#happy neurodivergent pride day

[whatthefoucault]

When everything is too much, Ed gets under blankets.

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Stede. Ed shook his head. “Do you want to be alone?” Ed shook his head again. “Is this okay?” Stede tentatively rested a hand on Ed’s knee. Ed nodded. They sat quietly together for a while, and when he felt a bit better, Ed sipped his seven sugar tea.

[staycatcher]

I’m still recovering from last week when me and my manager were just talking about our special interests and he goes “oh do you like Kate Bush?” And I go “I’ve not heard majority of her stuff but everything I’ve tried I’ve loved!:)” and he goes “okay well I was just asking cuz if you like her you’ll love Tori Amos, all my other lesbian friends love the both of them😀” all I could do was say “oh yeah, i bet haha”

[genderqueerdykes]

happy first day of pride month 2024; please remember this month to hold your fellow queers up as high as you can, and to let them speak as loud as they need to. we are watching violent spikes in transphobia and trans panic this year as more and more bills and laws are proposed to make it difficult or impossible for trans people to medically or socially transition in the United States. we are seeing an all time high in trans panic in general- i have witnessed it personally in my own city, people freaking out about even the slightest gender non conformity. gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and other queer folks are fighting for their rights in places like Russia and Africa. queerphobia is at a peak right now

no more petty arguing about who has it better or worse- we are upholding the entire queer community this year. your brothers, sisters and siblings with identities you don't understand need space this year. boygirls, lesboys, gaybians, fagdykes, bisexual gays and lesbians, transmasc and male lesbians, transfem and female gays all need space. intersex people need space. all trans folks, trans women, trans men, non binary people, genderfluid people, bigender and multigender people, xenogender people, and people with the weirdest genders you've ever seen need a platform to speak. nonhuman queers, disabled queers, neurodivergent queers need space. people of color with cultural identities like two-spirit folk need space. bisexuals and pansexuals have to lift each other up high and scream for each others rights. aromantics, asexuals, agender people and other aspec folks need to be heard.

now more than ever we need to unite and make our community stronger than ever. we need each other right now. let's be here for each other. even if we don't fully understand one another, it doesn't matter. we're siblings, family, whatever you'd like to call it- we are part of the same beautiful rainbow and it's time to act like it. i appreciate every member of my queer family, let's take care of each other this Pride. we owe it to each other.

[aptericia]

Not proud to be here.

--

Ok, here goes draft like 5 of this fucking post. I spent 4 hours tossing and turning in bed last night thinking about this, and then this morning I found a tumblr post that really helped me understand what I was trying to say.

The post talks about how aromantic "advocates" claim that "aros don't take up resources, so there's no reason not to include them!" And if that's actually what people believe, I think I can finally articulate why it is that I feel so alienated in queer spaces.

It's because aspecs in general aren't "welcomed" by much of the queer community. We're tolerated. We perhaps get the luxury of not being contradicted on our own identities, or not being specifically kicked out of LGBTQ-only spaces, but that's the whole point: what we get out of the queer "community" is people NOT doing things, not actually doing things FOR us. And that, frankly, is not enough. We deserve conversations about us. We deserve to have others consider our feelings, even when making lighthearted jokes. We deserve varied, respectful representation in media. We deserve the active deconstruction of amatonormativity in society. We deserve to have space made for us, rather than at most being told we should "go take up more space!" ourselves.

Of course, the reality is that my being aspec is a personal matter that does not inherently affect anyone else. But the same can be said for literally any queer identity. Your being gay doesn't say anything about me, so of course I shouldn't hurt you for it, but why should I help you either? Because your happiness and comfort are important. The same goes for aspecs.

And most of the time, I don't even need anyone to make space for or expend resources on me; I can live fine in everyday, non-queer-specific places without mentioning my identity at all. But it's the queer community that claims it will make that space for me, doesn't, and then acts defensive and morally pure if I call out the hypocrisy because "we're queer too, you can't erase our identities to advocate for yours!!!!"

Again, this post isn't about specifics. I have queer friends who are incredibly thoughtful and supportive about my identity, just as I have non-queer friends who are. I find more solidarity in aspec-only communities, as well as trans/genderqueer ones, although there are still many exceptions. This post is also not about amatonormative ideology, which is extremely common from queer and non-queer people alike. This post is about the reason I've felt so betrayed by the queer community.

