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Kass

ND Type/s: Tourette’s syndrome
What do you do: I’m a full-time PhD student
Where do you live: Melbourne, Australia

 

 

 

 

 

How did you start your day, do you have a morning routine, and what do you have for breakfast, do think a good diet is important?
I usually start my day by getting my son ready for school, answering any work emails, and working on any current projects. So I’m very busy in the mornings, but I try to eat a healthy diet because that’s so important in keeping your energy levels up, and is so beneficial for your health and wellbeing.

How do you stay active?
Having such a heavy work schedule I find it difficult to find the time to stay physically active as it’s mostly mental work that I’m doing. But I love walking my dog by the stream near my house.

What do you do to relax?
I’m not sure if it’s related to being neurodiverse but I’m an avid gamer! I love massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs), and I have a group that I play with in the United States every Sunday. I find that I’m able to completely zone out whilst I’m playing. My tics relax and I get completely absorbed in the fantasy world that I’m playing in. Games are a massive way for me to wind down and have been instrumental in successfully regulating my stress levels, countless times.

Do you have a favourite word or phrase?
Do your best, be kind to yourself, do what you enjoy, but also challenge yourself because that’s how we grow.

Have you read anything good recently? Is there a book that changed your life?
I mostly read psychology books, and I’d love to have more time to read non-fiction true crime – a massive interest of mine. But a book that has stuck with me all my life – as cliche as it may be – is Harry Potter. This series of books resonated with me at a young age in a very deep way. I think what has been so influential about them was Harry’s ability to be resilient, kind-hearted, strong, and brave despite not having a strong support system and an immensely adverse childhood experience. This is something that inspires me to do my PhD in psychology – to explore the nature of adversity in those who may be more disadvantaged socially, but still show such resilience, strength, and courage.

Which 5 albums will you want to have with you on a desert island?
I like a bit of everything when it comes to music, but as I’d be on a desert island, I think I’d like some reggae, electronic dance music, and the Big Lebowski soundtrack!

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and who was it from?
The best piece of advice I ever received was from my 10 year old son. He told me that it’s okay to be myself, and if that’s different that’s okay too. He was the one who encouraged me to be open with my Tourette’s and not be ashamed of who I am. Just thinking about it now makes me emotional, I’m so proud to be his mum.

When you were younger, what did you want to be when you were a grown-up? And what was your first Job?
Haha, when I was younger, I honestly just wanted to be a wizard – probably due to Harry Potter… but when I realised I wasn’t getting my letter to Hogwarts, I decided to work in hospitality. My first proper job was as a bartender in a nightclub in Scotland, which I absolutely loved! I was a bartender over there for a few years, and worked in clubs in Australia for a few more before deciding to become serious about studying and pursuing my passion for psychology.

What do you do now and how did you get into it?
Right now I’m a full time PhD student in Melbourne! I got into it because I’ve always been fascinated by people, but have never really felt as though I fit in. Now that I’m older, I realise this may be due to my neurodiversity. But having this experience has really made me passionate about psychology in general, because I want to try and understand the nature of the human experience. This is what led me to study autism research – because it’s such a fascinating and unique spectrum of conditions. The aim of my PhD is to explore critically important issues for the autistic community (particularly in relation to the understudied area of gender), by implementing inclusive research practices and being guided by feedback from the autistic community. I’m hoping that my research will inform the direction of future research and the implementation of prevention and support strategies/services for autistic individuals of varying gender identities and sexual orientations who may be at risk/have a history of being a victim of varying forms of interpersonal violence.

