Category: Foundations

This category gathers the core pieces I’d most like people to read first. These are the foundations: quiet explanations of key ideas like time blindness, masking, burnout, low-spoon days and how to talk about being neurodivergent at work, in study and at home. If you’re not sure where to start, start here.

Neurodiversity Practical Guide for Managers

How to Support a Quietly Neurodivergent Employee: A Practical Guide for Managers

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Many managers want to support neurodivergent staff but quietly worry about getting it wrong. This article explains what “quietly neurodivergent” can look like at work, why masking and exhaustion are so common, and how clear expectations, written follow-up and small adjustments can make a big difference. It’s written in plain English so a neurodivergent person can share it with their line manager and say, “This is quite close to my experience.”

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Unfounded Overdiagnosis Concerns

Thinking About an Autism or ADHD Assessment When the World Is Shouting About “Overdiagnosis”

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Headlines about “overdiagnosis” and people gaming the system can make it harder to take your own struggles seriously. This article offers a quiet counterpoint: why many of us seek autism or ADHD assessment for clarity, self-understanding and fair support rather than money, how minimising phrases like “we’re all on the spectrum somewhere” miss the point, and why you’re allowed to ask questions about your own brain even in a hostile political climate.

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Guilt Free Saying No

Social Invitations, Guilt and Saying No Without Burning Bridges

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Around Christmas, New Year and other busy seasons, social invitations can pile up fast. For many autistic and ADHD people, every event carries hidden costs in energy, masking and recovery time. This article explores why invitations can feel so heavy, how to get honest about your social capacity, and offers gentle scripts for saying no – or “yes, but differently” – without burning your relationships or yourself out.

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Writing Neurodiversity Statement

How I Explain How I Work: Writing a Neurodiversity Statement

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Knowing you’re neurodivergent is one thing; explaining it to managers, tutors or coordinators is another. This article walks through how to write a short “how I work” neurodiversity statement, using a simple structure, example sentences based on my own statement, and ideas for adapting it to work, study and volunteering while still protecting your privacy.

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Neurodivergent Time Blindness

Planning With Time Blindness: A Neurodivergent Guide

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Time blindness isn’t about not caring; it’s about time feeling slippery, even when you want to be organised. In this article I share how planning actually works for me as an autistic adult juggling work, part-time PhD study, family life and volunteering, and offer small, realistic tools to make deadlines, projects and weekday mornings a little less chaotic.

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Low Spoons Day

Low-Spoon Days: Tiny Tools and Routines for When You Have No Energy

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Some days it feels like you wake up with no batteries and almost no spoons. This article looks at what “low-spoon” days are, how they show up in everyday life, and offers tiny, realistic tools and routines to help autistic and ADHD adults get through the essentials without burning out completely.

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Masking Neurodiversity

Masking, Burnout, and Quietly Falling Apart When You Get Home

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From the outside you might look calm and capable; at home you’re collapsing on the sofa, forgetting to eat and avoiding people. This article explores how long-term masking can feed into autistic burnout, what “quietly falling apart” can look like in everyday life, and offers small, realistic ways to unmask safely and protect your limited energy.

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Informing Others of Neurodiversity

Telling People You’re Neurodivergent: Who, When, and Whether to Say Anything

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Deciding whether to tell people you’re neurodivergent can feel huge. This article explores the pros and cons of disclosure with family, at work and in community roles, and shares how I’ve handled it so far as an autistic adult, employee, PhD student, parent and Beaver Scout Leader.

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Passing as "fine" at work

Passing as “Fine” at Work (When You’re Quietly Falling Apart)

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Many neurodivergent people look calm and capable at work while quietly falling apart afterwards. This article names that pattern of “passing as fine”, explores why autistic and ADHD adults so often do it, and offers small, realistic ways to make work 5–10% kinder to your brain.

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