Overstimulation isn't the same as distraction, even for ADHD'ers. Getting distracted happens when our attention shifts without us intending it. Overstimulation is being pelted by SO MANY different options for our attention to latch onto, with or without us intending it (1/2)

Being neurodivergent or disabled can make interacting with police downright dangerous. In fact, half of all US police violence is enacted on people with disabilities, mainly disabled people of color. Source: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news... (1/2)

Ethical, participatory research exploring neurodivergent issues benefits everyone. Learning how executive function works for ADHD'ers, for example, tells us a lot about how it works for everyone, and how neurotypicals are likely to respond when their executive function is pushed to it's limits (+)

Being autistic isn't anybody's fault because WE AREN'T BROKEN. We don't need to be fixed. We need to be supported and included. We need to valued and listened to. This would solve most of the barriers autistic people experience

Life with interoseption issues is... something. Me, wanting to scream, tear my skin off, run into the forest, and start life over as a feral human: … … … Or am I just hungry…?

If being autistic changes the way that we communicate, which it does, public health messages, public safety information, and other potentially life saving information need to include autistic communication styles to adequately reach us

Struggles with processing the passage of time have a big impact on decisionmaking. If we struggle to estimate the length of tasks or feel like the future doesn't feel quite real, this can make coming a future-oriented decision much harder. Too bad ADHD'ers experience both of these all the time

Routines are so fickle for most people with ADHD. Even the smallest changes can completely destroy our routines. This can send us back to square one and require us to rebuild them seemingly from scratch... over and over and over and over and over 😵‍💫

Bullshit. Every time there's an article like this, the primary source is the lobbying organization for grocery stores. Then they use stories like this to close stores in low-income areas and add BS security theatre that makes everyone's shopping experience worse

How non-ADHD people pull all-nighters: This task is so important. It'll be hard, but I get it done before I go to bed. How ADHD'ers pull all-nighters: …oops… and it's 5am again

Therapists aren't a one-stop shop for all your psychological wellness needs; they should be one member of a multifaceted team. Other members can include psychiatrists, social workers, mentors, or coaches. It's about diversity of approach, skills, and knowledge to guide your path to self-improvement

One does not simply deep clean the house with ADHD. One must first step around the mess until it gets unbearably urgent, so we can fall into a hyperfocus-fueled cleaning binge

Having a flaky working memory, the way that a lot of ADHD'ers do, means that we need to do something to externalize that. This could be the much maligned advice to "write it down," but it could also be putting visual cues in your environment to support your memory, or practice memory techniques

Co-regulation offers us a way to build community through mutual self-regulation; by working together to support everyone's functioning, we can build strong connections built on mutual support. ...but what exactly does that look like in practice? Let's talk about 5 specific examples (🧵/19)

Decision paralysis can actually be a major contributor to impulsivity for ADHD'ers. A lot of energy and stress can build up behind this decision when we get stuck on a decions, and this can suddenly give way to a big, bold, or exciting move, smashing through paralysis with the power of impulsivity

Cognitive flexibility, or the ability to adapt our thinking as circumstances change, is so important to decisionmaking. Unfortunately, this means that folks who struggle with cognitive flexibility [such as ADHD, autistic, many other neurodivergent folks] can really struggle here (1/3)

Habits are triggered by environmental cues, either internal or external. Willpower, especially for ADHD'ers, isn't a sustainable cue! To give our habits the best chance to stick, we need to use cues that are consistent, sustainable, and relevant to us or we don't stand a chance

Me, doing the things that I need to survive: My ADHD: This is boring. You're BBBOOORRRRIINNNNGGG

For ADHD'ers, future plans often need a sense of urgency to to feel real to us. This sets us up for an all-or-nothing approach to events, where we feel we have to do everything right this moment or it will never happen. This tricks us into so many unsustainable behaviours, it's not even funny

Self-regulation doesn't always have to happen alone. In fact, I think that regulation can be a great way to build community and tangibly support people that you care about. So, let's dive into doing that and talk about co-regulation [🧵/11]

Self-regulation doesn't always have to happen alone. In fact, I think that regulation can be a great way to build community and tangibly support people that you care about. So, let's dive into doing that and talk about co-regulation [🧵/11]

You gotta love the way us autistic folks get 'I have an endless amount of information on this topic and a deep desire to tell everyone about it' AND 'processing too much information at the same time shuts me down' at the freaking same time

A major accommodation that autistic and ADHD people can give themselves is reducing the number of decisions we need to make. This could look like is automating decisions, relying on random chance, or drafting standard operating procedures for ourselves, such routines or checklists

I don't love seeing ND conditions as a tool or superpower, even one I need to learn how to wield. It makes me feel like it's something outside of me, an addition to my base me-ness. That's not how I experience neurodivergence. For me, it's a part of me; at the very core of what makes me, me

Because routines offer a sense of safety, predictability, and reward for many autistic people, they can be an incredibly important way of coping with stress, anxiety, and unexpected changes Please just let us have our little routines. Thank you ❤️

Complete Rando: How lazy do you have to be to not climb those couple stairs? Wheelchair user: … Stroke survivor: … Person with vertigo: … Person with nacrolepsy: … Person with MS: ...

