The Neurodiversity Thread

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I would add mine but it’s mostly my favourite Youtubers, anything involving cooking (been binging Gordon ramsey’s 24 hours to hell and back), police/ambulance shows. I look forward to Saturday night because I love Saturday night tv
 
shadowcat5 said:
This is going to sounds strange but I’m wondering if anyone else has this (very first world and pathetic) issue.

I really find it hard to find things to watch. I feel like there is almost too much option between TV with hundreds of channels, all the streaming services, on demand and YouTube. I spend most of the day just flicking between all of them. Now I’m pissed off because it is
4pm and I’ve wasted yet another “chill in front of the tv” day doing nothing.
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Yes! I'm overwhelmed by the options. If I'm tired I struggle to even choose what loaf of bread to buy in a supermarket. I just can't watch new TV things, it's the same stuff on loop for me to the point where I don't even have to watch things cos I can recite entire episodes from memory. Only exceptions being the Bob Mortimer & Paul Whitehouse fishing programme and Masterchef which I watch with my OH. Forget going to the cinema and watching an new entire film, I couldn't do it.

Meg78 said:
Another vote for watching the same comfort shows on a loop 🙋🏻‍♀️


Maybe we could all share our favourites here as suggestions for the others?
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I watch Ricky Gervais' Extras almost daily. It's funny and familiar and I know it line by line.
 
I was diagnosed with ASD earlier this year at the age of 38. It explains a lot about things that have happened throughout my life.
I feel bad for occasionally feeling anger towards my mother who apparently "thought there was something wrong with me" as a child but never thought to get it looked into. But on the other hand I'm extremely secretive about my thoughts and feelings and I became very good at masking. Then at 16 I developed depression and anxiety which again I hid for many years. But at 19 I got a job which I loved and enabled me to use my "special interest" at the time. But that place closed down and I was made redundant. Since then my "career" has been a succession of dismissals due to illness (depression/anxiety and associated symptoms), or I have just left with no job to go into. Repeated bouts of CBT etc did duck all. I managed to cope quite well until 2018 when I started to became very paranoid about work - that people were talking about me online, or they were altering my work to make it look like I'd made a mistake. I couldn't stand listening to people chat about their lives/husbands/partners/children/houses/ etc, it just felt like they were rubbing it in that I was unusual in that I don't have those things and probably never will. I couldn't take it anymore and managed to get a GP to listen to me who referred me for ASD assessment.

That last job ended in another dismissal in July '21. Since then I've been on Universal Credit and I literally don't know what to do.

I've been attending courses run by my local Mind Wellbeing Centre, which are quite good, but I'm doing the same courses multiple times and it just seems like nothing sticks.

A previous poster mentioned dyscalculia, I strongly suspect I have this. Never got to grips with numbers. Can't work in a shop because the anxiety of getting change etc wrong is too much. You'd have thought my school would have noticed when I was in the bottom set for maths (and struggling) yet in the top set for everything else.
Then some people think everybody with autism is amazing at maths and you have to explain...

Fifah1907 said:
Omg this!! I literally watch Gilmore Girls on repeat, then watch the revival of that and then go back to the start and watch series 1 again because I can’t cope with the choice available.


ADHD (and i think undiagnosed autism) 👋🏻
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I've done this my whole life. Started with If Wishes Were Horses and The Goonies when I was a kid.
Nowadays it's comedies like Frasier, Family Guy, Kath and Kim... And comedy-drama/drama set in the 1920s/1930s bizarrely.

Looking back I learnt a great deal of how to mask from watching television, I'd see the expressions people made when talking to each other and copy and practice them. Kim Tate from Emmerdale used to press her lips together somehow, I got that down pat 😂

Also used to repeat phrases I'd heard on TV.
 
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Another struggle I have and wondering if others do too,

Adjusting! Especially from weekend to weekday and back. Monday is a horrible day for me cause I am so overwhelmed and exhausted from having to quickly switch from free day to full routine day. I thrive in a routine so it's not that that's the issue. It's more that my brain can't keep up with the switch. I feel like I spend the weekend relaxing from my week, only to be launched back into the week again.
 
shadowcat5 said:
Another struggle I have and wondering if others do too,

Adjusting! Especially from weekend to weekday and back. Monday is a horrible day for me cause I am so overwhelmed and exhausted from having to quickly switch from free day to full routine day. I thrive in a routine so it's not that that's the issue. It's more that my brain can't keep up with the switch. I feel like I spend the weekend relaxing from my week, only to be launched back into the week again.
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Yes! And when the weekend comes, I'm absolutely exhausted and want to spend all of it just not talking to anybody.
 
