How my first appointment with the occupational therapist went, and attending a therapeutic group where I learned about small talk as a skill that I am simultaneously very good and really bad at. Trigger warning for mention/reference to certain sensitive topics.

Seriously, is there a how-to-socialize handbook that everyone else has which someone forgot to pass along to me? x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

This is an update on how the recent appointment with my psychiatrist (and psychologist) went - an episode probably better known as “Why won’t you believe me about me?” Sigh. BRB will be eating all my feelings. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

The first time I ever heard of Ritalin was as a teenager, from a Green Day lyric which inspired the episode title; little did I know it would become an important part of my life someday. Here are some observations of how this medication helps with my ADHD and the interesting effects it has on my Autism. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence (to support my podcast)

Hello! This comes to you right from the forgotten recesses of the Notes app on my phone. x Lauren

I read Drama Queen a few months ago and it was an interesting one to revisit for this episode. x Lauren

Here are few post-diagnosis realizations about alexithymia and identifying possible strategies of support. x Lauren

Is it weird that I took my first family gathering post diagnosis as a kind of case study? How about we agree to use the word “quirky”? If you know, you know. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

Hey, folx. Here is continuation of Episode 24, as promised. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergenc

My therapy sessions with my therapist of over twelve years have changed after my diagnosis of autism, but it is probably not what you think it is… x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

I am not sure if this is the double empathy problem or if something else is wrong with how I perceive things altogether. Either way, this is how it went when I was communicating with a couple of People Who Mean Well. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

My week started out eventful to understate things, but at least what happened has also provided some context for a similar experience in the past. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not recognized as a disability in Singapore, and I have a few thoughts on why that should change. Is ADHD seen as a disability where you are, and also… how does it interact with your own ASD? x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

Charles Derber, a sociologist, calls it “conversational narcissism” when one has a tendency to turn the conversation back to themselves. I came across the term while trying to understand AuDHD communication differences, and am intrigued by how conversational narcissism shows up in my social exchanges. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

I think just about everyone has a rocky time being a teenager; going through puberty and the changes to our own bodies can make for some really rough transitions. That said, these parts of my teenage years now make so much more sense with through the lens of ADHD + Autism. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

Has anyone whose diagnosis or diagnoses got missed by their (immediate) family also tried to figure out how it happened - or is this just my overactive brain with its tendency to overthink? Is it that our parents went undiagnosed themselves and/or are there other factors at play, such as dysfunctional family dynamics? I know in my heart of hearts that it will be impossible to say for sure, but on days like these, I really cannot help mentally going over the last few decades for some kind of clue. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

Does this qualify as a good-enough reason to have cake because ahhhhh I have just passed the one year anniversary of my ADHD assessment! It feels so much longer, to be honest; some of it has to do with my difficulty around time perception, while for the most part has been all of the things that you have (probably already) heard about on previous episodes. What an adventure! On this one, I share: - why I very nearly did not ask for an ADHD assessment in the first place - what it has been like telling people in my life about my diagnoses - the limitations of being “formally” diagnosed - hearing “you don’t look disabled” for the first time, and - how to go from here now that I finally and thankfully know what I know. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

UNbroken by Alexis Quinn is the third book I bought that is related to autism. This hit especially close to home; she writes about getting lost in the mental health system and how being institutionalized without neurodivergence identified can add to the trauma of living with undiagnosed conditions. Here are my thoughts on a few of the chapters and some personal anecdotes. x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

Did you know that getting fired is something relatively common among the autistic population, whether because of our communication differences, inability to receive accommodations, or outright discrimination? Still, I had high hopes my difficulties navigating the workplace would abate as I got older - and especially after, in my earnest idealism, disclosing to my (ex) employer. Here is a real time update of events as they unfold and I try to get around my alexithymia to figure out what I am feeling. x Lauren

Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay

Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com

Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence

Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence

One whole month since receiving my autism assessment report, which still feels a little unreal - hello, imposter syndrome! - although that might be the antidepressant withdrawal process wreaking havoc on my already flailing executive dysfunction. All in all, just another regular day in free fall. Thank you, (late-diagnosed) AuDHD brain! x Lauren Blog: https://lmnpodcast.wixsite.com/lmnpodcast/post/doctors-missed-my-adhd-autism-audhd-for-12-years-an-essay

Email: littlemissedneurodivergence@gmail.com

Instagram: @littlemissedneurodivergence

Patreon: patreon.com/LittleMissedNeurodivergence