--

On a personal note, I remember being so excited when I started identifying as aromantic (and later asexual). Fitting myself into labels has been a lifelong struggle for me; to this day I still can't confidently say if I'm White or PoC, neurotypical or neurodivergent, abled or disabled, cisgender or not cisgender. I continue to struggle making friends because I don't fall into social cliques. To discover that I officially, certainly, was LGBTQ+ lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. And now I'm just so sad to find that despite that, I'm still stuck in the middle. I didn't get rewarded with a community. I still feel alienated from both queer and non-queer people. I know it was silly to get my hopes up when there's such vast diversity in both groups, but it really was a disappointment. Going to my first Pride parade last year was really the moment where I realized this.

[femmetransman]

Shana Tova! Here are picks of my Rosh Hashana outfit and matching nails.

Vid of my nails has no sound.

Shirt and skirt with pockets from @nerdykeppie.

Also, huge shoutout to Kinetic Color Foundry for these fidget rings that are saving me these High Holy Days. These are made by one neurodivergent person with a 3D printer who could use a lot more love.

I ordered this Star of David design years ago through the custom form if anyone is interested (she also has an etsy but it's better to order through her site if you can):

Close-up pics of nails and more details under cut.

I normally buy a new dress for Rosh Hashana but wasn't able to this year. Day-of I realized that I hadn't worn this outfit yet so I was able to say Shecheheyanu over some amazing clothes designed by a queer Jew.

This outfit also helped inspire these fun Trans Octopus Rosh Hashana nails. I only had one octopus design which I repeated, and I used a koi fish to emulate the eel and create some texture. Super happy with how they turned out. I may do it again in the future if I get a stamping plate with more sea animal designs.

Here they are on a backdrop of the NK skirt.

And here they are on my little design board. I like taking pics on here because it's easy to arrange in a way that the words are readable. :)

Base polish is One Coat Black from Holo Taco. Octopus design and stamping polishes from Maniology, koi fish from random Amazon set, Hebrew stamping plate was from Etsy and was the only one so no link to share unfortunately.

[saturnniidae]

More dragon rider disability headcanons for disability pride month!

(Ones specifically abt Hiccup are here)

Ruffnut has hypermobile EDS (when the twins were doing some bit that was basically Guinness book of world records she said smth abt 'worlds stretchiest skin' and my mom made a joke and said 'ruff has eds!' And it stuck)

A joke Ruffnut loves to make is saying Tuff is so insufferable she should just run away to join a circus and become a contortionist. She thinks it's the funniest thing ever

Hiccup also has some weird hypermobility stuff going on, when Ruff learns this she calls him a fellow circus freak (affectionate) and offers to let him come with her when she runs away. The response she got was "I'd rather stick my hand in Fenrir's mouth."

Tuff is visually impaired in his right eye from a childhood injury (another joke taken seriously)

All the riders are neurodivergent!

Snotlout has a frequently irregular heartbeat as well as memory issues due to how many times he's been struck by lightning. His whole book he wrote in that one episode isn't the only writing he does, he keeps a notebook to help keep track of minor things he might forget.

Astrid tries to make Hiccup breakfast in bed when he's having bad pain days and is too tired to do it himself. She almost burns the house down every time, so Toothless will go and get the other riders to help out while Astrid is kicked out of the kitchen and sent back to bed

Hiccup can be really fucking mean sometimes! Usually it's intentional bc he's in a bad mood and wants to be left alone. If it's seemingly unprovoked though, the others know it as a sign he's likely in pain and needs to be left alone (he still insists on getting work done but usually Toothless annoys him into resting)

Astrid has aches in her leg from when she got shot with that arrow, it being poisoned with dragon root did something to mess up the healing process so its worse than other old injuries (Dragon root isn't poisonous to humans but still having it in your blood stream isn't a good idea). She's also very mean when she's in pain, especially because it ruins her schedule since she can't train. Eventually her and Hiccup come to an agreement when they're having bad pain days they'll meet up in one of their huts and just. Sit together enjoying the others comforting presence but rarely talking

This is because Hiccup and Astrid both hate being in pain in front of people, they both share that almost extreme fear of vulnerability and the best they can do is take comfort in each other

Hiccup and Fishlegs are hyperfixation buddies! Fishlegs is the only one who doesn't get mad (it's just fond exasperation) when Hiccup wakes him up in the middle of the night to infodump, they just bounce off each other talking about dragons until woah suddenly the sun is rising and that is when Fishlegs gets upset because he values his sleep

All the riders have burn scars of varying severity. They literally work with dragons there's no way they wouldn't. And they all deal with their pain in different ways, but are unwavering supportive of each other when they can be

I've said it before and I'll say it again, a lot of characters should be disabled.

