neurodivergent_insights

"Is it worth getting assessed?" is one of the questions I get asked most, and it doesn't have a simple answer.

For some people, a formal assessment opens up access, accommodations, and language for their own experience. For others, the cost, the waitlists, or the fear of landing with an assessor who doesn't understand masking make self-identification the only available option. Both can be valid.

A few months ago I asked what you most wanted to know about assessments. Dr. Jessica Hogan Neuron and Rose Psychological Services, Inc and I sat down to work through your questions, from the different types of assessment to how to actually begin the process.

The full conversation is up on YouTube at NeurodivergentInsights, and in podcast form wherever you listen (link in comments)

Celebrating every part of who we are this Pride month. The whole NDI store is 25% off through June 25th.

Masking is one of the most under-recognized parts of Autistic life, partly because it is so effortful and so invisible from the outside. Many Autistic people don't even realize they are masking until they learn about it and realize that not everyone else is moving through social space this way. For more on what neurodivergent camouflaging and masking is, you can check out Wednesday's glossary post.

Masking isn't good or bad. It's a high-cost activity connected to burnout, mental health difficulties, and increased substance use, and it also helps keep people safe and provides certain privileges that not all Autistic people have access to.

For more on Autistic masking you can read our full article on it (linked in comments).

https://neurodivergentinsights.com/what-is-masking-in-autism/

Understanding camouflaging and masking has been one of the biggest breakthroughs in recognizing non-traditional presentations of autism, AuDHD and ADHD.

Many people who camouflage and mask also tend to have high mental health support needs, which is part of why this concept matters so much.

For more on camouflaging and other core concepts that shape the neurodivergent experience, you can find the full NDI glossary up on our website.

There isn't much research yet on ADHD burnout recovery specifically, so this pulls together what we do know from adjacent research, clinical work, and lived experience.

Much of it points in a similar direction: recovery tends to come from taking demand off the nervous system and giving it rest, sensory support, sleep, space to follow what genuinely interests you and greater alignment with how our neurology works.

For more on ADHD burnout (and recovery) you can read our full article, linked in comments.

ADHD burnout has a lot of threads woven into it, and unfortunately it's often mistaken for laziness or a simple motivation problem. This visual guide walks through six of the mechanisms underneath it, from executive function depletion and the hidden cost of masking to the sensory load and sleep debt that wear down the nervous system down.

You can find our full article (with all the studies linked) in the comments.

Burnout is one of those words that gets stretched to cover everything from a hard week to a full nervous system collapse, which is part of why neurodivergent burnout is sometimes misunderstood or minimized.

Burnout often emerges from a combination of factors that have eroded a person's capacity over time: masking, exhaustion from over-adapting to misaligned environments. It points us toward the fit between a person and their surroundings, far more than toward any personal weakness.

You can find more terms in our Glossary of Terms and Core Concepts, linked in comments.

I've been a long-time fan of the Yellow Ladybugs Conference, and I'm glad to be speaking (virtually) again this year. This time I got to have a conversation with Kristy Forbes on PDA, where we explored radical authenticity as part of psychological safety, relationality, and so many other things that resonated (honestly, mostly I was just appreciated Kristy's wisdom during the conversation 🥰).

The conference starts today. If you'd like to catch it, the registration link is in the comments.