Spikey NeuroDivergent profile.

Originally posted 2021

This post is about 'why' you need to understand us. Our health and wellbeing is balancing on how you understand us.

(More info about Masking on other posts).

It is so very hard to describe our NeuroDivergence.

Many peers write so well but I genuinely do not think our brain is easy to understand if not experienced. First of all, we have a spikey profile. It changes. This confuses people.

Sometimes we mask, sometimes we are burnt out, and sometimes we are on fire, being amazing.

There are times we need to advocate for ourselves, to employers, to government agencies, to family and friends, for legal purposes and to get our needs met, financially, physically and emotionally.

We can self advocate during a positive spike.

We are articulate and capable.

However, if we tell you of our struggles during this positive spike, you may disbelieve/invalidate/gaslight/deny them. Our positive presentation disproves our needs. You may think we are a Fraud.

If we are having a negative spike, we 'cannot' advocate for ourselves easily 'because' we are compromised at that time. We have no spoons at the very moment we need our intelligence to defend us and to show why we need support. With no spoons, we cannot engage fully.

During a yuk spike, many need to isolate, retreat and repair our spoons/energy, so we can come back and advocate as soon as.

Our difficulties and disability, our recovery, that recovery time, means we cannot then jump the hoops thrown down, we cannot follow the processes, nor fill in the forms so we can't even ask for help.

Or if we have asked for help or have started the process, but are then recovering in burnout, we are discharged and told we have not engaged.

We are f#cked either way.

This is the issue with our sometimes invisible, changing, spikey disability.

We are invalidated, disbelieved, and ignored.

Note: not every NeuroDivergent identifies as having a disability.

We are hidden. We are delicate. We can fall and we are mighty. We can be fun and we change dependant on many things.

We are a human Jenga. Delicate but mighty, wobbly, and easily knocked down.

This is why we need advocates, tag teams and peers, holding each other up. We need Communities, supporting each other. We need better awareness.

And we need you to believe us and learn about us.

Please note that some cannot self advocate at all. Some NeuroDivergents are not spikey. I write from my own perspective and I am not every NeuroDivergent person.

Picture: Jenga. Great game for my ADHD. Short, sharp and titillating, just like me.