I know, cartoon logic and all, but the things that happen to these guys are things that should affect them for the rest of their lives. And watching characters struggle with permanent change like that, the realization you can never go back to how things were, and eventually healing and learning that's okay! You can still find happiness and be happy and it doesn't make your pain any less valid! It's so important to me and that's obviously reflected in my interpretations of my favorite characters lmao

[bennythespaceman1984]

Happy disability pride month!

Let's remember that not all disabilities leave you with a cool robot arm like mine. And while we're at it, being an amputee isn't all fun!

Sometimes it's hard to be proud of your disabilities. Sometimes you want to hide them from the people around you.

But that doesn't mean you don't deserve recognition, love, and respect. Especially if they're "gross".

I'll be transparent — I'm really struggling with my mental and physical health. It's hard for someone so happy and bubbly like me to go through tough times! But here's what I can say: The effort is there, I'm just really tired. And I don't think I need to hide that from anyone.

Sometimes the most I can do is work on a little side project for an hour, and then I only have energy to lay around for the rest of the day. It sucks, but I'm prioritizing what makes me the most happy right now!

Let's also remember that autism and other forms of neurodivergence are disabilities. It's hard to navigate life, and it's hard to do basic things sometimes. That should be recognized! We're putting in twice the effort every day! It's draining!

So, happy disability pride month, and I hope everyone who's struggling feels heard. Feel free to add on!

[savethegrishaverse]

Disability and neurodiversity in the Grishaverse

With Disability Pride Month, let’s explore the Grishaverse's disability representation. Leigh Bardugo’s experience as a disabled author gives her a unique perspective in writing disabled characters, resulting in an intersectional cast that includes characters with physical disabilities and neurodivergences.

Kaz Brekker relies on a mobility aid—his infamous crow's head cane—due to a leg injury he sustained as a teenager that left him with a limp and chronic pain. Mobility aid users are usually portrayed as older, meaning Kaz, as a younger character who uses a cane, brings much-needed representation.

Wylan Van Eck has severe dyslexia. As he describes it, letters get mixed up, unlike music, numbers or equations. However, he excels in math, science, music and art. While there are many types of dyslexia, with differing severity, Wylan’s struggles resonate deeply with many dyslexic fans.

Bardugo also confirmed writing Jesper Fahey as having ADHD symptoms. His energetic nature makes him restless and impulsive, potentially contributing to his gambling addiction. He often spins or fidgets with his revolvers and rings, which can be interpreted as stimming. Fans with ADHD can relate to Jesper’s trouble focusing and constant need for stimulation.

Genya Safin suffers from monocular vision due to injuries from a Nichevo'ya attack and wears an eye patch. Her inclusion brings awareness to different types of visual impairments.

David Kostyk is a brilliant scientist and inventor but has trouble navigating social situations, is often quiet and prefers to keep to himself. He has difficulty maintaining eye contact when overwhelmed and expressing his feelings. David is interpreted as neurodivergent by many fans, which provides further representation to the series.

Two characters with prosthetic limbs are Adrik Zhabin and the Darkling. Adrik has a prosthetic arm due to an attack by the Darkling’s Nichevo'ya. Ironically, the Darkling lost his hand as well and now uses a prosthetic. Having two characters like this helps normalize limb differences.

Leigh Bardugo took great care to include neurodivergent and disabled characters in her stories, without them being defined solely by it. They go on adventures, fall in love, make mistakes, save the day—and just happen not to be neurotypical and/or able-bodied.

Because of this, the Grishaverse has some of the best disability representation in the fantasy genre. Not only does this kind of positive representation help similar fans feel seen, it also helps to destigmatize differences, showing we are all human. Happy Disability Pride Month!

[gor3sigil]

About being a freak, queer, trans etc.

In all the years I've spent going back and forth with my gender, being sure one day and unsure the next about how I wanted to present, if I wanted to be more fem or masc, if I wanted to be neither of them, there's one thing that I never wished: I never wished to be born cis.

