Learn about neurodivergent experiences and how to best support those who live them.
The message lands on a Friday afternoon. Can you take this on? And you have already typed “Of course, happy to help” before any part of you has checked whether you can, or want to, or have the room. The drop comes about ninety seconds later. That gap between the yes and the sinking feeling … read more
You are sitting in an IEP meeting, and something is not adding up. The goals sound vague. A service you were promised last spring never showed up. Everyone at the table is polite, but you leave wondering whether you missed something you were supposed to catch. Somewhere around that point, most parents of a neurodivergent … read more
Fifty years ago, a parent could bring a child with a disability to the local public school and be turned away at the door. No enrollment, no plan, no services, and nothing illegal about the refusal. In some states, there were laws on the books that kept deaf, blind, or intellectually disabled children out entirely. … read more
You are halfway through explaining a problem out loud when you hear yourself land on the answer. You did not plan the ending. The sentence just arrived, somewhere between “so the thing is” and “oh, wait, that’s it.” If that is how your best thinking tends to show up, especially if you have ADHD, there … read more
You read a sentence somewhere, maybe in a forum thread at one in the morning, that said your brain was not broken. It was just wired differently. Something in your chest loosened a little. That sentence, more or less, is the neurodiversity paradigm. It is the idea that brain differences like ADHD, autism, and dyslexia … read more
Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking: “That isn’t what I meant to say.” Or maybe you’ve replayed an argument over and over in your head, coming up with the perfect response hours after the conversation ended. Maybe you’ve avoided bringing up a problem entirely because you were afraid the discussion would turn … read more
You’re three aisles into the grocery store when it lands. The lights are too bright, the freezer motors are humming, a kid is shrieking two carts over, and your skin has started to feel like it was put on backwards. Most advice would tell you to leave. But you have a cart half full of … read more
You get home from an ordinary day, shut the door, and feel your whole body let go at once. The brighter voice switches off. The face you have been holding all day softens. You did not notice how much effort you were spending until the moment you stopped. That effort has a name. Autistic masking … read more
You can hold a whole system in your head, explain it to someone in a way that makes them say “oh, that’s clever,” and still be three weeks late on a form that takes eleven minutes. That gap has a name. Twice exceptional adults, often shortened to 2e, hold high ability in some area alongside … read more
By the time I have figured out what I want to say, the conversation has already moved on. Two topics on, usually. I understood everything that was said. My brain works through things at its own pace, and the room moves faster, so my response is usually ready a few minutes after the moment for … read more