Hey #ADHD and #AuDHD friends, as I sit down to finish a project I wanted to share that "brown noise" has really helped me focus when it comes to doing college tasks/homework.
I tend to listen to this one most of all:
adhd
I find the language in this whole piece disturbing. Describing #ADHD and #Autism as ‘problems’ and ‘disorders’ feels very much like othering and dismissing a clinical diagnosis….which has often been a long time coming with a lack of understanding all around up to that point.
Proscribing ‘interventions’ over ‘accommodations’ implies breaking and rebuilding rather than supporting.
The implication is that children with a diagnosis are somehow cheating the system.
Today is not going according to my wishes or vague plans. Trying not to stress out over it & I'm losing myself in thoughts over how to simplify & organise next year's bullet journal.
This spiralled into, how can I get back on the, dealing with housework & cleaning wagon, as at some point I completely fell off. So, major paralysis on how or where to start.
Toying with the idea of introducing a, do one small thing everyday either before or immediately after breakfast, so that it's done.
Just small things like, clean the bathroom sink or pick up some random crap that I never tidied up.
If I can persuade myself to write down that I did it & when & then do the same for the following times that things get done, I might eventually have a realistic roster of things. Just need to remember to keep it flexible. If the day the floor need vacuuming I'm not up to it, swap it for something else or just shunt everything along a day.
As long as I don't fall into the trap of shunting things along indefinitely, I might be okay.
#AuDHD #Autistic #ADHD #ActuallyADHD #ActuallyAutistic #Life #TidyUp #CleanUp #Burnout #Spoons #NoSpoons
This morning’s first workshop is about eating disorders, and the presenter mentioned poor interoception, or one’s ability to understand the signals the body is sending.
As a person with ADHD, I *really* relate to this. I’m not hot until I’m sweating, or cold until I’m shivering, or hungry until I’m starving, or in pain until I’m in agony. It’s a weird way to be.
I’ve always found it super impressive when someone has a really sensitive awareness of what’s going on in their body, like they’re immediately aware of how a certain food affects them. It often takes me literal years before I understand how certain foods make my body feel.
Are y’all smelling what I’m stepping in?
I really wish my Mam wasn't such a technophobe. Doubly annoying that she lives so far away & triply so that she doesn't ask one of her more tech savvy friend's to help her get to grips with her phone.
The flip side is that she's the only person who phones me so I have no way to verify if all the phone call woes are her accidentally triggering things by touching buttons or things on screen (I can imagine her holding the phone slightly away from her ear so the in-call screen is displayed) & putting herself on mute or me on hold.
Is it her or has my phone, network or the Lineage OS developed problems?
After today's particularly Mute & Hold heavy call, or calls - I'd have to hang up & phone her again & again to get back to having a conversation instead of hearing nothing or being on hold - I hope she will take my strong suggestion of asking one, or some of her friends to help her.
I was hoping she would be coming over for xmas or new year's, giving me a chance to check her phone, maybe minimize google spying & if I can figure out how to be patient enough show her how to use her phone whilst knowing she won't remember or will struggle to remember.
I'd also have to hope I can still fathom how phones running android OS work as it's been several years.
I don't have the spoons to go visit her & with the festively terrible (non-existant) public transport between hers & the nearest hotel ensuring my spoon tank is permanently empty for the duration so it's probably not a good idea.
Last year I left her's on xmas day just before we were going to have dinner. Walking back to the hotel in tears & having snacks instead of a good meal. I do not recommend as it's probably my worst xmas & would not like a repeat. 😔😢😞.
#AuDHD #Autistic #ADHD #ActuallyADHD #ActuallyAutistic #Burnout #Spoons #NoSpoons #SelfCare #Technophobia #TechEducation #TechFails #EpicTechFails #Enshittification
Does anyone else have these problems?
I can hear a squirrel move in a tree at a hundred yards or a slow leak in a tire as I walk by, but I can't understand the words spoken into my ear without effort. I can see a squirrel in a tree at a hundred yards or a small transparent mushroom at the foot of a wall, but I can't see words on packaging or signs without my full concentration.
