@actuallyautistic
I’m in the middle of a big move to a small rental & I almost missed Late-Identified AuDHD’s first birthday. ALMOST!
About thirty minutes to midnight I looked at my bookshelf, saw my 1st copy, remembered I forgot to do a cover reveal for the upcoming second edition, and decided to celebrate with a post and a Reese’s egg.
@actuallyautistic@Adhdinos
Late to announce, but Late-Identified AuDHD one years old today AND is getting a title update and a new cover this year. Cover was designed for the second edition by 100Covers.
Review paper on shared heritage of #ADHD and #ASD from 2009. Since we recently discussed this I think you @actuallyautistic and @actuallyadhd might be interested too - haven't read it yet, got it via @sensorystoriesbynicole, a very great account on #AuDHD and other ND stuff on Instagram btw
As a teacher, I know that windy days result in “unsettled” students. Years ago I met a guy on a blind date at a seaside location for a coffee, on a very windy day. I think he found me to be “a bit much”. 😁 #ADHD#AuADHD@actuallyautistic
How do you stay focused on one thing? (Question in a panel)
No. I embrace my ADHD mind and some of the best ideas and flashes of inspiration come from me doing something else and then thinking "hey, what if I....."
Instead of forcing neurodivergent people to focus on one thing, why don't you build an environment that allows us to play to our strengths. I guarantee you it'll cause less stress and heartache.
It’s crazy how easilyr my sleep pattern gets derailed. Yesterday all it took was me falling asleep early enough that I woke at 2:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep.
I spent most of Monday in a weird zombie state. But in the evening I forced myself to stay up until I zonked around midnight.
I woke at 4:30 or so and felt fresh as a spring lamb. Still baffles me. Sleep irregularity is the norm in my experience.
It's #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek. I'm still vaguely taken aback (and, conversely, not at all surprised) that I belong to this tribe, for want of a better word. It must be in the family as another member was diagnosed recently. I wish I'd known earlier that I was a giraffe living in a society built around ostriches and that being unable to lay eggs does not mean that I am failing or deficient in any way. #adhd#asd#autism @actuallyautistic
"inhibitory control predicted a shared or general psychopathology dimension, but not ADHD-specific, anxiety-specific, or irritability-specific dimensions. Inhibitory control also showed a significant, selective association with global efficiency in a frontoparietal control network delineated during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging."
My mother theorized that my brother was so abusive to me my whole life was because he had adhd, never knew what to do with his energy.
I thought bullshit. Her comment is from ignorance of the condition. From reading #actuallyautistic posts here who also have adhd, I never read that kind of reaction.
I guess I don’t believe it the same way autistics are abusive because they are autistic.
I just had my 2nd session since realising my autism, the 1st since 5 weeks with my partner with his family. So mainly a catch-up & info dump. Will clarify goals next time.
In the past therapy has been about me info dumping & them validating, helping me to clarify & a few strategies, but I struggled with clear goals.
I feel so much clearer now.
Previous therapy focussed on the impact of external traumas, the loss of loved ones, sexual assault, divorce etc, but ignored my internal pan that wasn’t explained by those traumas. I learned a lot that was useful, but so much was left unexplained. I was still in survival mode.
She reflects back & asks questions to confirm, clarify & express her understanding, & her very expressive face helps with that. I used to feel that I must look the therapist in the eye for the whole session, but I now allow myself to look out the window.
The waiting room is dim lights, soft music…
I used to feel that I had to work hard to convince the therapist, to get them on board with me, to understand, & maybe to like me so they’d be motivated to really work with me.
I think that having a somewhat better understanding of myself means I’m much clearer about boundaries, & that helps soooo much.
The high prevalence of #ADHD in Autistics might be just the symptoms of an overstimulated life, misunderstood communications and lots of trauma that led to cPTSD.
Would also explain why ADHD meds very often don't work for Autistics - but certain antidepressants do.
I forget who drew my attention to this, but thank you! It’s very long, so I suggest you stop at each break, (a chapter heading is displayed) & consider whether you want to come back to it later. I’d prefer it to be broken into several videos because it would be useful to share with allistic people, but I don’t expect them to watch a video thats over an hour long. @actuallyautistic#actuallyautistic#ADHD
While I sincerely value how my #neurodivergent brain so deeply & fully engages with anything I encounter...
...sometimes I REALLY envy the ability to engage with many things simultaneously on a surface level
(Like, for example, be able to stay semi-active on Mastodon while writing a research-intensive article instead of having to ghost out entirely in order to focus 🙃)
It still amazes me how commonly scientific papers posit [paraphrase] "Advanced maternal age increases risk of gestational development of autism" when, RIGHT THERE for the grasping is the possibility that autistic ladies who get the chance to actually think about it before getting pregnant... decide to hold off for a bit.