There's something so magical in being trans. To me it's like a never ending childlike wonder of myself and others. I see my body as a white canvas I can do anything with and as a playground for me to explore and find secrets at every turn. It's shedding so many times that I had hundreds of silhouettes and I'm not even 30. It's seeing the most deepest and honest smiles when you hang out with your peers, and they're fully themselves and you are fully yourself even if it's just for one moment.

Being trans is being more naked than ever. My understanding of my own flesh at its core like I'm dissecting it once a year is so whole and complete. Noticing the patterns, the intricate map of my skin, how it grows and stretch with every change even well before HRT as I was practicing new poses and expressions and clothes.

I don't see myself as a flower, I see myself as a whole garden, with bees and critters everywhere, bursting with life in the warmth of the sun under a sky as blue as the cleanest seas.

Regarding the way others see me, mind you, I always was, and I mean ALWAYS, all my life, seen as a freak.

Try to picture this, even tnough you maybe can because this is the story of a whole bunch of us: growing up as a goth, queer and undiagnosed autistic girl, in a little shitty town, the last child of a family of disabled and neurodivergent folks that everyone saw as a family of, well, freaks. The teachers at school knew your brother who was bullied, and your sister who always caused troubles. They don’t know which of these paths you’re going to take but they sure as hell don’t like you. And the only other queer kids you know are a couple of girls who’d chugg down vodka before class in middle school because they were not accepted at home and bullied during recess.

My first queer relationship, also in middle school, was the typical “I loved her to the moon and back but she only wanted to experiment” and it tore down my soul. It took me years to recover from this. I think that, apart from my longest relationship to date, I never put that much of myself into someone I loved. But she was just goofing around and I mean, fair, we were kids, but man did it hurt. I resented her for years after. Now I just hope she’s happy and doing the job she always dreamed of doing.

Anyways, all that to say that I was used to being seen as an outcast. I hated that for years and tried and tried again and again to fit in. It doesn’t work. Because this in not the answer. Remember when I said that my family members were always all disabled ? My father espacially was physically disabled (and probably also autistic but undiagnosed), and he’s still to this day one of the most ableist person I’ve ever met. He knew his kids weren’t “normal”. He fought tooth and nails for us to fit in. Because that’s how he survived. But despite it all, it never worked. Because you can’t force your way into society’s standards.

I never felt more free than when I just gave up trying to. If I was going to be seen as weird anyways, might as well go all the way. Dress as I please, date who I wanted (another story for another time but it didn’t go as planned), enjoy the shit I enjoyed, unapologetically. And guess what ? It stopped the bullying. Because I gained confidence in myself and most of all, pride. I grew proud of being an outcast, so much so that people just started to be like “well, they’re like that anyways” and left me the fuck alone.

I’m rambling lmao but I think it’s important to be aware that nobody will live your life for you. Being your weird self, it’s so hard, butn so rewarding. More rewarding than anything. You’ll start making new relationships based on you TRUE self, you’ll go all the way for your passions, and trust me, you’ll be more free than anyone who bent themselves to fit in the mold and still need to painfully stretch their limbs everyday to keep the act on.

I know that sometimes it’s something you have to do to survive, and that’s perfectly okay. But don’t forget to keep your true self close and to let them out from time to time, okay ? Water down your inner garden. That’s the only way you will truly live.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/756016587973279744/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic755410324078

Honestly, while I'd be nicer about it, I agree flags are kind of cringe, or at least how seriously people take them is. It's really stupid seeing people treat flags like they're a really big deal. Other than the two rainbow flags, no one even recognizes most of them. Plus you only see them in people's icons online most of time so like... look away? Scroll? Curate your experience? It's not hard.

Also like above anon, I also definitely knew some people in college whose every outfit for a semester or two included pins and pride patches. It was definitely to get other people to know they were queer so they could talk about being queer. But they were always really new to knowing they were queer and they sort of... moved on sounds wrong because they're still queer, but they stopped doing that and stopped being all, "Have you heard about this sapphic movie?" "There's a bi character in this!" every conversation and went back to having more interests.

