03/01/2024
š¤©Itās funny, I had no idea I had any neurodiversity until I began to learn about photography.
š¤©I mean, I always had insomnia, I struggled to sleep as a child and would overthink things making myself sick every birthday because I wouldnāt sleep all night for days.
š¤©I now recognise these as symptoms of ADHD or early childhood attachment trauma due to my adoption. But because I was bright when it came to English it was always missed at school.
š¤©If I worked hard I was okay at Maths but I only recognised I had an actual neurodivergence when trying as hard as I could, when I realised I had an issue was that try as I might, reading books, having patient kind friends and teachers explaining to me I just could not apply and remember the rules of photography.
š¤©Later at work, seemingly simple processes technical processes and computer systems became impossible for me. I know now that itās executive functioning and processing issues most likely due to inattentive adhd or early childhood attachment disorder (or foetal alchohol syndrome).
š¤©Having been tested now I know I am most likely borderline dyslexic, dyspraxic and likely on the spectrum of ADHD somewhere. Helpfully the drs surgery seem to have lost my referral for further testing. I found out over a year later after having been āon the waiting listā forever that the initial referral should have been acknowledged within 6months.
š¤©I donāt let it hold me back. I hold a first class honours degree, two Masters Degrees and a Master of Philosophy qualification. I currently run my own art therapy business, am launching a new jewellery business and planning another biz running art therapy retreats. Iām not bragging, although I am blummin proud of myself and my hubby and kids for supporting me to do all that).
š¤©Iām posting this to raise awareness of invisible learning differences, to normalise them and to say F**k The Shame of them. Iāve known some or all this for at least 5years and rarely chat about it. But it does explain why I struggle to not do 15 things at once, drop and lose things a bazillion times a day and why it took me 5 times to pass my driving test!!!
š¤© If you are female in particular neurodiversity is still not widely recognised for girls and women. If you wonder if you are on the spectrum of ADHD please do listen to some podcasts such as āADHD as femalesā to learn more, and speak with your friends and family about how they can support you.