#ActuallyAutistic #adhd #dyslexia
Options:
In that discussion about learning languages, I asked the opponent why wouldn’t the approach with throwing into the language one is learning not work for most people if that’s the exact way the kids learn to talk: kids don’t have any language to translate to - and they told me that we’re not kids and that adults learn differently.
And I was thinking: do we really? Maybe that’s exactly why #autism and #ADHD are considered neurodevelopment disorders: we just partially stay kids forever? Like, a lot of things which are symptoms are considered normal for kids of certain age. Like, most of what makes others consider my behavior weird in my forties is something that would have been seen as totally natural to a seven-years-old, no?
#neurodivergent
#AuDHD
@autistics
Now that I'm spending more time on Mastodon, I'm realizing I don't follow enough people. Many of them are inactive accounts.
My feed is running dry rather quickly.
Who are some good people in the autistic and neurodivergent spaces to follow?
@autistics I've just started reading Russell #Barkley's "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD" (2nd edition, 2022). Since my #AuDHD self-diagnosis in late 2024, the autism part of the diagnosis has been so rivetingly fascinating that I've been neglecting the #ADHD aspect; I find I actually have to force myself to focus on #ADHD. The reason for focusing on it is that unlike autism, which is more a difference requiring accommodation than a disorder requiring treatment, #ADHD does appear to be a genuine pathology — something that impairs me, that I'd like to have treated, and for which treatment is available. So it's important to understand it, if only in order to seek treatment. But I'm experiencing more than a little culture shock in going from autism literature (C.L. Lynch, Wenn Lawson, Fergus Murray, Morton Ann Gernsbacher) to #Barkley on #ADHD.
Writers on autism understand quite clearly that impairment is a deviation, not from any statistical norm, but from an individual's potential, which may require an accommodating environment to be brought to realization. #Barkley, by contrast, insists on characterizing the impairment that is a defining characteristic of #ADHD strictly as a deviation from a statistical norm, and responds with intensely withering ridicule to any suggestion that it should be made relative to individual potential:
"Impairment is defined relative to the average person in the population, known as the NORM—it is where most "normal", or typical, people are found to be performing in any domain of life. It does not mean how you are functioning compared to incredibly bright or highly educated people even if you are one. To be impaired, you must be functioning significantly below the norm or the average (typical) person. Why? Because the term DISORDER means just that—you are not functioning typically." (p. 30)
In case that wasn't clear (or insulting) enough, he adds:
"To adopt a standard for defining the term IMPAIRMENT other than comparison with the true norm is like something out of Alice in Wonderland, where nothing is as it seems, and words can have whatever meaning one wishes to give them. Saying that a person functioning as well as or even better than the average or typical population can still be considered impaired makes a mockery of the term DISORDER and does a disservice to those struggling with really not being able to function as well as the norm." (p. 39)
Imagine how this diatribe would sound in the context of physical medicine — sports medicine, say. Suppose a powerlifter who can usually deadlift a 600-pound barbell finds one day that they can only manage 300 pounds, brings this issue to a sports physician with a complaint of impairment — and gets #Barkley's diatribe as a response, with the conclusion that the powerlifter can't be impaired because they can still deadlift far more than most people.
#Barkley should have turned his ridicule on himself.
I'm not sure how much of a practical obstacle this issue will be. Judging by my responses to #ADHD questionnaires — including those in this book — I would probably count as impaired even by their "statistical norm" standards. But if this kind of thinking is the best #ADHD professionals have to offer, interacting with them is likely to require some serious tongue-biting on my part.
So, tbh, I would not change anything about having #Autism and #ADHD. Sure, if I had been diagnosed properly and had more support, some aspects of my life would have been better. But I have no regrets on having a semi-eidetic memory, being able to recognize patterns, thinking outside the box, etc. What I could have used less of? Being bullied, not knowing there were others like me out there (and the subsequent isolation), over-masking and paying the price, having meltdowns from not understanding sensory overstimulation, etc. But it's never too late to delve into self-understanding and awareness, and, most importantly, building community with like-others!