Creativity and thinking differently are often credited to neurodiversity. Would you say that is true? And if yes, could you give an example?
I absolutely agree with this. I find that my neurodiversity provides me with a unique perspective when examining the social world, and I find the nature of human interaction fascinating – both good and bad. This intense fascination and my ability to hyper-focus enable me to spend endless hours learning about and pursuing these interests.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus, what do you do to get back on track? Do you have any hacks, tips or do you use any apps to keep you on track during the day?
This is an important point to mention because I think that getting overwhelmed and being unfocused are two of the key barriers to achieving what you set out to achieve. Personally, I struggle with this myself, but I find that having soothing music playing while I work helps, and getting work done in the morning when you’re the most focused is also very important (or whatever period of the day this might be for you). If I get too overwhelmed, I find gaming to be an “off-switch” that enables me to escape to another world, allowing time for my emotions/stress-levels to self-regulate.

What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is seeing people be kind, brave, courageous, and strong, despite the adversity they may face. I think the strength and kindness in the human spirit is the number one thing that makes me feel a sense of deep happiness and connection to others.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

My biggest achievement, aside from having a beautiful son who I’m so proud of, is doing a PhD in an area I’m so passionate about. I think the possibility of being able to help neurodiverse individuals who experience adversity means the absolute world to me, and I’m humbled by the experience.

Do you have a Positive ND message to the world? Imagine you have a £5 million advertising campaign to spend on billboards all over the world > What would you say?
As my son once told me, never be afraid to be who you are.

Final question – where can people find out more about you. Do you have a website and social media pages.

My social media handle is ticsntatts – I’m on

instagram

twitter

youtube

Feel free to follow me if you want to see videos about my experience living with Tourette’s syndrome as an adult.

Categories
+Stories

Angela Betts

Name: Angela Betts
ND Type/s: Dyslexia
What do you do: Librarian
Where do you live: Nottingham, England

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did you start your day – do you have a morning routine – and what do you have for breakfast, do think a good diet is important?

I’m not the most organised of people so my routine changes. For breakfast I usually have a smoothie or toast with peanut butter and fruit. I really enjoy cooking, I’m vegan and put a lot of thought into my meals both for health and environmental reasons. I’ve been working from home since March 2020 and one of the benefits of this for me is that I can have BBC6 music on in the background while I work.

How do you stay active?

I like to do Zumba mainly on the Ninetendo switch or YouTube and play basketball in the garden with the kids. I also enjoy walking and walked 100 miles in March this year for the World Wildlife Trust.

What do you do to relax?

Reading would be number one on the list. I struggled to read during the first lockdown, which was very frustrating. I think adjusting to working from home, home-schooling three kids and losing some of the time to unwind on the journey home from work all played a part. But I started reading again first via short story audio books and now I’m back reading print and listening to a more diverse range of audio books. Pre lockdown my husband and I went to lots of gigs, Nottingham has some great venues and we’re in easy reach of other cities too. One of the last gigs we went to was Vampire Weekend which was amazing, I totally let go and enjoyed the music. As a family we’re big film fans, especially Marvel & Star Wars films. My son goes to sleep reading a Marvel encyclopedia and can tell you everything about the characters and how they fit in to the MCU. We’ve also visited EMCon as a family and love to geek out on comics and sci-fi.

Do you have a favourite word or phrase ?

At the moment, it’s “satisfying” a word that my eldest uses all the time. I love how language changes and develops; how certain words become more prominent with different generations. If I say something is “ace” my kids tell it’s so 90s! My relationship with words and language changes. Sometimes I hate words. It can be very frustrating when I’m trying to spell something and even Google can’t work out what the word is. The effect dyslexia has on my ability to use language is not a constant for me though. Some days both speaking and writing can be really challenging and other days it’s not so hard (not perfect) but not the same challenge.

Have you read anything good recently? Is there a book that changed your life?

As I mentioned before, I struggled to read during lock down and it was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig that reignited my love of reading. It’s the perfect novel for these times, really makes you think about your life. It was the book that gave me the inspiration to start my project, Dyslexic Librarian. As part of that I’ve been reviewing all the books I read and adding them to the booklists for people to view and purchase if they would like to.

So far, I think The Familiars by Stacey Halls is one of my favourites. It’s the story of a wealthy lady whose life becomes entangled with the ‘Witches’ of Pendle and the famous witch trials. It examines how people are treated and how perceptions can be changed. The wise women serving their local communities are vilified and deemed to be witches as a result of propaganda.

