It's not your fault you get distracted.
It's not your fault you need to be excited to tune in.
It's not your fault you can't move forward without more context.
It's not your fault your reaction is bigger than someone else's.
The neurodivergent brain is uniquely equipped to see things from a different perspective. We live inside a choose-your-own-adventure book. As children, our needs may have been met with frustration from our caregivers. Some of us were punished for breaking unspoken rules that required us to break ourselves in order to attempt to comply. When we struggle, we internalize it as a character flaw.
Things that may be hard for neurodivergent kids:
sitting still
calming themselves down
getting dirty
expressing frustration and anger in non-physical ways
self-soothing
finishing their work
withholding opinions
slowing down to ask permission
hearing what was said (huh? what?)
falling asleep alone/easily
balancing on one foot
picking up toys
eating certain foods
switching gears throughout the day
Do you see yourself in this list?
I made it to adulthood without realizing that my sensitivity to a lot of competing noises and difficulty falling asleep is common for neurodivergent people. We are shaped by our neurobiology, ancestry, and life experiences, including decades of negativity from people and systems who label us 'not normal.'
We move through the world differently, and that is not our fault. Neurodivergence is a way of being often viewed as inferior. It is tragically misunderstood and stigmatized.
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