Starting to read "ADHD 2.0" (#Hallowell and #Ratey 2021). At first it seemed perfect, a real breath of fresh air after "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD" (2nd edition, #Barkley 2022). Both authors of "ADHD 2.0" are ADHDers themselves. There was great emphasis on the positive potential of #ADHD — especially welcome after Barkley's relentless pathologizing. They even write:
"A person with ADHD has the power of a Ferrari engine but with bicycle-strength brakes. It's the mismatch of engine power to braking capability that causes the problems."
I was immediately reminded of my own mismatch analogy for #kaleidotropic autism: trying to fly an F-16 with a control system designed for a Cessna — with #AuDHD as an almost inevitable consequence. Not quite the same thing — "control" is much more general than "braking" — but much closer than anything I've ever seen before from any source other than myself. I was thinking: this book is going to be fantastic.
Then I skimmed ahead, into a part of the book I hadn't yet read continuously — and found FAVORABLE references to Applied Behavior Analysis (#ABA). I'm assuming that for most adult autistics, THAT practice needs no introduction.
😱 🤯 🤢 🤮
And, unfortunately, advocacy of #ABA isn't the only example of drill-sergeant thinking that I found. The emphasis on discipline isn't anywhere near as extreme as in Barkley, but it's definitely there. Given the appreciable overlap between ADHD and literal juvenile delinquency, I can understand the temptation to go that route, but it's a very dangerous path to traverse — and it definitely isn't for me. Probably not for anyone with #AuDHD as opposed to standalone #ADHD.
Of course, I admit — and even emphasize — that this is just a first impression from skimming material I haven't yet read continuously. I definitely hope that my final impression is different.
I'm curious if anyone else with #AuDHD or #ADHD finds that an analog watch helps them "center" in time better?
I recently misplaced my favorite analog watch, and my time blindness is much worse w/out it. I go through cycles; weeks where I'm "closer to time" (within 2-3 hours of correct) and weeks where I'm wildly off (I think 2 hours went by when 6 did).
Analog watches are my best tool for improving my chronological dead reckoning. Anyone else's brain like this?
Just a PSA: Please don't take it personal if I don't follow you back or follow you back immediately. I'm #ADHD, and I'm trying to handle overstimulation.
Not that you all aren't some lovely folks. ❤️
De Even de draad kwijt podcast is inmiddels al meer dan 500 keer beluisterd en ik ben even de draad kwijt van enthousiasme! <insert ba dum tss🥁>
Dank aan Frank van Strijen en Jacqueline van de Sande voor hun bijdragen aan de eerste twee afleveringen. En dank aan de luisteraars. Het is zo tof om te zien dat de gesprekken over #ADHD en het dagelijks leven gewaardeerd worden!
Op naar de volgende 500! 🔥
Oh, nog een nieuwtje: Op 8 november wordt aflevering 3 opgenomen.
#ADHD students heading to university for the first time, don't forget to register with the disability office. It's not a bad idea to start the process over the summer because it might take some time.
New account, new #introduction post!
I’m Rhys, a writer, solarpunk, and witch/druid living in the Midlands, UK. My pronouns are they/them, although I’m currently exploring my gender, so that may change.
I've just set up a new blog: https://www.panga.blog/about
I will accept most follow requests! 
#Writing #Solarpunk #Anarchism #Witchcraft #Druidry #Midlands #Vegan #Bisexual #Polyamorous #NonBinary #Autism #ADHD #WorkingClass
I started to run low on my ADHD meds when away, & have since got out of the habit of taking them. (Some of you are saying, “Yes, we noticed! 😁)
ADHD is a funny thing. I can feel so alive, and full of ideas & enthusiasm. But if (when) things go wrong, I can be impatient or totally thrown out of kilter. Bad things, reactions, can happen.
(Just noticed older homes fenced off for demolition on Glenhuntly Rd. Relevant to another conversation, & a distraction..,)
When waiting at a tram stop an hour or so ago, my straw hat blew off into the middle of the intersection. I watched as drivers managed to avoid it (without crashing) and wondered how in heck I’d get it back. (Brand new, not cheap.)