One of the books that changed my life was The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy. This was one of the first books I remember not being able to put down as a child, having reluctantly been given it to read. I fell in love with the characters and was very proud not only to finish it but to also read the whole series.

My all-time favourite book is Do Android’s Dream of Electric sheep? By Philip K Dick (the book was the inspiration for Blade Runner). Usually, I manage a short chapter at a time when I’m reading before the letters start to dance around the page, but with this book I couldn’t put it down so would give myself a short break and come back to it. Dystopian novels and films really appeal to me.

Which 5 albums will you want to have with you on a desert island?

Such a hard question. I love music and always have it on in the background when working, I can’t sit in silence it helps me to relax and concentrate. I could easily name twenty but here goes!

1. The Strokes – Is This It – it gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it and still does today (I would also cheekily sneak their new album The New Abnormal in the record sleeve, as it’s been on repeat during lockdown)
2. Nirvana – Nevermind
3. St Vincent – Daddy’s Home
4. Weezer – The Blue Album
5. Al Green – Let’s Stay Together (1972)

In the metaphorical desert island that was lockdown, I found listening to old favorites really helped.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and who was it from?

Not direct advice as such but my parents always installed a sense of pride in being yourself, and in celebrating your achievements big and small. I think this is great advice for anyone with a neurodiversity. It’s better to have pride in your achievements rather than compare yourself to others. Your personal achievements might be something that others don’t understand or value but you know you’ve worked hard at them. Recognising that everyone is different and learns differently has really helped me get to where I am today.

My own advice to someone with a neurodiversity would be to speak up and tell people about your neurodiversity. I didn’t tell work for 3/4 years, when I finally did, it lifted a burden I didn’t know I was carrying. I worried that people would think I was stupid but I’ve actually gained support and recognition of my strengths. In life too, I think it paves the way for other Dyslexics if you can help change the assumptions that others have – people are surprised that I’m both a dyslexic and a librarian.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you were a grown-up? And what was your first Job?

I wanted to be a firefighter but I’m only 5ft and shortsighted, so that wasn’t really an option and I think I would probably be a bit scared. I also wanted to work with animals.

What do you do now and how did you get into it?

I’m a librarian working in a company library and got into it kind of by accident. I did a degree in Geography and considered primary school teaching (this was prior to being diagnosed with dyslexia). I then spent a year working in schools, mainly special needs schools and while I couldn’t see myself doing it long term, I gained a lot of respect for teachers, especially those working with kids who need extra help. I was temping doing office jobs for a while and decided to go to a careers advise office. I took a test there and Librarian came out near the top, after teacher. My sister in law is also a librarian so I called her for advice and then managed to get a job in a law library for a year before doing an MA in Library and Information Studies at Loughborough. I’m glad this was before my diagnosis as I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to apply to be a Librarian once I knew I was dyslexic.

Creativity and thinking differently are often credited to neurodiversity. Would you say that is true? And if yes, could you give an example?

Yes I very much believe this to be true and it can be a real advantage at work. Sometimes it can be through creativity in the traditional sense like designing web pages for our catalogue and work portal pages or sometimes just approaching work differently. I often see a problem from a different perspective to everyone else. I can’t give any specific examples, but I sometimes do things at work that others seem really impressed with, and I think are really obvious and not that amazing. And then other times I find something really hard but others just see it as part of the job.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus, what do you do to get back on track? Do you have any hacks, tips or do you use any apps to keep you on track during the day?

If I need to do something that requires me to focus I try to do it in the morning as I know I’m more focused at that time. I also find taking some time out and coming back to a task also really helps. Music really helps when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes I just jump around to music in the kitchen to help get rid of some pent-up feelings. I use the Calm app at night to listen to music or sleep stories to help me drift off. Also don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling with something. I have three kids, and I hate filling in forms for school (people need to think about making forms more accessible). I can easily get overwhelmed, but I share this with my husband to take the stress away. I do the same at work with colleagues. Asking for help it makes it easier for others to ask you for help and it comes full circle.

