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Autistic Voices in Equine Therapy: Dr. Rebecca Evanko on Female Autism & Wilder Wood | Ep 37
Episode 37
From a childhood marked by abandonment in Australia to building a groundbreaking equine-assisted program in New Mexico, Dr. Rebecca Evanko’s story is one of resilience, survival, and transformation. Joined by her husband, physician Dr. Marc Evanko, the two share how their own neurodivergence—autism and ADHD—shaped Wilder Wood Equine Therapy, a program centering female autism and authentic connection with horses.
Together they discuss the creation of WRADIANCE©, a new diagnostic tool designed by autistic women for autistic women, and their unique counseling model that blends equine interaction with trauma-informed, neurodivergent-led support.
✨ “For the first time, I said to myself: I’m not a problem. I’m autistic. I think differently.” – Dr. Rebecca Evanko
✨ “There’s nothing wrong with either operating system—Android or Apple. They both work. It’s just different.” – Dr. Marc Evanko
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🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Growing up autistic, obsessed with horses, and left alone at 15 in rural Australia ([00:04:00])
- Surviving homelessness, finding mentors, and building resilience through horses ([00:06:00])
- Misdiagnosis, masking, and why female autism is so often overlooked ([00:10:00])
- Meeting Marc, ADHD as both challenge and superpower, and their shared love of horses ([00:21:00])
- Why true classical dressage informed their horse work at Wilder Wood ([00:27:00])
- Creating equine therapy and counseling programs rooted in lived autistic experience ([00:48:00])
- How WRADIANCE© was developed: 900+ narratives from autistic women worldwide ([00:57:00])
- The limitations of “gold standard” diagnostic tools and why WRADIANCE© is different ([01:00:00])
- Grief, tribe, and the importance of community for autistic women ([01:17:00])
- Joy as the opposite of suffering—and the role of horses in bringing it back ([01:53:00])
🎙️ Memorable Moments from the Episode:
- Riding her horse through mist at 2 a.m. as a teen left alone in Queensland ([00:05:00])
- A kitchen accident leading Rebecca back to horses at age 52 ([00:27:00])
- Marc’s ADHD metaphor: starting to rake leaves, ending up at Home Depot, forgetting the rake ([00:32:00])
- Discovering that most autism programs weren’t designed by autistic people ([00:48:00])
- The “aha” moment: interviews don’t work—written narratives reveal female autism ([00:57:00])
- Women saying after WRADIANCE©: “I feel so heard. I feel so seen.” ([01:04:00])
- Why masking makes girls “fly under the radar” until adolescence melts them down ([01:12:00])
- The concept of learned helplessness vs. finding survival strategies ([01:45:00])
- Horses as partners in teaching self-reliance, not helplessness ([01:52:00])
- Rebecca’s memoir Joy—naming what she found on the other side of suffering ([01:53:00])
📚 Projects, Thinkers, and Ideas Mentioned:
- Joy – Memoir by Dr. Rebecca Evanko https://amzn.to/4meH0uP
- Wilder Wood Equine Therapy – https://wilderwoodequinetherapy.org
- The WRADIANCE© Protocol – female autism diagnostic tool in clinical trials https://wilderwoodequinetherapy.org/the-wradiance-instrument-and-protocol/
- Temple Grandin – Autism advocate, professor, and author
- Movement Method & Horse Boy Method – https://ntls.co
🌍 See All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows:
Website: https://rupertisaacson.com
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Published on 7 hours ago