In true ADHD fashion, I typed a whole book and then lost it because I clicked on something else before finishing it. Anyway, here's a big ol' "me too" from me!
Oh my, the distraction wave hit you.... I got stressed reading your comment:D Did you manage to recover the work?? Did you have backups? Please tell me there's a happy ending!
Basically the gist was that it was an artist friend on the spectrum who helped put me on the right path. I always knew something was up. I was a high achiever and tested well, so the narrative I was given was that I couldn't concentrate because I was "just bored" and that I would do well if only I "applied myself." My friend and I had similar symptoms, and I always wondered if I might be a little on the spectrum (due to stereotypes I didn't understand), but it quickly became clear I was dealing with a different form of executive dysfunction.
I grew up feeling like a study in contrasts because I excelled in a lot of visible areas, meanwhile I was constantly trying to hide my areas of impairment...the parts of my life that were complete dumpster fires. Getting diagnosed and getting therapy has really helped me do something about the fires, but it's a work in progress.
Also, I absolutely devour audiobooks, and I read anything non-fiction at 2x speed or greater. Videos, too. 😂
Thanks so much for sharing your story Jennifer! It's interesting how often it's another person rather than ourselves who notices the important stuff. I feel like especially in a young age some of our behaviours are misinterpreted or ignored, while they should be properly noticed and given support. And therapy should absolutely be as avaiable to everyone as a gp..
You remind me a lot of my husband who won't touch a physical book, cause he gets distracted by reading but will listen to an audiobook at twice the normal speed as well...while I need to listen to everything twice with my eyes closed and, if I could, I'd put subtitles to everyone I talk to 🙈
Haha yep. I was an avid (book) reader as a kid, but now there are too many distractions. I just want to download the information or story directly to my brain while I do other stuff. The downside is that I probably don't retain information as well. I sometimes forget if I've already read a book and have to check digital receipts from the library. 😂
Hi Asia! I'd love to know more about your experience with being on the spectrum and building your career as a freelance. What kind of difficulties have you experienced? How do you accommodate yourself? cheers :)
Hi Bea, how are you? For me, being on the spectrum also comes with some obstacles and challenges. These mainly impact negatively my personal life, not so much my work.
When I was employed, I sometimes struggled with traditional work setups, the boss/employee dynamics and methods -especially bending to someone else’s standards, which made me uncomfortable because mine are always higher, but I pushed through them. Now that I’m my own boss, I’ve found a lot of peace. I organize my workspace and hours, and I get to decide how the business is done – it was a game-changer for me. 😊
I’m actually absolutely conivinced that some of my autistic traits enhance my work, in my current independent working setup, like a super power:). For example, I hold myself to really high standards, which my clients appreciate a lot! One specific challenge I face is something called ‘audio processing.’ This means I always prefer written words, instructions, and subtitles over spoken communication, because I retain everythign better - audio books are a nightmare for me:(
That’s just a brief overview, but there’s so much more to share– maybe you’d be interested in me making a video about this?
Hi Asia first of all thank you for sharing this with us, second of all “audio processing” shocked me, I didn’t know about it but I can totally relate to what you said. I always thought that I was just more visual oriented and well not good enough with some audio stuff. I would be interested in a video on the topic for sure and most of all on how you got tested and the entire proces that’s of course if it’s not too personal.
Hi Zuza! That could of course be the case! Most people are visual, but when a lot of those interesting quirks and more serious stuff get together, then the struggle begins. I'll start thinking then about how I could go about it in a video. I imagine the thing about getting tested looks slightly different depending on the country. I got mine here in NL and I didn't like the process nor the approach:/
Hi Asia, thank you so much for your detailed reply. I'd love to know about how these traits impact your personal life as well, if you don't mind sharing. I suspect I am autistic and ADHD, and I do identify with some of the things you said about work. I also work better when I don't have to submit to someone else's standards. However for me the worst challenge was juggling a lot of different tasks at the same time, it was very stressful for me to focus, prioritise and had to put extra work to stay organised. But I believe that's the ADHD part. I also have audio processing issues. I imagine that being an illustrator and having most of your client contact through email must help.
Like Zuza I'd love to know about the process of getting tested if you feel comfortable sharing it. I was so pleasantly surprised when you disclosed you are on the spectrum. It's not the first time a woman I look up to and resonate with discovers they are neurodivergent!
In true ADHD fashion, I typed a whole book and then lost it because I clicked on something else before finishing it. Anyway, here's a big ol' "me too" from me!
