Episode 5: Diagnosis Stories (Part 2) — Early Signs and Misdiagnosis
Divergent Conversations
The Disorientation of Childhood
"I have such little memory of childhood because my parents got divorced at when I was five and it was a really volatile, traumatizing divorce," she says. "I would eat like, um, not Play-Doh, but like, I would definitely like bite and chew and smell everything,. especially like silly play-doh stuff." She recalls being obsessed with celebrity crushes including Jonathan Taylor Thomas or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
For many adults who are diagnosed later in life, their diagnosis story often begins with a misdiagnosis story.
It's not uncommon for these adults to go through childhood and some adult life just feeling like they are a bit more weird or different than a lot of the people around them.
It can even be a somewhat painful experience as they try to find answers and explore the reasons why they just don't seem to fit in and why they present themselves the way they do.
If you have been exploring the possibility that you might be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed autistic, ADHD, or another neurodiverse diagnosis and want to explore more about what that might look like, this episode is for you.
Top 3 reasons to listen to the entire episode:
- Understand some signs of autism and ADHD in early childhood and teen years, and how they can be misdiagnosed or misunderstood.
- Identify ways that undiagnosed autism and ADHD can impact development around and interactions with environments and people and manifest self-soothing habits, as well as how to identify what grounds you and helps you regulate and cope with things that cause you discomfort.
- Hear the personal stories of Megan and Patrick prior to diagnosis and how they showed up in their childhood and teenage years.
Undiagnosed autism and/or ADHD can have a huge impact on the way an individual shapes their behavior, beliefs, and relationships in the world, and finding answers to a lifetime of questions only in adulthood can feel frustrating and confusing but also offer a sense of relief and comfort. It's important to explore what helps you regulate your body, find comfort, self-soothe, and cope with stress to live a life that is designed around your uniqueness.
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✨ The Autistic Burnout Workbook:
I'm Dr. Megan Anna Neff, owner of Neurodivergent Insights, and I'm excited to announce the release of my book, The Autistic Burnout Workbook. I'm running a special deal for those who support my work. After you order, you will get a coupon code that you can use toward our store for the same amount. For example, the workbook costs $18.99, so after purchase, you'd get a credit of $18.99 to use in our digital shop or in our Etsy shop, which gets you another digital workbook of your choosing for free. This is technically a pre-order promotion that was originally set to end on March 10th, but for listeners of the podcast, I'm going to extend this deal, so if you buy the book in the next month, you can also redeem this special. Thank you for supporting my work. It means so much to me and I hope that you will find this a helpful resource for you as you continue to build a life that is a bit more resilient to autistic burnout.
- Use the following link to grab this offer: neurodivergentinsights.notion.site/17ea17a4bb8b8034ab2bf9b03c560a64
- After this deal ends, you can use this link to purchase this workbook: simonandschuster.com/books/The-Autistic-Burnout-Workbook/Megan-Anna-Neff/9781507223062
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💬 Join Divergent Conversations Underground
Divergent Conversations Underground is a space for messy conversations, real connection, and unfinished thoughts in a neurodivergent-affirming community. If you’d like to go deeper with us into more nuanced, searching conversations, join here: divergentconversations.substack.com
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Mentioned in this episode:
The Autistic Burnout Workbook
I'm Dr. Megan Anna Neff, owner of Neurodivergent Insights, and I'm excited to announce the release of my book, The Autistic Burnout Workbook. I'm running a special deal for those who support my work. After you order, you will get a coupon code that you can use toward our store for the same amount. For example, the workbook costs $18.99, so after purchase, you'd get a credit of $18.99 to use in our digital shop or in our Etsy shop, which gets you another digital workbook of your choosing for free. This is technically a pre-order promotion that was originally set to end on March 10th, but for listeners of the podcast, I'm going to extend this deal, so if you buy the book in the next month, you can also redeem this special. Thank you for supporting my work. It means so much to me and I hope that you will find this a helpful resource for you as you continue to build a life that is a bit more resilient to autistic burnout. Use the following link to grab this offer: https://neurodivergentinsights.notion.site/17ea17a4bb8b8034ab2bf9b03c560a64 After this deal ends, you can use this link to purchase this workbook: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Autistic-Burnout-Workbook/Megan-Anna-Neff/9781507223062
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