@Garwboy Thanks for this. The “shoes tied together” analogy is a good one. “But you got by just fine. Why do you need <meds, accommodations, different clothes, ear defenders> now?”
“Because I wasn’t fine. I was struggling every single day, thinking that all I needed was to focus more / stop being so sensitive / be like other people and 56 years of doing that had left me a shrivelled husk. I was sad, frustrated, angry, and desperate every single day. But I didn’t show it because, well, it was all my fault, and I’d already screwed up being normal so much, already disappointed so many people, I didn’t want to bring down the shame one more time by admitting I was struggling. The meds turned off the 26 radios that had been playing in my head nonstop for 56 years. I would think. I could reason. I could plan and organize. And my autism could have a voice. I love being autistic. But if I had to go off the ADHD meds and revert to sea fog brain, I don’t know how I would manage.”
#autism
#ADHD
#AuDHD
#Gifted