Welcome to Now That's What I Call Autistic Perimenopause! Vol. 1

Kia ora from Aotearoa New Zealand,

Midlife neurodivergence diagnoses can feel problematic, and also incredibly freeing. Decades of working hard to feel and act neuronormative (or “normal” as they prefer to class themselves) is draining. At 42, autistic burnout is currently my general state of being, but fluctuations in my day to day functioning are my normal. Some days it is easy to put on the mask and go out into the world, other days it is all too hard. On those days, there needs to be chocolate in my house (Whittaker’s Creamy Milk, if you’re wondering), otherwise I can really spiral!

As a female late diagnosed PDA autistic ADHDer - or PDAuDHD, for short - it took a long time to work out why I felt so different from those around me. It has taken even longer for the academic research world to prioritise the neurodivergent outlook of life. Which is rather surprising, as academia is rife with neurodivergency.

I have turned to Substack to share my own lived experience, and to build a safe community where we can all share our vulnerabilities. Mainly because I detest small talk, so we can shortcut immediately to sharing our traumas here. Good times!

Photo by Sardar Faizan on Unsplash

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