NeuroDivergent Camouflaging is a survival mechanism used to endure a world that is often dangerous and unkind to those of us who stand out. It is important to note that this camouflaging is done in self-defense and is not intended to be manipulative or deceptive. This Masking can be conscious or subconscious. We may not even realize we’re doing it. Continue reading NeuroDivergent Camouflaging & Pressure to Conform – Book Preview
I knew I was different, but not why, so I could only assume “I was bad” and had “something wrong with me,” making it difficult (or impossible) for me to do what everyone else expected me to do (easily). Not understanding why things were so hard for me made it worse.
Continue reading Late Identified NeuroDivergence: Getting Back in Touch with Myself and My Needs
My Autistic Experience With Eye-Contact: I don’t need to look at you to speak to you (or hear you) Growing up, especially in school, I was often scolded for “not paying attention” (regardless of whether I was actually paying attention … Continue reading My Autistic Experience With Eye Contact and Having My AuDHD Traits Treated Behaviorally In School
Growing up, especially in school, I was often scolded for “not paying attention” (regardless of whether I was actually paying attention or not). Continue reading My Autistic Experience With Eye-Contact: I don’t need to look at you to speak to you (or hear you)
I’m Autistic, and I’m also ADHD (combined presentation). I have two NeuroTypes (or brain types) that are often at odds with one another (but also so similar it can be hard to tell the two apart).
This difficulty in sorting out these two NeuroTypes has given birth to a term, AuDHD (shorthand for Autistic and ADHD), which is often used to describe the unique experience of being both Autistic and ADHD simultaneously. Continue reading Debunking the Myths: Autism VS ADHD – What IS the difference?
These results are not limited to people who’ve experienced formal modification programs (because compliance-based programs permeate our society and many of its systems as a whole).
Continue reading Sounding the Alarm: Battling the ABA Epidemic: ABAers Target ADHD and Kids Who Started School Late During COVID
I’m Autistic, and I’m also ADHD (combined presentation). I have two NeuroTypes (or brain types) that are often at odds with one another (but also so similar it can be hard to tell the two apart).
Continue reading AuDHD: Autism VS ADHD: What IS The Difference?
Recently, I asked my NeuroDivergent readers if anyone has “ever tried to “punish” the NeuroDivergence out of” them (while being reasonably sure I knew the answer to my question).
Overwhelming comments came pouring in on various platforms, with stories from my readers telling how they had been harmed by people around them (who insisted on unfair and unrealistic expectations of NeuroTypicality).
I knew there would be Autistic People and ADHDers who had been punished for our NeuroTypes because many of my readers are my age (or older), and when we were growing up, punishment was the standard of care for kids who struggled to fall in line.
What surprised me was how many people with other NeuroTypes were also punished for things beyond their control. Continue reading Have You Ever Been Punished (or Scolded) for Your NeuroDivergence?
I didn’t feel safe admitting my confusion for most of my life, so I learned to hide when I didn’t understand something, becoming highly skilled at “figuring things out” on my own.
Continue reading Autism, ADHD, and Audio Processing Differences: I’m a MASTER at Hiding My Confusion
When I didn’t know I was NeuroDivergent, I used to feel like a failed NeuroTypical Person (because the expectations for me to be a “good” NeuroTypical seemed impossibly out of reach).
“Why can’t I just _______ ?” – Do something NeuroTypicals find simple.
“Why do they hate me? Why do they think I’m weird?”
“If I could only ______.” – Insert some activity that NeuroTypicals don’t struggle with.
“What’s WRONG with me? Why am I such a failure?” Continue reading I Used to Hate Myself When I Thought I was NeuroTypical