And THEN have autistic babes with their gene parts.
@anomalon Since I’m sure we personally know so many counterexamples, I always keep a shredder or delete button handy for such “scientific” “studies.” 🤣
My mom was 19 and our son’s egg donor and surrogate were 22 and 30. So yeah I’m sure advanced age had something to do with being #neurodifferen! Heh
Me: My short story has had 556 page reads! One million page reads, here I come!
Spouse: That's nothing to shake a stick at! Wait, why are we shaking a stick? Who is shaking a stick? What are they shaking a stick at? Why do we say this?
Me: 90 minutes later According to Dr. Google, there is no definitive origin story, but it was allegedly 1st recorded in 1818 in the Journal of Pennsylvania…<info dump>
I’ve always loved “going away”. I love to travel somewhere new, but simply getting “away” is wonderful.
I love my home. It’s quiet, comfortable & cleverly designed, but there’s always so much to do. I always have a mental list of tasks, gardening, cleaning, little renovation projects (which often come to nought)…
I’ve just got back from 5 weeks at my in-laws in rural NZ. Whenever they went out without us (not often& & we’d usually go out later & meet for lunch), I’d hurriedly do some spring cleaning. And we did a lot of gardening, but were constantly being called in because it was too hot (like 23 deg) or cold or windy or we’d been out there too long. And of course the main point of being there was to spend time with them, which we did. (All doing puzzles, reading etc, with an occasional information dump from one or another. And I’m the only self realised sutistic one in that group. 😁) I used to find that very hard, but this time went equipped with puzzles, knitting, autism podcasts, travel planning etc.
The only times I felt a bit agitated & distracted enough to take meds was when I cooked a Greek vegetarian spread for 6 (supplemented by roast duck by my partner for the affirmed carnivores) & the last 2 days, packing & travelling.
So today I’m home, & I’m finding it hard to move from one room to another without stopping to start a new task, or forgetting why I went into that room. There’s hedge trimming & sweeping to do outside, cobwebs to bring down, dusting & floors, laundry…
And when I’m home, that list is always there. I like my home to feel lived in, I don’t need it to be pristine & don’t like it to be “too tidy”, but there’s always “things to do”. #ADHD#actuallyautistic@actuallyautistic
Not sure why, but I realized that recently my #autistic side kinda outweighs my #ADHD side. I get overwhelmed much easier, I got more intense shutdowns, but I keep up with certain routines better. Maybe it has something to do with aging, maybe with living alone, or with learning to better recognize my needs and letting myself be instead of masking 24/7. I wonder if other #AuDHD people notice the balance changed with age or lifestyle changes @actuallyautistic
Travelling for a week for work is exhausting. It leaves me feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, and burnt out. Like a sponge wrung out.
I get home and am irritable and mean and asking for space to decompress is taken as a personal slight that I don’t like someone, when it’s only that I need to calm my body down and have no expectations on me.
I love this person very much but don’t know how to manage this part of work travel.
@actuallyautistic
I really relate to NDWelness’s content—their videos center their ND experience often through skits. In TikTok they can be found under NDWellness.
About 1/3 of the way through “The Body Remembers” and knowing what I do about my life, starting to wonder if my #adhd and #autism aren’t just co-morbid with, but actually came from, the #cptsd. I mean, I’m certain there’s no “cure” for them but I do wonder if preventing infant neglect and childhood abuse reduces instances in the general population. (Please don’t get mad. I’m just wondering about my experiences, not saying anything about yours.)
Years ago one of my dear friends (who is a huge bookworm) and I were talking. She told me she hated short stories. I can’t remember why or if she even told me a reason. This conversation has stuck with me, because I struggle with them- why? I have no idea. I have tried different tactics to overcome this. I am s l o w l y reading one now, but I don’t gravitate toward it (not the one pictured, but it’s one I really want to read if I can ever get there).
@Likewise@bookstodon I love short stories.. I prefer them to novels. I am #ADHD and so read slowly and flit from one book to another but also, I find that most novels are less than the sum of their parts. Stories give an insight into a life, a glimpse. I find this more powerful than trying to give answers or some worldview. With stories I find I can come to my own conclusions or simply reflect on a situation, character, a place or atmosphere. That said, I suspect they often require a different approach from the reader and, like poems, require different skills.
I frequently have to re-read the same paragraph over and over again before it sinks in. It is really frustrating, and makes reading a book take forever. It even happens when I’m listening to an audio book.
@autism101@actuallyautistic
Yes, and it's a very good example on how impairing #ADHD actually is. I think a lot of people still considder loosing attention as a lack of will power or that one doesn't care and considder it rude.
But why the heck would I do it then to myself reading a novel in my free time.