As a kid, I used to tell people, “I can’t do things too many times in a row.” I decided 2 days in a row was the most I could do any one pleasant or enjoyable extra thing—play a game? Get my favorite particular DQ treat? Somewhere past that threshold was routine & meltdowns if I could not have the same everyday or if I had too much fun. My current personal work is identifying maladaptive coping strategies for meltdown management or prevention. #actuallyautistic@actuallyautistic#AuDHD
the job i had wanted since i was a kid was the wrong job for me.
i have no career now and i'm also unemployable.
you know, i never developed a social life and i never started a family. it wasn't important to me at 20 or 30 but now, at 40, it feels like something's missing.
i'm an adult now and i'm no longer very interested in the hobbies i had at 20. there's nothing to do now.
i have a drinking problem.
why could i never do housework properly? oh, right, the #AuDHD...
i have nothing to lose, so i guess i'll try to ask the government to help me.
practical home assistance granted. admitted to back-to-work programme. applied for a social support contact today, to give myself more to do.
i'm nothing at the moment. i was broken down and now i have to build a new me, from scratch.
✅ Are you an adult that suspects you have #autism spectrum disorder (#ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (#ADHD )?
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits and describe your experiences to access support?
“In ten years, you will wish you’d started today.”
For me, it’s a powerful piece of advice emphasizing the importance of taking action and starting on the path toward goals. For me, this is motivating and compassionate. It encourages a sense of urgency and persistence, reminding me that the efforts I put in now—even when when progress feels small or it feels hard—will contribute to my dreams. @audhd@Adhdinos#audhd
How do my #actuallyautistic and #AUDHD folks figure out how to task switch to something even approximating relaxation from work or is this just not possible? Any strategies anyone uses?
@dr_rug_pull I agree that I tend to use music to detox after meetings, at least when working from home. Sometimes I use minor tasks that I find interesting to detox as well. Or podcasts. #ActuallyAutistic#AuDHD@actuallyautistic
Yesterday I was wrestling with social overload and maybe even a head cold. Today I’m awake but not really focused. Getting tasks done but it’s more muscle memory, if that makes sense. Like comfort food for the brain. Heh
Planners, lists, and tools for #AuDHD humans may actually make our anxiety worse when we don't follow thru.
They can also be life changing.
Everyone is different.
In either case, one FIRST needs to give themselves grace and accept and appreciate the fact that we don't need to and cannot do everything, all the time.
My pharmacy is having problems acquiring Dexamphetamine and are offering me (the more expensive) Attentin instead.
Anyone had experience with the latter? #ADHD#Audhd#ADD @actuallyadhd
Doctor appt today, and he happily wrote up all the pain relief I needed prescribed for my shoulder.
I thought it might be difficult to get him to prescribe endone, panadeine forte, mobic, panadol osteo, and palexia.. but we went over how I was taking them all and he agreed that I was fine with how I was approaching it - and that taking such a variety of things meant actually taking less opioid based meds because I was able to keep on top of the pain with things like panadol osteo.
We also did my mental health plan and I hit a 40 on the K10.. which is Very Fucking High. We talked about that, and about how therapy is helping and that a big part of the 40 score is probably actually pain related as well.
He agreed that I showed great insight into my illness and that I was comfortable with being vulnerable enough to ask for help, so I get to skip hospitalisation (fucking yay!) because I have a good support system and I know how to access acute assistance if needed.
But still, 40 was even higher than I was expecting tbh. I'm usually around a 25-27.
I can't speak for other #AuDHD folks but I cannot deal well with ambiguous ppl & fucking hate manipulative ambiguity shit. I require clear communication.
I put #AuDHD in my profile recently. Lightly touching the #autism spectrum and very definitely #ADHD, but self diagnosed because I can’t get assessed here (Fife, Scotland). Mental health services are stretched and people like me are subject to a post code lottery meaning services vary widely by region and my region is very limited. What services they provide have to go to people with way more difficulties than me. I would have to pay a significant fee to be tested and there’s no money to spare for that.
I started looking into it about a year ago and joining the fediverse, seeing what other people were posting about and doing some tests recommended by others which showed up my tendencies as not being neurotypical.
Have dyscalculia, misophonia, probably dysgraphia, sensory issues with certain textures (the feeling of foam rubber or sweeping brush bristles on concrete can make me curl up and wail hysterically 😂) Sound and smell, taste sensitivities as well. All of this was completely missed in my school years - ‘78-‘89.
At school, according to educators, I was a lazy dreamer. I exhibit most of the classic ADHD tendencies.
I’ve wrestled with saying these things out loud, because who gets diagnosed or just discovers/realises this in their 50s!? Looks around 👀 OH! Plenty of us it seems.
There are, sadly, plenty of doubters around, but they’re not worth listening to. I’m dropping that kind of negativity like a hot stone these days.
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
@actuallyautistic Who has disappointed you the most since coming out as #actuallyautistic?
My family's reaction was depressingly expected. However, it's been close friends looking down on me and then fading away that really hurt.
Looking at you, Matthew Bingham.
@sebwhatever My only disappointment is how some react to my son, focusing on behavior and not considering the circumstances aren’t typical. As he learns to better cope and I remind them, it’s gotten better. It takes more time with some to reset their assumptions.
With some, he retreats to back rooms for solitude. They wonder why. I know. I lived it as a kid myself.
Finally got a work albatross off my back after months. It was causing me such anxiety it was hard for me to even spend time on it. What’s worse is that it was a change forced upon us without any guidance on low impact solutions or consultation. I really loathe them. Bad IT.
I’m just glad it’s finally done. Spending time with family for a few days. It’ll be a nice break. (Exhale)
I've started a new Fetlife group for disabled people. It was started after it became apparent that the other group was going to allow chasers to fetishise and objectify disabled people and that the group wasn't safe for us.