What makes you happy?

Family. I grew up in South East London and moved away in my 20s, so have missed seeing my parents, brother, sister and wider family since lockdown. Getting everyone back together again made me very happy. And just the simple things like watching my kids play sport or in a school production. I like to spend time with the people I love, rather than waste time on the people who don’t make me happy.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

I’m extremely proud of my children and the grounded empathetic people they are becoming. Also, I’ve recently given talks to over 300 people at work, something I never thought I could do. It’s a great feeling to challenge yourself from time to time. I’m just proud of where I’m at both work and in life. Dyslexia makes you very determined and although I knew I would get to where I needed to be eventually, I never thought I would achieve a master’s degree having struggled at school, so that’s a big achievement for me.

Do you have a Positive ND message to the world? Imagine you have a £5 million advertising campaign to spend on billboards all over the world. What would you say?

I would use it to educate others on neurodiversity, to tell the world about the positives we bring to the workplace and to life in general. The world becomes a better place when you have a diverse range of people in it. Hopefully that would help people think about how we educate, employee and generally treat each other. I would also use some of the funds to tell people that it’s ok to be messy – in mind and in life. Life is way too boring when it’s perfect.

Final question – where can people find out more about you. Do you have a website and social media pages.

I have an affiliates page on bookshop.org where I recommend books for fellow Dyslexics, reluctant readers young and old, but I think there’s something for everyone there. I receive a small commission for any books sold on the site, but it’s main aim is to share books that I’ve loved and give an honest opinion on how friendly they are to dyslexic readers.

I also have an Instagram account and a Twitter, which I use to promote the bookshop.org site but more importantly to share what it’s really like to be dyslexic, I hope via these three platforms that I can encourage others to see the advantage that neurodiversity is rather than being something to hold you back – after all whoever heard of a dyslexic Librarian?!

 

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Melanie Martin

Name: Melanie Martin

ND Type/s: ADHD

What do you do: Translator, Photographer, Writer, Mother,

Where do you live: Birmingham, UK

How did you start your day today? Do you have a morning routine? What do you have for breakfast, do think a good diet is important?

I normally start my day with a cup of coffee, so that happened today. I like to get up before everyone else because I am not exactly a morning person. I tend to have a better day when I have an hour to wake up by myself. I am currently following The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, so I tend to write morning pages (when I don’t forget and/or feel like it) and then jot down whatever comes to mind that I should be doing that day. However, often I cannot think of what I might need to do that day and that is the worst feeling.

I try to have some fruit or veg for breakfast with carbs and protein. So today e.g. I had scrambled egg on German rye bread with tomatoes and cucumber. My hankering is for sugar first thing, but I try to stay away from it that early in the morning. I would say a good diet is a great thing, but I am trying not to get too hung up about it.

How do you stay active?

Physical exercise is a continual challenge for me. In an ideal world I go for a walk every day and maybe do some strength exercise 2-3 times a week. The reality is that time often gets away from me. I am also living with Long Covid, which, for me, means that a long walk one day means two days of utter exhaustion.

What do you do to relax?

I am finding relaxing super hard. When people look at me watching a show for example, they might be fooled into thinking that I am chilling, but really my mind is racing at 100 miles an hour. The best thing for me to relax is to go for a walk listening to an audiobook, cooking for pleasure (not the routine hell it can become) and reading.

 Do you have a favourite word or phrase?

“Everything will be fine” muttered about 1 million times every day.

Have you read anything good recently? Is there a book that changed your life?

I read a lot so that’s a funny question for me. I recently read “Unwell Women – Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World” by Elinor Cleghorn, which despite some short-comings was a brilliant read. I also just finished a book in a historical mystery series that I love “The Shadows of Men” by Abir Mukherjee. This won’t be released until November, but there are already 4 books available, and I adore this series. Set in 1920ies Calcutta, it’s a genius portrayal of the ills of colonial rule whilst also being brilliant mysteries.