Meanwhile, I don't get why we're plastering them on everything in the first place. Like, should I be feeling affirmed or uplifted by pride shoelaces or pride socks or something? Is the pride pin supposed to make me feel happier, like how crystal mommies think rose quartz makes you happy? Are these colors here to do some color theory psychology thing? Because whatever I was supposed to get out of them, I've never gotten. I'm 32, 33 pretty soon, and I've never gotten this. I remember pins being a thing people were into in college, but even then I didn't get it. (And before anyone goes, "they're supposed to make you feel safer with your fellow queers and in the queer community", having been raped by a guy from the queer student club when I was in college because he 'knew' aroace black men didn't really exist and I must just be gay and in denial and he could fix me and, that, uh. That's not where my brain goes. Shit people can have any pin on their jacket, it's not a magic talisman that removes evil.)

I mask a lot as a neurodivergent person and I've always had to mask when I don't like something other people are hyped about because they get along with you better if you do. But whenever I see people on my dash oohing and aahing over pins or shoelaces or bracelets or hats I just reblog out of wanting to support the queer creators of whatever it is. I don't feel anything when I look at flag merch. It doesn't evoke anything in me. I know better than to say it doesn't because then you're suffering from internalized queerphobia or whatever but it's just... nothing, to me.

--

I haven't had any pins in decades and thought the rainbow ring necklaces were tacky back in the day, but honestly.

I own a sweatshirt from some botanical garden I supported once. And a college shirt. No sports team gear since I hate sports, but that wouldn't be weird either.

College students are frequently annoying about their new identities or political affiliations, but you are also being ridiculous. Humans like markers of identity of many types, including logos on clothing. This is just more of that.

[clovesnz]

actually don’t read this unless u want to lose respect for me. im in a bad place mentally and don’t know how to cope this is the whining of someone who clearly doesn’t have enough real problems

there is definitely something wrong with me because i am sitting in my bed sobbing and wishing to not exist because i let an advent calendar i really wanted sell out before i could get it and they aren’t making any more of them. i think it’s because the advent calendar was about self care kind of and it was all whimsical and id never seen anything like it. so i felt like it was gonna heal me and get me through a really tough month. i wanted it last year but didn’t get it because it sold out. this year they had it again so i assumed they made it every year. nope. turns out those were the last of them. i haven’t felt this way about not getting something i wanted since i was a child. i feel so childish but it’s actually crushed me. like i genuinely feel like nothing else in the whole world matters. i fucking hate being neurodivergent sometimes like usually i can have adhd pride but right now i fucking hate it and want to be normal and not feel this way. i spent my whole childhood feeling this way and it was awful. feeling like the whole world was ending over experiences or items i didn’t get to have especially when it was my own fault. and not understanding why it effected me so much and wanting to be better and being told i was foolish for caring so much about trivial things. i was so relieved when i grew up and learned to deal with those emotions so i don’t understand why i feel this way about this

it’s just the fact that it will never be back. since they had it two years i thought it would be back next year. so i didn’t rush to buy it as much as i should. ive been imagining that ill have it one day for a whole year. idk why but im just really not okay and im writing this here because i can’t tell anyone i’ll because i sound like an idiot for being so upset. i think i had thsi idea that it was going to fix me. like. all the good vibes from it would fix me. im trying to think of things to comfort me and its not working. this is the most privileged fucking problem to have but at the same time if I were more privileged i would have bought it when i saw it was restocked instead of hesitating due to the money. and also maybe i would be happy enough in other parts of my life for this not to crush me. idk im rationalizing my idiocy.

[hauntedtrait]

i love you disabled people who need mobility aids, i love you disabled people who don’t, i love you disabled people who can’t get out of bed some days, i love you disabled people who are intellectually disabled, i love you disabled people who are neurodivergent, i love you disabled people who are chronically ill, i love you disabled people who are terminally ill, i love you disabled people with limb differences, i love you disabled people who use prosthetics, i love you disabled people who don’t use prosthetics, i love you disabled people who are so very tired, i love you disabled people who are proud to be disabled and i love you disabled people who can’t find it in them yet to feel pride this month. i love you disabled people ❤️

disability pride month is so important, and i hope everyone can one day reach the point of being proud of themselves. it’s okay to be upset about being disabled, it’s understandable to struggle, disability and illness are some of the toughest things to deal with every single day. but still, we can be proud in the face of adversity, proud of how far we come and how we’ve survived, proud to stand against ableism, even if we are so, so tired.

it’s also a good time for abled bodied people to sit down and listen to us and learn from us and WORK to be allies and support us.

