For my bio here on buymecoffee I kept it short and sweet. But who am I really?
I’m an accountant 10 hours a week, a self-directed education facilitator 20 hours a week, I’m a mother and autistic 24/7. I also have ADHD, which was diagnosed when I was 38 after a two years long burn-out. Five years later I received my autism diagnosis. As a consequence, after half a lifetime of trying to fit into society’s “norm box”, I have severely limited energy compared to when I was younger.
Limited energy can be a challenge when dealing with present-day school system drop-outs aged 8 and 10 with several comorbidities added to their autism and ADHD due to preschool and elementary school stress.
My hubby is awesome and doing all he can do to make everything run smoothly. But on top of his autism, ADD, and Tourettes, he has acquired brain damage after a stroke. So he has even less energy than me and terrible migraines whenever he spends more energy than he has.
So how am I going to take all our sunflower quirks and attempt to raise enough money to give my kids everything I want them to have?
Well, being autistic I tend to find interesting subjects and learn everything about them. And my ADHD combined with hyperlexia might actually be helping my ability to communicate semi-intelligibly, at least in writing, what I know to others.
I have gathered, and continue to gather, a LOT of knowledge about:
Autism, ADHD, Tourettes, anxiety, depression, burn-outs, acquired brain damage, PDA, chronic stress, energy accounting (spoon theory), and much more.
Our home has become a stress-free zone (at least to our kids) with very few demands, which are negotiated with the kids and make sense to them. We are constantly trying to figure out the perfect balance between predictability and visual support, and the freedom to choose and mind one’s energy level.