When the lights changed, no one moved, & someone waved at me to pick it up. I did and waved my gratitude. The tram driver dinged to alert me to his presence, possibly aware that I might be wanting to catch it but be flustered by retrieving the hat. (I was.)
Normally that would’ve thrown me dreadfully. On a bad day, I might’ve given up on trams & called an uber to get to my optometrist appointment, or just gone home, in tears.
Instead, my faith in human nature was somewhat restored, & I continued on along my way.
But I’ve had to set multiple reminders & alarms to make sure that I don’t miss my appointment, and dismiss ideas that I’ve got time to “do this first” or “on the way”.
I’m now here, in time for a coffee, and will have time to do other things afterwards.
I did take my meds this morning, but I only really notice the effect after a few days if I’ve been off them for a while. Made it hard to determine the correct dosage.
Classic #ADHD day:
- Sit down to write next book chapter.
- Get distracted by something entirely unconnected:
- Namely, researching an ancestor in the 1500s.
- Stumble across a mystery of potentially international importance.
- Realise there may be a book in it.
Result: 2 unfinished books.
@autistics I'm still reading Russell #Barkley's "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD" (2nd ed., 2022) — or rather, trying to. It's getting difficult for me to handle more than a page or two at a time. The problem isn't boredom (my #kaleidotropy makes me essentially immune to that) nor complexity of the material (Barkley is quite a good expositor). It's exasperation and outright anger, to the point of having fantasies of throwing the book across the room. The combination of arrogant, condescending neuronormativity with conspicuously sloppy conceptual reasoning makes this book more infuriating than ANYTHING I've yet read about autism, from ANY perspective. That includes Simon Baron-Cohen, and even one paper I read by a group of #ABA torture therapy apologists. I hope this book is not typical of #ADHD literature in general. If it is, studying ADHD is going to be a hell of a chore.
@autistics Since the end of the last off week of my 7-on-7-off work schedule, I've been reflecting on the responses to my theory that the essence of autism lies in the ABSENCE or INACTIVATION of the #EnvironmentalYoke, a hypothesized complex neurological structure that neurotypicals use to engage with the physical and social environment. I think there may have been some misunderstanding of what I meant.
Now that I'm off again, I've continued with reading Russell #Barkley's "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD" (2nd ed., 2022). I'm currently in Chapter 9, "Executive Functions". His relentless neuronormativity continues to grate on my sensibilities — and his application of it to the concept of #ExecutiveFunctions leads me to suspect that theorizing about #ADHD, as well as autism, could benefit from introduction of the concept of the environmental yoke. Essentially, it seems to me that Barkley is conflating the very general, domain-independent concept of executive functions with the very specific perceptual and attentional biases built into the environmental yoke — and is compounding his error by assuming that those specific biases must necessarily render neurotypical executive function and engagement with the environment superior to their non-neurotypical counterparts.
@autistics I'm continuing to read Russell #Barkley's "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD" (2nd ed., 2022). His analysis continues to be marred by persistent failure to make two crucial distinctions:
(1) Between the effect of true deficits in #ExecutiveFunctions (impulsiveness, deficient short-term memory, etc.) vs. the effect of neurodivergent attentional focus that prevents certain topics from even entering consciousness with enough salience to engage executive functions in the first place;
(2) Between truly autonomous self-control that realizes the person's inner values vs. spurious self-control that amounts to internalized social coercion along the lines of the Freudian superego or Marxian false consciousness.
Given Barkley's prominence in the field of #ADHD research, I'm starting to suspect that these aren't just problems with his thinking in particular, but with the accepted theoretical framework throughout the field as a whole.
#introduction
Toujours un peu dans la lune, trying to remember to breathe.
Working for a charity - #dementia awareness and Gipsy, Roma & Traveller #women's health
#Knitting, #HumanRights, #ADHD, #Autistic #neurodiversity, #TransRights .
Migrant based in the UK.
Trying to be a good ally, working on it.
Toots auto delete after a month. No #alt, no boost.
Will accept your follow request after interaction.