UNLEARNING NORMAL: 10 rules that punish ADHD & autistic brains

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox talk about what it really means to unlearn normal after growing up ADHD and autistic in a world built around rules that were never designed for their brains. 

They reflect on the expectations they were taught to follow — around discipline, behaviour, productivity, emotional control, and “trying harder” — and how those rules quietly shaped their sense of self.They break down the rules they internalised growing up: being told to sit still, cope quietly, make eye contact, push through discomfort, and behave “appropriately.” Rules that were framed as character-building, but instead led to masking, shame, burnout, and the belief that something was fundamentally wrong with them.

This episode is about recognising those rules for what they were, questioning whether they ever deserved authority in the first place, and beginning the process of letting them go. Not to become someone new — but to finally stop forcing themselves to be someone they were never meant to be.

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