ADHD Blog

If you don't want to pursue an autism or adhd diagnosis and you have access to a doctor or therapist you can get them to write you a note attesting to a symptom of your neurodivergence (rather than naming the condition itself) and stating the need for accommodation. 

It's something my therapist told me about when we were still working in offices. I have sensory processing issues and on multiple occasions the noise in my office was so bad I broke the skin on my hand clenching my fist. 

the classic meaning of echolalia isn't repeating a word that sounds good, but is actually a conversational pattern where one person repeats the last thing that got said. for example, someone might say to me, "i'll bring you the rest of the articles tomorrow" and i'll reply back "articles tomorrow." it could also be just repeating yourself after you've finished talking, like i'll say a sentence, think i'm done, then catch myself repeating the last few words of the sentence.

i also do this in ASL, so it isn't just about the mouth-feel of the words. also the words don't necessarily have to be particularly pleasing or stand out in any way. when i do it, i'm not even really trying to communicate anything, it's just how i process language. that's different from vocal stimming, which is when a word is so pleasing to say that you say it over and over again.

If you thought you were 100% aroace nuh-uh-no-way and you end up being sexually/romantically attracted? Cool. It also doesn’t invalidate you if you still want to identify as all-the-way-aroace ™. 

I can't speak for everyone but I always thought it was more that we were so used to drawing inspiration from our chaotic minds, that we struggle when meds calm it.

I just found the perfect analogy: Zuko from AtLA, season 3.

He starts to lose his bending after joining the Gaang. He had previously used his anger and rage as the fuel to his fire, so when he lost his anger, he feared he lost his fuel.

But no, the answer wasn't to get angry again and punch Aang in the face.

I figure out I had ADHD last year, but I didn’t seek an official diagnosis and medication until this year. I’m 30 years old, my school days are long behind me. I slipped through the cracks because I have predominately inattentive type and I was a quiet little girl. Having ADHD does not mean you have to be hyperactive and loud, it means you have a processing problem in your brain that doesn’t allow you to regulate your focus or emotions. 

Mental health even now is still taboo to talk about. People are more open now than ever about it however and that gives me hope. 

don't say you support neurodivergent people if you only support us when it's convenient for you.

Feeling, processing and expressing emotions isn’t something that people just ‘get’.. it actually takes practice. Most people have an easier time with this as they learn it as they grow up. However, ADHDers have emotional dysregulation so this is significantly harder.

I used to dissociate from my emotions until just a few years ago.. and when I actually started letting myself feel the emotions and not just push it away, it felt WEIRD. Like, I wasn’t used to the feeling of letting myself feel so it just felt so odd. I can’t describe it.