Tag: work

Phones, Video Calls and Real-Time Panic: A Neurodivergent Guide

Posted on 20 December 202520 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

Many autistic and ADHD people don’t just “dislike” phone and video calls – they find them genuinely exhausting. Real-time processing, unspoken social cues and the pressure to respond quickly can leave you anxious before the call and wiped out afterwards. This article explores why calls are so hard, why preferring text, IM or email is a valid access need, and offers gentle scripts and small strategies for coping when calls are unavoidable and for asking for alternatives when that’s possible.

Vague Instructions Are an Access Issue

Posted on 17 December 202517 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

“Can you just pull something together?” can feel like a small request, but for many autistic and ADHD people it creates a huge amount of hidden work. This article looks at why vague instructions are an access issue, how our brains juggle multiple interpretations at once, and offers simple, kind scripts and questions to get clearer outcomes, deadlines and formats without feeling difficult.

How I Explain How I Work: Writing a Neurodiversity Statement

Posted on 17 December 202517 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

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.

Surviving Meetings When Your Brain Is Already Full

Posted on 15 December 202515 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

Meetings can look like “where the real work happens” from the outside and like sensory and cognitive overload from the inside. This article explores why meetings are so tiring for autistic and ADHD people, shares how I cope with agendas, notes, quiet fidgets and reset time, and offers small, realistic tweaks that can make your next meeting a little less overwhelming.

When Your Default Is “Go Quiet and Deliver”

Posted on 12 December 202517 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

Many autistic and ADHD people naturally “go quiet and deliver”: we disappear into the work and only update when there’s something concrete to show. This article explores why that happens, how it can worry managers who can’t see what’s going on, and offers tiny, realistic ways to agree check-ins and send short updates without turning into someone who lives in email.

Planning With Time Blindness: A Neurodivergent Guide

Posted on 12 December 202517 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

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.

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

Posted on 11 December 202517 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

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.

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

Posted on 9 December 202517 December 2025 by Andrew at Quietly Neurodivergent

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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