s our sports fact from history,” or “Next, we’ll talk about garden mulch.” 
• Use short segments and convey the point succinctly, or break longer topics into brief, manageable segments. 
• If you can’t make a long story short, summarize, explain, and then summarize again. Or, to paraphrase an early 20th-century cleric, “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, then tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” 
• Show notes with chapters or time-stamped summaries can help your audience understand where your episode leads, and revisit what they’ve heard. 

As always, transcripts help all audiences fully understand your show, not just neurodivergent audiences. Now, many podcast hosting services, such as Alitu or Buzzsprout, can transcribe your podcast and help with show notes and chapter markers.

Sensory Issues and Sound Design 

For neurodivergent audiences with sensory issues, audible stimuli can be unpleasant. This isn’t a question of volume. The type of sound, pitch, timbre, timing, or combination with other sounds can ruin your podcast for people with sensory issues. 

Neurotypical people don’t notice when or how their brain works to filter out some sounds while clarifying others. However, neurodivergent audiences’ obstacles to audio can include:

• Auditory processing disorder, which makes it harder to filter, decode, or integrate auditory information
• PTSD, which can cause trauma response to affect auditory processing
• Misphonia, a condition where certain sounds trigger an individual’s fight-or-flight response.

Additionally, abrupt changes in volume level aren’t fun for anyone, especially neurodivergent audiences. 

Why would anyone who has auditory processing issues want to pay attention to podcasts? The same reason anyone else does: the subject matter and convenience of RSS feeds.

Again, sensory processing issues vary from person to person. Someone with misphonia may enjoy multi-layered immersive audio, yet the first mouth sound induces nausea. Two neurodivergent individuals may enjoy listening to a conversation recorded in the field, but later, one of them remembers only the dialogue, while the other recalls only the bird song in the background. 

So, how can podcasters clarify their audio for neurodivergent audiences with sensory processing issues? In no particular order: 

• Keep your volume levels as consistent as possible. 
• Minimize audio layers and overlapping voices.
• Reduce mouth sounds by using proper microphone technique, practicing vocal warm-ups, drinking water, and avoiding caffeine and dairy products before and during recording sessions. 

Some podcasts with layered audio offer a second version of the same episode in the same feed, either without layered audio or with fewer layers of audio. For example, some Sleep Cove podcasts publish separate episodes with and without soothing background music. The episodes are labeled as such in the show notes and episode art. 

Supporting Content Aids Accessibility

Transcripts, clear show notes, and content warnings help the audience know what they’re getting into before they start, process the experience, and/or understand it afterwards. They won’t spoil the story or ruin a big surprise when you craft them carefully.

Here’s an example of how to prepare neurodivergent audiences for an exciting experience, without spoiling surprises. Walt Disney World strives to create magical experiences for every family, and neurodivergent audiences are no exception. Disney’s services for neurodivergent guests include a 16-page comprehensive guide to each sensory issue on every ride and attraction in the park. A guest who needs accommodation for sudden loud noises or flashing lights can check through the guide to find marks in the columns for “loud noises” or “lighting effects.” Now they’re prepared in advance for the simulated lightning and thunder on the Winnie the Pooh ride.

Far be it from me to spoil Winnie the Pooh for anyone, but you know that silly old bear always gets himself into a tight spot.

Reading guides or lists of your research sources can help your entire audience thoroughly understand the ideas presented in your podcast, not just those who are neurodivergent.

Bookend your neurodivergent audience’s advance preparation with specific ways for them to get in touch with you, so they can clearly communicate their needs. Any person who requests volume leveling or clarity isn’t trying to make more work for you; they want to understand and enjoy your show.

Why Not Structure Your Content for Neurodivergent Audiences?

By now, you’ve taken in all the strategies I’ve described and probably thought to yourself, “This doesn’t sound like a secret recipe; this sounds like clear and specific podcasting.” Sacré bleu! You have discovered the secret ingredient!

The adjustments proposed above make podcasts more accessible to any audience, not just those with neurodivergent needs.

Many neurodivergent people are undiagnosed. A 2020 study estimated that 15-20% of the global population is neurodivergent, yet some people avoid diagnosis due to stigma, obstacles to diagnostic assessments, or gender assumptions. And some people never notice their symptoms. A significant portion of your target audience might not know they would benefit from adjustments in your podcast.

Neurotypical people won’t have difficulty with your podcast or get bored when your show’s points are structured and the audio is clear. But taking these details for granted shuts the door to potential fans. Structuring your show for neurodivergent audiences opens the door to a wider audience. Plus, you set a good example for other podcasters.

In the study mentioned above, researcher Nancy Doyle provided a table of the strengths and weaknesses of different neurominorities. The strengths included hyperfocus, passion, courage, innovative thinking, detailed observation, entrepreneurialism, storytelling ability, and many more. Wouldn’t you want your audience to have these skills?

When neurodivergent people are enthusiastic about their interests, they want to share them with others. If your podcast earns the attention of neurodivergent audiences, they will share your show with the people they care about and become your cheerleaders.

Structuring and clarifying your podcast for neurodivergent audiences isn’t just common sense; it’s essential. It gives your show a handle for more people to grasp.

Want to learn more about how the small details of podcasting have a big impact? Our Indiepod Community is free to join, and chock-full of lively discussions. You can gain a deeper understanding of how people listen to podcasts and how to craft them to reach and motivate your ideal audience.