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ashleyspencer

@[email protected]

My name is Ashley Lauren Spencer. I'm an AuDHD & neurodivergent entrepreneur, writer, and owner of The Autistic Innovator and the https://autistics.life mastodon instance.

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ashleyspencer , to ActuallyAutistic group
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

Autistic burnout + untreated ADHD =

impulse control issues + inability to force yourself to do anything + drained by no ability to function

Lots of walking pass a mess unable to make yourself clean it, then blame yourself for it.

Distracted, can't focus enough to do fun things and/or take care of yourself.

Forgetting everything. So burned out you can't remember important things + made worse by ADHD.

1/3

@actuallyautistic

ashleyspencer OP ,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

@MaJ1 @actuallyautistic it’s worth it to accept help. Why struggle when you don’t have to, you know? I was in denial about my ADHD diagnosis for years, despite 2 diagnosis. So sometimes whatever holds us back from getting help gets in the way, but it could be worth it for you to help improve what you go through. :RedHearts:

MaJ1 ,
@MaJ1@mastodonapp.uk avatar

@ashleyspencer @actuallyautistic Honestly I’m not in denial, it was never something that added up for me & my wife - a mental heath social worker , is adamant that I’m not. (That said she never caught that I was autistic & we’ve been together more than 20 years 🙄🤦‍♂️ ) (1/2)

ashleyspencer , to ActuallyAutistic group
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

I think it’s safe to assess the results of my poll.

Totaled across 3 social media sites:

583 people voted

I’m autistic / I’m ADHD - 165 votes

I’m autistic / Have ADHD - 360 votes

Have autism / Have ADHD - 53 votes

Have autism / I’m ADHD - 5 votes

There’s no right or wrong answer with how you choose to identify yourself.

@actuallyautistic @audhd

ashleyspencer OP ,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

Some said they identify as AuDHDer, and others said ADHDer.

Some choose neurodivergent or neurodiverse.

Whether you use options in the poll or something else, we get to decide what’s right for us individually, and no one has the right to tell us what label we should use. It’s a personal choice.

Thank you for participating.

❤️

@actuallyautistic @audhd

Poslovitch ,
@Poslovitch@wikis.world avatar

@ashleyspencer @actuallyautistic @audhd I use Neurospicy! It's funny! It's spicy! 😁

ashleyspencer , to ActuallyAutistic group
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

For AuDHD:

Which terms do you prefer to use?

Do you use ‘have’ or ‘I am’ to describe your autism and ADHD?

Personally, I’m the first one and use ‘I am’ to describe both.

Just curious to see how common each one is. 🙂

@actuallyautistic
@audhd

hauchvonstaub ,
@hauchvonstaub@nrw.social avatar

@ashleyspencer

I mostly use I'm autistic and have ADHD, because there isn't an established term for the property of being someone with ADHD yet.
I know about terms like "kinetic" or "pelagic", but I don't want to call myself something that I then always either have to explain, or risk people completely misunderstanding what I even said.
Another reason is, that saying "I'm ADHD" feels comparable to saying "I'm ASD", like I'm just identifying with a disorder.

@actuallyautistic @audhd

artemis ,
@artemis@dice.camp avatar

@hauchvonstaub @ashleyspencer @actuallyautistic @audhd
I really wish we had a better term for ADHD for this purpose. I say "I have ADHD" for the same reasons you do, but I don't really like identifying ADHD as something I "have" when it's literally part of who I am, not an optional add-on.

ashleyspencer , to ActuallyAutistic group
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

Any autistic artists who are also book lovers want to create some t-shirt designs for me?

Book loving and writing themes.

It’s for Autistic Bookshop.

30% from the authors book sales alone is nowhere near enough to break even (need 500 books sold a month), so added merch.

Example below.


@actuallyautistic

All I need is my cat and a good book t-shirt in a pink color
I am always writing a story in my head t-shirt in a navy color

H2O ,
@H2O@climatejustice.social avatar

@ashleyspencer @actuallyautistic don't forget the classic:

Be Careful or I'll Make You a Character in My Next Book

😎

ashleyspencer OP ,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

@H2O @actuallyautistic that’s a good one!

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