anyways, happy disability pride month to my fellow disabled and chronically ill babes ❤️ i love you and you deserve a treat

[stpansy]

what’s up with Patrick’s fashion evolution this past year? And his aura?? It seems like he’s finally completely comfortable with himself.

smth i have always loved about patrick is that he goes through these periods where he finds a style that he likes/is comfortable in and sticks with it for anywhere from months to years. neurodivergent king i see you. and real ones know that patrick has been slaying since pre-hiatus--thinking so fondly of his funky sneakers + all over patterned hoodies era circa ioh/folie--but i agree that he looks particularly good in the clothes he gravitates towards right now! i adore when he's more visibly punk. patrick stump battle jacket debut 2024 you changed my life forever fr

and yeah i know what you mean about his aura and how he just seems so confident and self-assured these days. it's definitely been building since srar era but something about tour/2ourdust... he came back from their little break with such a palpably strong belief in the art they were making, and then that just skyrocketed over the past year as the audience reception to their entire catalogue was overwhelmingly positive, which we know because he and pete have both talked about it. but i think with patrick specifically, even beyond his obvious confidence/pride in fob itself, he has level of confidence in himself as a performer that eclipses what we've seen from him before. he just seems SO happy. it's so lovely to witness and he couldn't deserve it more! even like. just thinking back to his very affected soul punk persona where he was going through the motions but clearly miserable compared to how he was strutting and growling and beaming at riot fest the other night. having fun on stage (and serving unfathomable levels of cunt while doing it) seems to come so much easier to him now because he's brimming with joy over what he's doing. and so so so much love for who he's doing it with :') obv i don't know patrick or the details of his personal life but he does seem to be completely comfortable with who is and how he's living and it's so lovely.

also i mean. he's a bear now and he's hot as fuck. i hope to god somebody is telling him how hot he is every day and that he believes them because it's insane that he just walks around on this earth looking like that

[its-murderous-business]

An Introduction to Nonverbal Learning Disorder

Happy disability pride month! I am celebrating by trying to educate people about my learning disorder, because it is one of the least known learning disabilities and deserves more recognition.

What is Nonverbal Learning Disorder?

Nonverbal Learning Disorder (also called Non-Verbal Learning Disability and other variations on the same name), often shortened to NLD or NVLD, is not a new concept, but the idea of it as its own diagnosis is relatively recent. A common misconception upon hearing the name is that people with NVLD are non-verbal, but this is not the case. The name essentially refers to the fact that people with this disability are affected in almost every area except verbal and language skills, where they often excel.

What areas can NVLD effect?

NVLD can take a lot of forms, and not everyone with it will be affected in every area, and other areas are also able to be affected this is just a general list:

- exceptional skills in the areas of comprehension (understanding) and production (ability to utilize) of verbal language. Basically, we are really good at reading, writing, speech, spelling, and have large vocabularies.

- difficulties with visual spatial processing skills. Fun fact, NVLD was briefly called Visual Spatial Processing Disorder! Visual spatial processing is a term that describes the process of seeing things and then understanding how they relate to one another in space.

- difficulties with understanding non-verbal forms of communication such as tone, facial expressions, gestures, metaphors and exaggerations, and (sometimes) context.

- difficulties with math, including arithmetic, fractions, geometry, telling time, pattern recognition, and much more. This can be very similar to dyscalculia.

- difficulties socializing (often presents similar to the social difficulties faced by autistic people)

- other miscellaneous neurodivergent traits such as hyperfixations, difficulty regulating emotions, distress when faced with change, sensory overload, motor skill and coordination deficits, attention deficits, and executive dysfunction

How does that affect people with NVLD on the day to day?

Let’s use me as the example. I love to talk to people but I often run into issues because I take things very literally, struggle to read social cues, and can have trouble connecting with others. Growing up I was always in advanced English and literature classes, but was in special education for math due to my extreme difficulties with it. I have a lot of trouble dealing with last minute changes in my plans and loud noises bother me A Lot.

I struggle greatly with visual spatial processing skills, specifically for me that can manifest as not knowing where my body is in space (causing me to bump into things a lot), difficulty navigating maps, struggles with knowing left from right, a complete inability to use the knowledge of how an object looks from one angle to visualize how it would look from another angle, and many other things.

NVLD can present in a number of different ways and affect different parts of peoples lives. I have multiple neurodivergent comorbidities which can make it difficult to tease the exact symptoms apart from one another, but there are plenty of articles online where people discuss their own experiences if you look for them.