Oh my, the distraction wave hit you.... I got stressed reading your comment:D Did you manage to recover the work?? Did you have backups? Please tell me there's a happy ending!
Oh no haha, I meant I "typed a book" as a comment to you. I only lost about three paragraphs. Clearly I didn't explain that well! 😂
this is such a relief ! There I was, imagining months' worth of work lost.😨
Basically the gist was that it was an artist friend on the spectrum who helped put me on the right path. I always knew something was up. I was a high achiever and tested well, so the narrative I was given was that I couldn't concentrate because I was "just bored" and that I would do well if only I "applied myself." My friend and I had similar symptoms, and I always wondered if I might be a little on the spectrum (due to stereotypes I didn't understand), but it quickly became clear I was dealing with a different form of executive dysfunction.
I grew up feeling like a study in contrasts because I excelled in a lot of visible areas, meanwhile I was constantly trying to hide my areas of impairment...the parts of my life that were complete dumpster fires. Getting diagnosed and getting therapy has really helped me do something about the fires, but it's a work in progress.
Also, I absolutely devour audiobooks, and I read anything non-fiction at 2x speed or greater. Videos, too. 😂
Thanks so much for sharing your story Jennifer! It's interesting how often it's another person rather than ourselves who notices the important stuff. I feel like especially in a young age some of our behaviours are misinterpreted or ignored, while they should be properly noticed and given support. And therapy should absolutely be as avaiable to everyone as a gp..
You remind me a lot of my husband who won't touch a physical book, cause he gets distracted by reading but will listen to an audiobook at twice the normal speed as well...while I need to listen to everything twice with my eyes closed and, if I could, I'd put subtitles to everyone I talk to 🙈
Haha yep. I was an avid (book) reader as a kid, but now there are too many distractions. I just want to download the information or story directly to my brain while I do other stuff. The downside is that I probably don't retain information as well. I sometimes forget if I've already read a book and have to check digital receipts from the library. 😂
I forget what I read about the second I close the book, we could open a Bad Memory Club and put Dory in our logo :D
Hi Asia! I'd love to know more about your experience with being on the spectrum and building your career as a freelance. What kind of difficulties have you experienced? How do you accommodate yourself? cheers :)
Hi Bea, how are you? For me, being on the spectrum also comes with some obstacles and challenges. These mainly impact negatively my personal life, not so much my work.
When I was employed, I sometimes struggled with traditional work setups, the boss/employee dynamics and methods -especially bending to someone else’s standards, which made me uncomfortable because mine are always higher, but I pushed through them. Now that I’m my own boss, I’ve found a lot of peace. I organize my workspace and hours, and I get to decide how the business is done – it was a game-changer for me. 😊
I’m actually absolutely conivinced that some of my autistic traits enhance my work, in my current independent working setup, like a super power:). For example, I hold myself to really high standards, which my clients appreciate a lot! One specific challenge I face is something called ‘audio processing.’ This means I always prefer written words, instructions, and subtitles over spoken communication, because I retain everythign better - audio books are a nightmare for me:(
That’s just a brief overview, but there’s so much more to share– maybe you’d be interested in me making a video about this?
Hi Asia first of all thank you for sharing this with us, second of all “audio processing” shocked me, I didn’t know about it but I can totally relate to what you said. I always thought that I was just more visual oriented and well not good enough with some audio stuff. I would be interested in a video on the topic for sure and most of all on how you got tested and the entire proces that’s of course if it’s not too personal.
Hi Zuza! That could of course be the case! Most people are visual, but when a lot of those interesting quirks and more serious stuff get together, then the struggle begins. I'll start thinking then about how I could go about it in a video. I imagine the thing about getting tested looks slightly different depending on the country. I got mine here in NL and I didn't like the process nor the approach:/
Hi Asia, thank you so much for your detailed reply. I'd love to know about how these traits impact your personal life as well, if you don't mind sharing. I suspect I am autistic and ADHD, and I do identify with some of the things you said about work. I also work better when I don't have to submit to someone else's standards. However for me the worst challenge was juggling a lot of different tasks at the same time, it was very stressful for me to focus, prioritise and had to put extra work to stay organised. But I believe that's the ADHD part. I also have audio processing issues. I imagine that being an illustrator and having most of your client contact through email must help.
Like Zuza I'd love to know about the process of getting tested if you feel comfortable sharing it. I was so pleasantly surprised when you disclosed you are on the spectrum. It's not the first time a woman I look up to and resonate with discovers they are neurodivergent!