The airport ia a brain trap for me. While the routine is getting easier, I still inevitably ask questions or blurt something out that get me into a situation that causes delays—especially through TSA. Sometimes this causes unexpected laughter and other times not so much. @actuallyautistic#audhd#autistic#adhd
Las Vegas is a nightmare and a pleasure for me—competing sensory needs. When it’s overwhelming, it’s unbearable with sound and smells and touching and social challenges—I’m more prone to shutdown and meltdown. And yet, I love the lights and creativity and interesting activities and walking. I love meeting my friends here for learning, socializing around a shared activity, and experiencing the environment. #autistic#adhd#audhd@actuallyautistic@audhd
Having one of those days when I wonder how different my life might have been had my #autism & #ADHD been diagnosed much (much) earlier...
It sometimes feels a bit like heaving myself breathless over a marathon finishing line long after others have completed it, only to find that I was shlepping an anvil behind me that could have so easily been offloaded, if only I'd known. @actuallyautistic#audhd
But I also wonder whether I might not have been held back by knowing I was dragging an anvil and others weren’t rather than just assuming dragging an anvil was what we all have to do and getting really good at anvil dragging.
One of the many things I’ve been learning lately is the extent to which my ADHD interacts with & appears to compensate for or cancel out my autism. (I don’t think it’s actually that simple but…) My need for stimulation means that I have tolerated higher levels of some things than I might otherwise, such as noise (can’t do high pitched tho) & depictions/news of emotional trauma. (But I can’t watch horror, mindless violence etc.)
My “need to know” means that I watch a lot of news & news related programs, although quality reporting is getting harder to find.
When the news is of a very upsetting nature, it’s not surprising that I should feel distressed, as many NT people do, but my sensitivities have been heightened since self dx & I’m learning, slowly, to recognise the impact on my health.
What do other people do to remain informed without being overly distressed by unnecessarily emotive & sensationalist styles of reporting, presenting & discussing the news? #ActuallyAutistic#ADHD#AuADHD@actuallyautistic
I’m at #indieauthor conference this week. Someone laid out infinity pins with a nice unsigned note. Thank you!
Conferences can be difficult for me though I keep coming back to try. Every year I get a little better at it and a lot more comfortable with the environment (though I’ll admit to retracting back into my room between many panels). I’ve support and made a few good friends over the last few years around a mutual passion. @audhd@actuallyautistic#autistic#audhd#adhd
@actuallyautistic First day back in Vegas. Woke up super early - still a little... RV-lagged? - and surprisingly feeling really good today.
After five days on the road, plus all the issues we had to deal with, and all the delays, etc. I expected to be pretty burned out.
But I'm not. I feel physically and mentally tired, but I don't feel burned out.
It's such a strange and new feeling for me, because I never knew there was a difference. I feel tired, but I feel upbeat and optimistic and motivated.
Not sure if it's #ADHD meds or unmasking and being mindful of my needs or what... but it's a great feeling.
It's a great feeling to be tired but still have motivation and excitement about doing things. I'm so used to being tired and having zero motivation and feeling anxious about the uncertainty of when I'll feel motivated again.
On top of that, I pulled out my whiteboard that I use to keep track of all the things I need to do. I haven't looked at this since before we were stuck in Toronto without the RV for a couple of weeks. On it, I had written: "Reflect on the idea that my fixations are a coping mechanism for my needs not being met"
😂
After being stuck in Toronto for a couple of weeks, I'm not sure I need to reflect on that anymore. It's about as clear as it could be.
I'm really excited to have some stability for the next couple of months, so I can continue to focus on learning about my needs and better understanding myself as an #ActuallyAutistic human.
watching a tv- documentary about #ADHD , thinking about how impressed people are by those little card tricks our brains can do. And by other things that they can't. It endlessly fascinates, same with autism, #AuDHD
I think the focus is a little off here. A brain is connected to a nervous system is connected to a whole body of a person that is part of an environment, a society etc.
Our cultures habit to divide a whole way of being into little tricks(applause) or failures (medication or ostracization) does not present a good key to this hyperconnected experience. It seems so blind to me. We may find support for certain particular things, no doubt. But I'd feel so lost if I'd adopt this way of thinking about myself. @actuallyadhd @actuallyautistic
sometimes I read something on here a personal account or something political, that moves me. It often takes until the next day or even several days before I know why and what it is, that I would like to reply to that. most the time I don't, cus I can't find the original post anymore or because I assume, it's too late. Sometimes I then write up a long long post. About this issue and all the implications and my experience and so on.
That's just the way my brain functions. I can't help it. There seems to always be too much in it. Too many threads connecting too many things and too deep feelings. I wonder whether I should quit this alltogether and rather dump my hyperconnected brain's content into a blog. On the other hand, I love the community on here. All of this presents exactly the same in my offline life.
the @actuallyautistic community has helped me so much in trying all of this out, reflecting on it and receiving encouragement. In my initial unmasking phase I got a ton of flag from NT on my style of communication and the intensity of it. I knew I needed to learn and adjust.
