#additional needs

People who need reminders to eat or to go to the toilet, people who need significant help with IADLS, people who need significant help with ADLS, people who are physically disabled, people who are mentally disabled, people who can’t go outside on their own, people who can’t make friends for whatever reason (social difficulties, lack of opportunities etc) you all deserve to have a good day today.

It was quite a big day for me yesterday (relative's wedding reception) and even though there was a lot of dancing I didn't fall over, knock anyone over, break anything, or anyone... the Gremlins must have been too drunk at the bar to mess up my evening, and for that I'm very grateful! Something my nan said to me last night really touched me. 

But first, we need to backtrack 10-20 years, when I was a kid, both my mum and my nana were constantly telling me off, to sit down, be quiet, stop tapping, be more organised, for-god's-sake-stop-talking-when-people-don't-understand-you-it's-embarrassing... the list goes on. The prefix to any sort of telling off is what I dreaded... “Why Can’t You Just”. They couldn’t understand why I had trouble doing these things. They thought that because I was “so clever at school” that I was choosing to misbehave. The impression I got is that they thought I was selfish, and for a long time I believed them. I would agonise over it. 

Why can’t I just be normal, I would cry, my foot flapping all over the place because in my room no one was telling me to stop doing it, and the pressure had been building up all day from suppressing it.

Why can’t I be normal, I would cry, every time someone asked me to tell them about my hobbies and ended up with a screwed up face because I was talking too fast and backwards.

Why can’t I be normal, I would cry with a complete understanding of my work in my head, and only scribbled nonsense and a messy desk to show for it.

I haven’t lived with them for a few years now. I’m 23, I’ve had time to rebuild confidence, to accept and embrace how my dyspraxia shapes my personality, to defiantly ignore the echoes of their voices in my head, to do and say what my instincts tell me. 

I was nervous, before the wedding reception, but I finally felt ready to show my family my personality for what it actually is, not the trimmed, tidy, demure little thing they’d tried to preserve from my toddlerhood. And you know what? I f*cking did it and I enjoyed every second. I found common ground with cousins I hadn’t seen in years, I danced like the Tasmanian devil in a hurricane, and was brutally honest about no longer giving a monkeys about being the scholar of the family. They supported me; they were just thankful that I was happy at last. 

In the car on the way home my mum had her old Soul and Motown tapes on. I’d had far too much to drink and I was laying across the back seats singing, doing impressions of musical instruments, telling mum and nana what a great night I’d had...

Then my nan turned around in her seat and said in her stop-that-nonsense voice “Anyone ever tell you, you’re a nutcase?”

And I looked her straight in the eye, fully expecting a slap, and said “You two did nana but like you always said I never listen.”

To which she burst out laughing and said... 

This is dedicated to my ex-husband he lived with me and my ways for years. Then again it’s so easy to see these traits in hindsight. Enjoy this short video from the lovely people at ADHD Love. You can find them on social media 💚 https://youtube.com/shorts/Df7LfF2Uc3A?si=8cBU42kJHvhA1D5J

Beautifully said, Dr Alex George! Hello lovelies, on the you tube channel ADHD Chatter Podcast there’s various video shorts to longer podcasts. Obviously, as the channel name suggests the content pertains to Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and the hosts (Alex) and the people he interviews and how they navigate life being an ADHDer. Also some stories from famous guests about their…

Hello lovelies I am not sure if I have told you that I live with ADHD. In addition, I could diagnose conditions in children such as ADD Autism and many other additional needs some children live with. As a qualified SENCO, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder. A condition which begins in children in the under 5s group. Infact the trainer on the course diagnosed…

The words that cut like a knife and the blows that get thrown, the heartache of having to restrain your own child to protect everyone in the house, including them. The dirty looks and comments heavily implying I’m a shit parent and should ‘control’ my child better as she has another meltdown or if I’m just seeking some sort of support and reassurance. I’ve been through some shit in my life but this is the hardest. There’s no it’ll get better in time, theres no support, there’s no it won’t be like this forever or it’ll be over soon.