chickhicks86 said:
I know this isn't what this thread is for, but I'm parent to a neurodiverse (non verbal) child and it's really interesting to read this and see why he may struggle with some things and why he does certain things. Very enlightening reading, thank you.
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Oh no you’re welcome! 🤗

Raising awareness is so important, there’s still not enough out there
 
chickhicks86 said:
I know this isn't what this thread is for, but I'm parent to a neurodiverse (non verbal) child and it's really interesting to read this and see why he may struggle with some things and why he does certain things. Very enlightening reading, thank you.
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I didn’t make this thread so I don’t really have authority to say this but feel free to ask any questions you want answers too. I can’t speak for anyone else of course but I’ll be happy to answer them as best as I can from my own experience and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way ❤️
 
chickhicks86 said:
I know this isn't what this thread is for, but I'm parent to a neurodiverse (non verbal) child and it's really interesting to read this and see why he may struggle with some things and why he does certain things. Very enlightening reading, thank you.
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I would have loved to have a parent(s) who was willing to learn when I was diagnosed. I grew up in France, where ADHD still isn’t a thing even nowadays and that combined with my gran telling my mum that I was just misbehaved and needed ‘to just concentrate’ I was basically left on my own!
 
So glad I found this thread. I was looking up Autism at the weekend for my daughter (4yo) and my first thought was it described me to a T, my next thought was my daughter is also showing some traits.

I asked at school if she is playing with other children and they said no she plays alone, when they encouraged her she would only play side by side and did not interact.

They asked me if we’d want them to keep encouraging her or just let her be and I honestly don’t know what is best for her. I think she must have spent a whole year at nursery playing by herself and nobody flagged it. Bit when at the park she will happily play with one friend. Noise can overwhelm her so I wonder if that is preventing her from playing with friends.

I’m so emotional at the minute about everything and I just feel useless. I want to start the diagnosis process before she learns to mask things, which I think she already does. School used to exhaust me from trying to conform (life does now tbh) I just don’t want her to have the same experience I had.
 
Bereb45 said:
So glad I found this thread. I was looking up Autism at the weekend for my daughter (4yo) and my first thought was it described me to a T, my next thought was my daughter is also showing some traits.

I asked at school if she is playing with other children and they said no she plays alone, when they encouraged her she would only play side by side and did not interact.

They asked me if we’d want them to keep encouraging her or just let her be and I honestly don’t know what is best for her. I think she must have spent a whole year at nursery playing by herself and nobody flagged it. Bit when at the park she will happily play with one friend. Noise can overwhelm her so I wonder if that is preventing her from playing with friends.

I’m so emotional at the minute about everything and I just feel useless. I want to start the diagnosis process before she learns to mask things, which I think she already does. School used to exhaust me from trying to conform (life does now tbh) I just don’t want her to have the same experience I had.
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I’m no expert by any means but it could be that she 1. Doesn’t connect with anyone in her class and 2. Finds one on one interaction more fun and less intense.

1: She could not have the same interest as them. I was a little old woman as a kid lol. I liked reading and was obsessed with natural disaster. The girls in my class we’re not interested in either😂

2: Autistic girls tend to mimic their environment. Playing with a group could be too many personalities for her and she doesn’t know who she’s “supposed” to be. Managing one interaction is a lot easier.
 
shadowcat5 said:
I’m no expert by any means but it could be that she 1. Doesn’t connect with anyone in her class and 2. Finds one on one interaction more fun and less intense.

1: She could not have the same interest as them. I was a little old woman as a kid lol. I liked reading and was obsessed with natural disaster. The girls in my class we’re not interested in either😂

2: Autistic girls tend to mimic their environment. Playing with a group could be too many personalities for her and she doesn’t know who she’s “supposed” to be. Managing one interaction is a lot easier.
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Thanks so much for this insight. I might just ask them to leave her to it. Not that they were forcing her to join group play but I don’t want her being uncomfortable. she seems to have a ball playing one on one when at the park. And two of her park friends are in school. I just hate the thought of her feeling left out/lonely.

Edit: word correction
 
Fifah1907 said:
I would have loved to have a parent(s) who was willing to learn when I was diagnosed. I grew up in France, where ADHD still isn’t a thing even nowadays and that combined with my gran telling my mum that I was just misbehaved and needed ‘to just concentrate’ I was basically left on my own!
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I do try my best for him, advocate for him and to meet his needs, but it's so different to read here the reasons behind things! For example, him liking to constantly watch the same film or even the same few minutes of a film, I now know that it might not be because it's his favourite, it might be because he's so overwhelmed with all the choice so he goes for what he is familiar with.
 
chickhicks86 said:
I do try my best for him, advocate for him and to meet his needs, but it's so different to read here the reasons behind things! For example, him liking to constantly watch the same film or even the same few minutes of a film, I now know that it might not be because it's his favourite, it might be because he's so overwhelmed with all the choice so he goes for what he is familiar with.
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Being non verbal it may also be a way of learning language, repeating the same clip over and over, it’s comforting to know what’s coming next and practice in a safe environment…. Although all toddlers do repetition with tv shows if my friends’ eye twitches are anything to go by so I think sadly you never stood a chance of escaping it!
 
