Introduction

I want to contribute to the complex puzzle that is Autism & ADHD.

Not getting the titles as a kid after four years of probing and then getting the diagnosis two decades later has been a journey. This has both been a curse and a gift. Not being limited by the views of the titles I have a strong sense of who I am and today the titles explain me rather than define me. It has been a journey trial and error I am happy I survived.

To be accurate the diagnosis I got is Autism type 1 and ADHD without hyperactivity. Asperger's and ADD are the old names for these conditions.

I vowed to myself, as a young man, to work towards helping others not feel the way I felt, that I should not be here. I took it so far as to become a teacher of support in the development of children, both social and knowledge. I found success in my different viewpoints and being. I found ways to reach children and work with them in ways my peers could not. In the end, the environment destroyed me, and fighting against the school system in a wish to help my pupils became too much.

My late diagnosis made me intensely introspective and my wish to help made me interact with the world. Developing an understanding of myself and my environment with the skill to communicate it.

There is a need to bring forth a simple understanding of these conditions. Something fundamental that separates the condition from the individual. Something for everyone to empathize with who is affected by these phenomena.

Not defining them by symptoms but as an experience.

I believe I can do it.

If not, I have at least explained my experience.

Hopefully bringing forth compassion and sympathy in one way or another.