[ID: Text Saying "My Personality Is Basically A Mix Between A Needy 5 Year Old Who Can't Control Her

And they say brunettes with dimples can’t stabilize the reactor core 😏

Reblog to give the person you reblogged it from the energy to do one (1) chore or maybe many

Fun little thought experiment. What would be the worst superpower to have with X disability?

I once had a landlord offhandedly mention that his mother had set this house on fire before. He and his wife lived on the first floor, and i rented the third.

Apparently his mom didn’t like his wife. So she set their house on fire. The house i was living in.

He assured me that everything was fine now and that this was years ago, just kinda laughed, smiled, and said ‘You know how moms are’

Yes. I know how moms are. I know how fucked up moms are as well. I have known many fucked up moms and fellow children of fucked up moms.

Attempted murder through arson is not typical mom behavior, even for a fucked up abusive mom

Oh, and his mother lived next door 🙃

Just yesterday, already tired, I tried to go to sleep but I felt like I literally forgot how to fall asleep.

I slept like an hour even though I barely slept the night before??

Do I need to buy more plushies? Is there some kind of sleep chant I need to listen to?

Source ~ Neurodivergent Insights

ADHD and Autistic Sleep

Part One: Sleep Struggles

Neurodivergent Sleep 101

Both ADHD and autism are associated with several sleep issues, including:

Insomnia

Sleep Walking

Sleep Terrors

Sleep apnea

Sleep paralysis

Narcolepsy

Flattened melatonin curve

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD)

Restless leg syndrome

Sleep Stats: Autism

Nearly 80% of Autistic children age 2 to 5 have sleep problems (Reynolds et al., 2019).

Autistic people tend to get less REM sleep. On average, we spend about 15% of our sleep in REM sleep (Allistics, on average, spend 25% in REM sleep). This means we need MORE sleep to get the same amount of REM as the average person (Buckley et al., 2010; Neumeyer et al., 2019).

Autistic people are more likely to experience insomnia, which includes everything from difficulty falling asleep to night waking and early morning rising (Furfaro, 2020).

Autistic people are more likely to have gene mutations that impact melatonin regulation & circadian rhythms (Furfaro, 2020).

Sleep Stats: ADHD

As many as 83% of ADHDers experience sleep disturbances, including nonspecific sleep disruptions, parasomnias, hypersomnia, and limb movement disorders (Sobanski, 2008).

Approximately 25-50% of ADHDers struggle with:

• Insomnia

• Circadian rhythm sleep disorders

• Narcolepsy

• Restless leg syndrome

• Sleep-disordered breathing

Nightmares and insomnia are also common among ADHD children. Up to 70% of ADHD children have sleep difficulties (Sciberras, 2020).

Causes of Neurodivergent Sleep Struggles

Common co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, and gastrointestinal disorders can interfere with sleep.

Sensory sensitivities can interfere with sleep

Sensory sensitivity to light can cause a person to avoid light during the day, further disrupting their circadian rhythm.

It is more common to have breathing-related sleep disorders, which can impact the quality of sleep.

ADHDers and Autists are more likely to have gene mutations that impact melatonin regulation and circadian rhythms. (Van der Heijden et al., 2007; Yan et al., 2020).

Health Consequences

On average Neurodivergent people experience less REM sleep. REM sleep is valuable for several reasons:

• We consolidate learning and memory during REM Sleep

• It is vital for physical and mental health

• REM sleep is critical for detoxing the brain • Less REM sleep affects serotonin and dopamine, influencing mood and mental health

• Disruptions to REM sleep impact neurotransmitters, which have implications for mood, sleep cycles, and more.

When we are sleep deprived, we are more likely to

• Be in car accidents

• Experience heightened pain and sensory difficulties,

• Have difficulty regulating emotions

• Have less resilience to stress

• Struggle with executive functioning

Sleep Supports

Throughout this sleep series I will be introducing the six "Buckets of Sleep Support" I draw from to support neurodivergent sleep struggles.

Sleep Hygiene

Sensory Supports

Relaxation Strategies

Sleep Stimulus

Sleep Routine

CBT-I

Taiw those space lemons and shove them into life's face!

This is one of the new, limited edition prints I've made. Get them now at www.tomgauld.com/shop

It was pure love - "pure" not as the opposite of filthy, but pure in the sense that pure uranium is pure. Not tarnished by thoughts of resentment or distrust, but also not dilluted nor watered down by things like common sense. Perhaps twinged slightly with pure madness, though that may have just been covergent evolution. They fill the same niche, after all.

The autistic feel of never asserting boundaries, not because you don’t understand that you deserve to have your boundaries respected, but because the social script of asserting boundaries while making sure that the other person doesn’t feel attacked is one that you never got the knack of delivering, so your only two options are “doormat” or “bitchy and difficult”

A series of 8 tweets on the experience of being autistic and ADHD (AuDHD) by @pot8um on twitter, image descriptions below cut.