I've been listening to a really good podcast that some of you might interesting - It's called the testing psychologist. They do ones on ADHD too but for my fellow autistic people, there is an episode called 'TTP #119: Autism in Women and Girls w/ Dr Donna Henderson'. Aired may 2020. It is so insightful and I feel really understood. It's specifically about women and girls but it could be helpful for parents with autistic kids too.

There are some words and phrases that I disagree with but overall it's a great podcast
 
hey guys,

another tattle user directed me here, i’m going to copy and paste what i put on another thread about my son and add some bits in, i’d be really appreciative of any advice please.

my son is 5 nearly 6 and is on the verge of being excluded from school and i don’t know what to do anymore, i’ve tried everything possible including getting him assessed but the GP won’t even entertain an appointment with them until he’s 6 let alone a referral.

He doesn’t sleep, no matter what i do or the routine he just does not sleep until he’s at the point of exhaustion where he pretty much collapses.

he has an obsession around any technology mainly phones, computers and watches but even down to things like smart meters. He doesn’t have access to anything other than a TV so he will constantly draw the items he is interested in and if the slightest thing on the drawing is wrong he will have a melt down.

He also likes to know exactly how things work and operating systems etc and is extremely knowledgeable on anything to do with technology.

he constantly puts things in his mouth, he will have meltdowns over certain foods, when he has a meltdown he will kick, scream, bite, scratch and throw things.

He doesn’t seem to have an “off” switch, he talks and it’s like his brain goes a thousand miles an hour and he will talk and talk about his subject of interest but is not engaged when something else is spoken about.

he constantly and consistently interrupts conversations and has no perception of personal space with anyone.

sorry for the long post and thanks for reading x
 
AT_16 said:
hey guys,

another tattle user directed me here, i’m going to copy and paste what i put on another thread about my son and add some bits in, i’d be really appreciative of any advice please.

my son is 5 nearly 6 and is on the verge of being excluded from school and i don’t know what to do anymore, i’ve tried everything possible including getting him assessed but the GP won’t even entertain an appointment with them until he’s 6 let alone a referral.

He doesn’t sleep, no matter what i do or the routine he just does not sleep until he’s at the point of exhaustion where he pretty much collapses.

he has an obsession around any technology mainly phones, computers and watches but even down to things like smart meters. He doesn’t have access to anything other than a TV so he will constantly draw the items he is interested in and if the slightest thing on the drawing is wrong he will have a melt down.

He also likes to know exactly how things work and operating systems etc and is extremely knowledgeable on anything to do with technology.

he constantly puts things in his mouth, he will have meltdowns over certain foods, when he has a meltdown he will kick, scream, bite, scratch and throw things.

He doesn’t seem to have an “off” switch, he talks and it’s like his brain goes a thousand miles an hour and he will talk and talk about his subject of interest but is not engaged when something else is spoken about.

he constantly and consistently interrupts conversations and has no perception of personal space with anyone.

sorry for the long post and thanks for reading x
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I don’t like to armchair diagnose but does sound like Asperger’s. He sounds very smart!
 
AT_16 said:
he is so so intelligent honestly, he is super smart he catches on to anything he is interested in immediately and he writes and reads so well too and can speak very well for his age
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If he is diagnosed with Asperger’s don’t despair, neurodiversity is honestly a difference not a disability. I can think of at least ten CEOs and tech genuises with Asperger’s. The world can be cruel but he’ll be fine. And don’t listen to mumsnet etc as gospel truth, I saw one thread where they were saying dyslexic kids had to go to special schools and it’s such shite :)

I’d be a little careful about jumping to conclusions about things as well. Take advice from professionals, but be aware they’re sometimes working off a checklist. For example I’m dyspraxic, not autistic, and it was thought I was autistic for years as I wouldn’t play ball games in the playground. I didn’t like the games because I found the coordination aspect difficult, nothing to do with the other kids. It’s sometimes obvious there’s a ‘difference’ but not how severe it’s going to be- for example I wasn’t great at eye contact up until like age 11 but was fine as a teen :)
 
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