I'm often way fast actually. All of these patterns and connected issues flash into my mind right away. But creating a bridge of communication takes time. Mastering the intensity and the volume of it. The impatience. The need to balance my physical.emotional mental energy finding ways to stim or otherwise relax that work. After decades of masking and suppressing some of the actual content I had to find a whole new way of expressing myself truthfully. With all of that extra ND energy and views included. It was rough at the beginning.
This space here was important to me in being able to have helpful and loving feedback and being able to take all of those baby steps. Thank you all. #AuDhd#ActuallyAutistic#adhd
This year I am participating in #nanowrimo and decided to use something said to me as a prompt for a scene.
Spouse: “I was worried about you. You’re never that still. The only time you’re that still is when something is very wrong. I didn’t realize how much you moved until you stopped.” And they were right.
Late-Identified #AuDHD A Starter Workbook—beginner's tool for adults—has been out for 6 months! Check it out, & if you already have, consider leaving a review. Thank you!
✅ Do you suspect you have #autism spectrum disorder (#ASD) & attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (#adhd )
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits & describe your experiences to access support?
Conclusive "proof" that #Autism & #ADHD are significant disabilities, from an unlikely source.
If you wanted to play an average #AudHD character in GURPS you'd have to take the following Disadvantages: "Absent-indedness", "Partial Amnesia", "Confused", "Gullibility", "Honesty", "Light Sleeper", "Klutz", "Social Stigma" and optionally "No Sense of Humor", and / or "Cannot Speak"
On the upside, you'll get 70-115 points to spent on Advantages!
I don't like folks making money off my autism. And I don't enjoy transactional social relationships... especially those masquerading as some noble purpose.
I usually just block. But I'm getting sick of it.
This morning's DM finally brought this response from me.
"Honestly I don't try freemium apps that don't outline features for trial, paid, and free versions.
"I understand the value to you of any user's trial... marketing, user data, beta testing.
"I need to understand the value to me.
"That said, it sounds like a valuable app. Wish you luck."
And removed our connection.
Have some sensitivity when marketing to disabled folks, shall we?
Btw, no answer from neurodiverse huckster. Probably busy posting hundreds of DMs to y'all.
@actuallyautistic @audhd @adhd #Ptsd and #autism / #adhd
Often getting mixed up, indiscernible sometimes even to ourselves.
I don't believe that we are any less resilient compared to NT. I believe that we have to deal with two things, not one, without the support that NTpeople may feel.
I believe we have to get to the bottom of the things that trouble us, in order to feel healed. We feel compelled to be creating a maelstrom in our mindbodyconciousness, that draws in every part of the world we know, everything we are, until we have everything questioned, taken apart, because we feel that everything is affected, everything must change in order to heal the wound of whatever trauma we may have experienced. That's a lot of work. We tend to be bad at containing it, leaving all the other aspects of out life's experience where they are. I believe it's related to sensitivity and hyperconnected brain. And to the outsider view of ND people.
If I hold in one hand the effort of what we are trying to do, in order to heal , and in the other the symptoms of suffering and stress that we display, I believe they are evenly matched. Not every NT will see this picture and we may have trouble understanding ourselves . We may find it hard to create the necessary self- love without this understanding being reflected onto us.
I am actually finding us to be remarkably resilient. Going and going, until we have digested all of that huge vortex, changed our whole consciousness and created a whole different reality.👍 :bd243:
Loves books but does not have the mental stamina to sit and read a book from start to finish for hours on end. So instead consumes short-form content online for hours and hours.
Also I found out a curious thing, watching longform (anything over 30 minutes) YouTube content used to mentally exhausting, but after installing an ad-blocker I could suddenly breeze through them and retain the information.
Why?
Because the forced advert sections weren't making me jarringly context switch every few minutes!
The UK is trialling a solution to the long wait and difficulty obtaining #ActuallyAutistic and #ADHD assessments.
Rather than increase capacity they are implementing a multi-stage screening system which will make it far more onerous for those already overwhelmed and suffering.
With multi-year waits to proceed from one stage to the next, and one stage rejecting nearly nine out of ten applicants the system limits access for people who would benefit enormously if diagnosed. @actuallyautistic#NHS
My name is Ali, I'm a #phdstudent at the University of the Sunshine Coast with #ADHD and #PMDD
My project "The Cost of Human Milk" explores the #value(s) of #humanmilk through the lived experience of those who donate, share or receive human milk. (I've just started recruiting. If you're interested in learning more, I'll be posting more about it soon!)
I balance this with casualised work in the university sector as a #sessionalacademic and #researchassistant (both jobs I love, and blessed to be working with total legends) and raising two young kids.
I'm not hugely active on social media but I do love to talk all things #productivity#notetaking#academia#apps and would love to connect with others who share the same interests.