I saved these shortly after being dx + medicated with ADHD last year. It was the first time I began to seriously consider the possibility that I was also autistic. 1/8

AuDHD is a constant tug-of-war— contradictions that exist simultaneously that I feel equally strongly about.

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Making spontaneous plans”, R text: “Getting very upset if those plans are interrupted” 2nd row, L text: “Struggling to organize”, R text: “Having a strong need for order”. By @autistic.qualia]

Each of these are so familiar to me, but I could never articulate my experiences with the right language. Also, if you don’t know what you’re experiencing is AuDHD, you don’t know what questions to ask. You didn’t know you were even supposed to *have* questions! 2/8

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Impulsively making purchases for a new hyperfixation”, R text: “Hyperfocus on researching the products” 2nd row, L text: “Struggling to be on time”, R text: “Upset when others are a few minutes late”. by @autistic.qualia]

I have phases of hyperfixation with certain things, and lifelong interest in others. Successfully executed plans / tasks is always my goal. (The perfectionism is too real.) I always get frustrated when I inevitably miss steps, regardless of my attention to detail. 3/8

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Hyperfixating on a wide variety of topics”, R text: “Also having long term special interests” 2nd row, L text: “Forgetting steps in plans”, R text: “Needing plans to execute perfectly”. by @autistic.qualia]

I *love* trying new foods… until it’s a bad experience, then I clam up and am reluctant to try again. When it comes to food, consistency is vital to me. My brain is far more active than I have spoons for. Most of my ideas strike when I’m freshly overloaded and spoonless. 4/8

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Enticed by novel foods”, R text: “Hypercritical of food taste and texture” 2nd row, L text: “Wanting new experiences”, R text: “Wanting to stick to what I know I like”. by @autistic.qualia]

I tend to hyperfixate on things that aren’t central to the task at hand. (I don’t want to say “on the ‘wrong’ thing” because I’m on my self-compassion shit ) Discovering my neurodivergence during the pandemic was surreal. Severe boredom, severe overload, severe whiplash. 5/8

[image description: Two-column text inside arrows. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, orange arrow, L text: “Misses details and makes mistakes on boring topics”, blue arrow, R text: “Notices small details and points out others’ mistakes”. 2nd row, purple arrow, L text: “Becoming easily understimulated”; Yellow arrow, R text: “Becoming easily overstimulated”. by @autistic.qualia]

Overthinking the stages of your emotional dysregulation is its own personal hell. When I’m lowest on spoons, I tend to ruminate the most. My thirst for knowledge is met by my shoddy working memory. I try recalling a fact that *I know* I read up on. Can’t. Frustration ensues. 6/8

[image description: Two-column text inside arrows. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, purple arrow, L text: “Struggling from emotional dysregulation”. Blue arrow, R text: “Being a logical and analytical thinker”. 2nd row, orange arrow, L text: “Struggling to retain information”; Yellow arrow, R text: “Wanting to learn everything”. by @autistic.qualia]

It’s hard for me to Start the Thing. Once I start, I NEED to ride that wave! If I’m taken out of the moment, idk when I’ll be able to start back up. If I don’t say what I’m thinking *while* I’m thinking it, it’ll be forever lost. (Trying my best to work on this. It’s hard!) 7/8

[image description: Two-column text inside purple and yellow arrows. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Having difficulty sitting still”, R text: “Hypersensitive to other people fidgeting”. 2nd row, L text: “Interrupting others when they are busy”; R text: “Hate being bothered while in hyperfocus”. by @autistic.qualia]

Please note: • These traits are infinitely more nuanced than a few tweets can possibly cover. • I do not speak for the entire autistic community. From @autisticqualia on IG, an outstanding AuDHD awareness account.

[image descriptions: a box of text at left reads “Having both ADHD & autism can sometimes feel like there are contradicting forces within you. Traits that seem incompatible on the surface can exist in the same person.” A box of text at right reads  “Everyone with ADHD & autism is different. These are the contradicting traits that I personally experience as someone with both ADHD and autism.”]

It's uncommon for me to see someone discussing the experience of being both austistic and ADHD, and this was articulated so well, I feel like it also describes my experiences. (The author is also an advocate for late diagnosis AuDHD adults, who has shared her experiences about working with dismissive, misogynist doctors.)

Bearing in mind that every individual is different, as noted by the tweet author, I feel like I am more autistic than I am ADHD, despite my ADHD diagnosis (and these two developmental disorders have many overlapping traits, of course).

I have never, ever understood the experience of "ADHD boredom" that I have seen some people describe. I am perpetually overstimulated, not understimulated, and I stuggle to process experiences and find enough time and space. Executive dysfunction also prevents me from starting/enjoying activities, as is typical with ADHD. It's not just a thing that makes it difficult to work on stressful or boring tasks; it prevents you being being able to commence fun things, like reading for enjoyment or watching a TV show you want to watch. And when I do manage to start the book/TV show, the stimulus is often overwhelming and I don't get very far.

#this human will accept any harmful interference

#this human will not generate any harmful interference