Which 5 albums would you want to have with you on a desert island?

Oh that is such a hard one, because it would change every week.

The Cure would have to be on that list, I have loved them since my teens. Maybe the “Head on the Door”, which was one of the first albums I ever bought, I was 12 when that came out.

I am currently obsessed with the soundtrack to the Korean Drama Nevertheless, so that would be on the list as well.

Most likely “Vintage” by Soolking, he is a French-Algerian rapper and I love his music which blends rap and Arabic pop.

“Kommt zusammen” by German group 2raumwohnung, I loved this album since it came out in 2001, sort of techno-pop-grunge mix.

And probably Taylor Swift’s Willow. I do love a bit of Taylor.

Ask me next week and the list will be different.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and who was it from?

My grandmother used to sing “Wenn der Herrgott net will” which is a song from a 1950ies movie, basically saying that if God does not want something for you no fretting will help. And although I am no longer Christian, I often think about this when something doesn’t go my way and hum the song. Some things maybe just aren’t meant for you.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you were a grown-up? And what was your first Job?

I wanted to be an archaeologist, but studied economics and then worked for a German broadcaster.

What do you do now and how did you get into it?

I am now a translator and a photographer. It just happened. Things just do. I have come to accept it. It’s probably a bit flippant, there is still work involved and I work hard at things (probably way harder than neurotypical folk) but I can never in hindsight look back and say: “so I did this, which led to this and then this happened.” I wish I could, it would be so helpful.

Creativity and thinking differently are often credited to neurodiversity. Would you say that is true? And if yes, could you give an example?

Most definitely. It took me years to understand that not everyone thought like me. It always came as a shock. For example, when I have to do a repetitive task, I will always try and find the best, most streamlined way to do something. Doing something in a complicated way when there is an easier one is a big frustration for me. A lot of people never do that and I just don’t get why you would just do something without trying to improve the process. The flipside of this is that I can spend ages trying to come up with a better way of doing something, but then not actually doing the task. But that’s a different story.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus, what do you do to get back on track? Do you have any hacks, tips or do you use any apps to keep you on track during the day?

Body doubling and accountability tend to work for me the best. A few days ago, I had a terrible “squirrel shiny day” thing but wanted to achieve some stuff, so my husband made me write down a list with small to dos, the smaller the better that would get me closer to the goal and then checked in with me a few times that day to see how it was going. To neurotypical folk that might look weird, but quite often a task that requires lots of steps is too overwhelming for me and it helps when someone points out that I should break it down. So “laundry” becomes a 6-step process instead of just a single task. Or “update portfolio” turns into a 10-step task. It also stops me from getting stuck too often.

What makes you happy?

Adventures big and small. New things (that might be an adventure, a new coffee shop to try out, a new book, fresh bedding etc.). Ideas. People who can follow my weird stream of consciousness. Food. Woodland. That first cup of coffee in the morning. Listening to rain while watching a movie. Taking pictures. Random encounters with people. Art. Discovering stuff. Learning new things. Getting into something. Researching stuff. There are lots of things that make me happy.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

I think overall everything I have achieved is a big achievement. I have a relationship and a child. I have survived and even thrived occasionally. For neurodivergent folk that’s quite a lot. I am grateful all the time.

Do you have a Positive ND message to the world? Imagine you have a £5 million advertising campaign to spend on billboards all over the world, what would you say?

“If the roles were reversed and neurotypicals had to fit into a neurodivergent world, they wouldn’t last a day. Look at how far you have come. It’s hard, and often frustrating, but try to work as much with your neurodivergency as you can and opt out from fitting in as much as you can.”

Final question – where can people find out more about you? Do you have a website and social media pages?

Instagram: @melmartinphoto
Twitter: @_MelanieMartin
Website: themartins.work
YouTube: Melanie Martin