Ethical, community-led research with neurodivergent communities benefits everyone. For example, learning about how sensory overload or language processing work for autistic folks can tell us so much about how these systems work for everyone

Some ADHD'ers don't feel a sense of reward from an accomplishment, or even external rewards, and this can make them think that rewarding and celebrating their accomplishment isn't necessary. This couldn't be further from the truth! (1/4)

What if… and hear me out here… we had sensory-friendly hours all the time? What a world that would be.

For any neurodivergent condition, the goal cannot be cure, escape, or preventing it impacting our lives. The goal must be to accept it as a part of us, and to take it into account when we're setting our goals, working towards them, or celebrating our progress and success along the way

Maybe it's the ADHD in me… but nothing quite hits the spot like having an epiphany at 3am after hours of wikipedia rabbit holes. ...but why do they only ever happen on days that I need to be up for 6:30 though?

ADHD'ers, you have to give your attention a job to do when we're not using ALL of it. If we don't, our attention can float and grab onto other things we don't want it to. This makes us lose focus on the things we do want to focus on in the moment

Therapy is often a necessary part of coping with neurodivergence because it allows us to gain insight from our experiences and unpack our emotional histories. However, most therapists are not experts on any specific type of neurodivergence, so this usually can't be our only psychological support

Anxiety is an common companion to many other neurodivergent conditions. This could be neurological or genetic in some capacity; however, anxiety is often a learned coping response to barriers we experience or social consequences we face due to our neurodivergent needs

My ADHD ass: I should screenshot this so that I remember it later. The later in question: The heat death of the universe

Breaking habits can be just as much of a struggle for ADHD'ers as starting new ones. Changing behaviour we've deeply ingrained requires mindfulness, consistency, and executive function; all things ADHD'ers can struggle more with than non-ADHD'ers

Cognitive flexibility is a necessary part of coping with ambiguity and uncertainty, but cognitive flexibility is harder for some people than others. Autistic people, ADHD'ers, and others who struggle with black-and-white things can often find ambiguity hard to deal with for this very reason

No one talks about how being diagnosed ADHD and/or autistic makes you realize that your parents have been rawdogging their neurodivergences like it's an olympic sport

Even though my life is very self-structured, self-initiating is still one of my AuDHD biggest challenges. Body doubling with a partner in crime, so to speak, who starts similar tasks at the same time or works in parallel with me, has been such an lifechanging strategy to help with this

Many autistic people experience heightened perception of sensory input AND increased sensitivity. This means we may notice sensations before other people do, AND small changes in the intensity of sensations may be more noticeable to us than they are for allistic people

Me, watching everyone else seemingly understanding what's expected of them in a social situation: …how do you do that!? O_O Teach me! Them: …do what? why are you so weird… Me: T-T

Processing sensory input differently is a major feature of autism and one that fundamentally changes our experience of the world around us. Situations that are fun, safe, or soothing for allistic people may be unbearable, painful, or dangerous to us… and also vice versa

Being autistic and/or ADHD can MASSIVELY impact our decisionmaking. Decisionmaking is a core executive function, requiring energy, concentration, working memory, and cognitive processing. Having barriers to any of these makes decisionmaking much more taxing. Guess who has barriers for all of them?

Conversation and communication are so much more than just the words we're saying. Yes, even in autistic communication. Getting a point across to another person is actually a REALLY difficult task. It's okay if it requires multiple interactions sometimes to accomplish that

Speedrunning the development of an ideal routine is almost never successful. New habits take energy and executive function; so, adding a bunch at once isn't sustainable. This is true for anyone, but ADHD'ers have fewer resources to add new habits, and are more prone to this all-or-nothing approach

Our behaviour is influenced by our environment, and doubly so for ADHD'ers. This means that changing our environment, and the cues that exist within our environment, can be a powerful path to changing our behaviour

Them: You're gifted. Here's a bunch of extra math and science work to keep you entertained. Me: Woohoo~ This totally makes up for my struggles with social relationships, task initiation, and time management. Thanks

Being autistic changes our relationship with routine. Routines and predictability reduces processing demands, and this is true for everyone. When processing demands are constantly threatening to overwhelm us, as they do for many autistic people, routine are necessary to feel safe from this overload

New sensory experiences can be extremely stressful when your relationship with the sensory world exists in extremes. This new food could be bliss and become a new hyperfixation… or it could emotionally ruin me on ever having had a tongue, but no inbetween

The way to meaningful address rejection sensitivity is to understand and internalize the fact that rejection is not fatal. The pain it causes is real and can't be magically erased, but it also doesn't need to be. You can experience that pain and still have fulfilling life and relationships