Less typical

I received an email in response to my note No Inputs Day.

“I hope I’m not being too forward in asking this, but have you considered you have ADHD? I recently received a diagnosis and some of the things you have written about seem symptomatic…”

Over the last couple of years, I’ve had multiple readers email to kindly ask if I’ve considered that I’m neurodivergent in some way. There’s been enough that I think it’s time to attempt to make a note about this rather than keep writing individual responses.

---

When my oldest kid was being assessed for school readiness, it was noted by school, daycare staff and health professionals that we might want to get him assessed for ASD and/or ADHD. Interestingly, every behaviour or trait identified as “non-typical” was something that I and/or Andy (my husband) had as children.

The Google searches I made while all this was going on resulted in me being fed a lot of ADHD and “Autism in adult women” content. If I let TikTok videos and Instagram memes do the diagnosing, I would 100% have both. However, after further reading up on these disorders, I’ve concluded that I have some characteristics, but I’m fairly confident I don’t have enough to warrant a diagnosis.

Could I get myself booked into a psych or OT and get a diagnosis?… Maybe? But it is very expensive, the waitlists in my local area are incredibly long, and I don’t want to take the spot of someone in dire need. I’m doing fine, really.

As I’m not willing to go ahead and get myself a proper assessment by a medical professional, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to use labels like ADHD for myself¹. I’m just a less typical neurotypical person, sharing my struggles and solutions in case anyone might relate.

Footnotes

1. I don’t judge others who do this. After all, access to medical care and diagnosis is a privilege. I just don’t think it is appropriate for me personally to do. ↩