Flourishing

The continuation of understanding where my neurodevelopmental challenges sit have been where being involved with others, such as a network group at work and a peer support group I set up on WhatsApp, after the online groups offered by a local service came to an end, have come into their own because I’ve been able to talk and meet with others in my own neuro-circle. I want to move away from using the terminology of tribe, I have found the neurodiverse collective to be far larger than I ever first imagined. Let’s call it my Neuro-network. Like mycelium they spread so far and wide, giving nourishment and wise counsel as they go.

For me this has helped hugely, not only with my acceptance of self but also bringing greater understanding and knowledge to where my strengths lie and not to focus on the things I have considered weaknesses. I’ve even had a turn around on those. My diagnosis has given me an additional backbone to lean up against when I need to. It’s like finding that the collective unconscious has been made real.

For me this has been quite the realisation as I feel far more confident about understanding my differences and being able to verbalise these and explain them in such a way that others can then help and support me as I need it. Struggling to know what you need to ask for because you don’t know what you need to support you has probably been the biggest challenge throughout my life. I know that I am capable of so much more, in the way of actually having the confidence to go for what it is that I’ve always been innately good at. Also understanding this means that I don’t scatter my energy so far and wide now, where it has been far too easy to get confused about what I should be doing, or think I should be doing, to fit in with the rest of neurotypical society.