AuDHD Space

I have trouble reading between the lines and picking up on implicit information? Actually, I’ve learned the importance of giving and receiving precise, specific instructions in order to avoid time consuming miscommunications.

I’m easily bored with only one task? Actually, I have a curious mind and thrive in places with a wide range of tasks as I prefer dynamic environments where I can contribute to many projects.

I have trouble with white lies that are merely social niceties? Actually, I prioritize a transparent work environment where we can tackle issues head-on.

Some nights even filling up the kettle and setting an empty mug out for my morning tea felt hard. But I was always thankful for it in the morning.

Other nights, one thing would lead to another, and I’d wake up in a clean house with everything ready to go.

And, on a rare few nights, the one thing that I could do to make my morning easier was going straight to bed and allowing myself to rest.

"Justice sensitivity" does not mean "neurologically I am a good person who stands up for what's right." It means you have a strong reaction to perceived injustice. But it does not mean your moral compass is calibrated well. The white dudes who are most obsessed with taking away Affirmative Action likely also have "justice sensitivity" -- their sense of injustice is just triggered by something different from what triggers mine, because we have different values. Some people's sense of injustice is triggered by pretty much any situation ever not working out in their favor. Those people can still be "justice sensitive" even if you wouldn't think of them as good people.

Also, there is no neurodivergent condition that makes you automatically capital-H Honest. Some Autistic people aren't good at intentionally lying or find it very uncomfortable to intentionally lie, but others lie just fine and I've met some who did it all the time. "Intentionally lie" is also doing a lot of work here, as you can be very dishonest without intentionally lying if you are prone to lying to yourself, which neurodivergent people are no less likely to do.

“To know Alice was to love her. She felt larger than life, with a generosity, ingenuity, humor, and passion for justice unlike anything I’ve ever known.” - Lisa McCorkell

Beloved disability activist Alice Wong has died at age 51. If you aren't familiar with this wonderful woman who did so much to connect countless disabled people to one another, I highly recommend checking out her work. Disability Intimacy is a personal favorite.

disabilityvisibilityproject.com (donate here)

alice's disability advocacy naturally led her to palestine solidarity as the quote from the blog post announcing 'crips for esims' illustrates:

We also recognize that everyone in Gaza is now disabled due to the massive number of deaths, new disabilities, life-threatening illnesses and destruction of medical facilities going on. Such destruction also debilitates the land, water, and air, which will impact Palestinians and all surrounding life for generations to come. We owe our kin in Palestine to throw sand on the gears of genocide with our every breath. [source: the disability visibility project]

since december 2023, crips for esims for gaza has raised well over $3.1M and bought and maintained over 5,000 esims, undoubtedly saving lives.

in the past few days there has been intense winter flooding in gaza. donate to honor alice wong's memory–to keep people connected, to give disabled people the tools to advocate for themselves, to refuse to let palestine be silenced.

Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51.

Wong died Friday because of an infection at a hospital in San Francisco, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong’s family.

Ho called her friend a “luminary of the disability justice movement” who wanted to see a world where people with disabilities, especially ones of marginalized demographics who were people of color, LGBTQ and immigrants, could live freely and have full autonomy over their lives and decisions.

The daughter of Hong Kong immigrants, Wong was diagnosed as a small child with a progressive neuromuscular disability. She used a powered wheelchair and an assistive breathing device.

On social media Ho shared a statement Wong wrote before her death in which she said never imagined her trajectory would turn out as it did, to writing, activism and more.

“We [people with disabilities] are the last thing on the HR discrimination list. Companies always list things like, ‘we eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, nationality, identity… oh, and disability.’ It’s just tacked on at the end. The others are mostly about being nice, respectful, and treating people equally. Not discriminating against people with disabilities is more complicated. You need to change your environment, code, the way you design things. You actually need to make changes, and most companies do not want to do that.”

It's true of literally all of her clients. She works with a lot of them to put systems in place so that their crashes are only three days. This includes the high-powered execs who travel regularly for work. It does not matter how successful or high functioning they are - they have ADHD, and crashing is just part of the process of living with it.

I'm sharing this with all you ADHD friends out there, just in case you (like me) start shaming yourself if your crash lasts more than one day. It turns out three days is kind of the best case scenario. Be kind to yourselves!

Do not approach too quickly

If you're a stranger do not make eye contact. Just sit down nonthreateningly several feet away and pretend you don't notice me

Frequently communicates nonverbally

Will scream when overwhelmed

Audism = Discrimination and prejudice against d/Deaf and hard of hearing people

Disabled people often die from a lack of support. A lot of disability aids are not a luxury, but a basic need in order to live.

“Well what happens if—” people die. People hurt themselves. People hurt others. Disabled people don’t magically become abled if our needs aren’t met.

If a bedbound quadriplegic is caught in a housefire, and there’s nobody there to save them, they’ll probably die. They won’t magically become able-bodied out of sheer will.

If a nonspeaking/nonverbal autistic is denied access to alternative methods of communication, they’ll suffer in silence. They won’t spontaneously become capable of speech.