Is NVLD in the DSM/an official diagnosis?

ehhhhh it’s complicated. NVLD is not currently it’s own differentiated diagnosis within the DSM-5, however it can be diagnosed (as it is with me) under the DSM-5 as Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in Mathematics which serves as a sort of catch all for any learning disability that affects math or areas other than reading/writing.

NVLD as its own diagnosis is a relatively new idea, as historically it’s been lumped within other diagnoses (typically autism, adhd, or specific learning disability). However over the last 15 years and especially the last 5 years, there has been a significant increase in academic literature and acknowledgement of NVLD as its own distinct diagnosis. Columbia University has been conducting research on the disorder alongside the NVLD Project, which is the only organization that exclusively does advocacy, education, and research around NVLD. These groups are doing a lot of work to attempt to get NVLD classified as its own diagnosis in future editions of the DSM.

How common is NVLD? What causes it?

NVLD is uncommonly diagnosed due to lack of official DSM recognition, misidentification as other neurodiverse conditions, and lack of awareness of NVLD from neuropsych evaluators. However one study from earlier this year estimated that between 1-8% of children have NVLD depending on what diagnostic criteria is used.

There has been some early evidence that NVLD is the result of dysfunction in the right hemisphere of the brain or more specifically the inability of the right hemisphere of the brain to effectively communicate to the left hemisphere.

Why are you telling me all of this?

The majority of people do not know that NVLD exists, and as such those of us with this condition often get left out of neurodivergent and disability communities. I would like to be included in advocacy and understood by the community since we all face very similar challenges! I really encourage y’all to learn more about Non-Verbal Learning Disability

Here are some links to learn more!

From the Child Mind Institute

Psychology Today article

From ADDitude Magazine

Article from Very Well Mind

Medical News Today article

Learning Disorder Association of America article

From Learning Disability Association of Ontario

And of course the aforementioned NVLD Project website!

[clown-prince-of-gay]

Happy Pride everyone~~

I drew me and my lovely boyfriend @king-of-vertigo, (I love you honeybee~), We are being gay and transing all your children. Watch out or you're next.

Anyways. Happy Pride to those who celebrate. (And especially happy pride slay queen girlypop month to those who don't) Under the cut I'll have each flag and an explanation of what it means to me~

Likes and reblogs appreciated!! Do not repost!

I would like to preface this with: I am not an expert in all of these identities (despite being a part of them) and my connection to them is hugely shaped by my own experience and interpretation of each label. My only hope with all this is to hopefully make someone feel less alone, (because my god i spent a long time finding some of these labels-)

Aceflux

Aceflux us defined as a person with a fluctuating feeing of sexual attraction to others, I sort of think of it like a dial being turned up and down based on the moment. (there are also romantic and aroace versions of the label I beleive, along with another variation of the flag with a purple/red gradient striping.)

In my own experience that results in differing kinds of days, some where I feel really strong attraction, others where I feel little to none. Sometimes it changes day to day, sometimes its the same for weeks, or it changes throughout the day based on context.

This label was one that took me. An entirely too long time to find. and this is one that feels. right. because I had very flexible and changing feelings and attraction, I knew I could place myself somewhere on the ace spectrum, but not exactly where because it wasn't consistent at all (wowee i wonder why that is because its not like thats the whole thing lmao) and I ended up cycling through so many aspec labels. This is one that I can feel comfortable in, and I'm hoping others resonate with it as well.

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term and very ambiguous identity that can essentially encompass anyone that identifies with it.

So- my sexuality is. incredibly nuanced and complicated when it comes to describing who I find myself romantically, aesthetically, or platonically attracted to (I know there are so many other ways to be attracted to someone, those are just the simplest for me to explain). For example: I can (when allowed by my silly demiromantic ass) be romantically attracted to men and masc (or even non aligned) presenting and identifying people, and I in fact, have a lovely boyfriend whom I love a lot! And as for femme aligned people its more interesting because I don't feel particularly romantically about them, but I can experience aesthetic, or platonic forms of attraction, and Queer is simply a label that I connect with that has the space to encompass all of that.

Demiromantic

Demiromantic is a label that essentially encompasses the idea that an individual doesn't feel romantic attraction to another unless they have an emotional or platonic bond with that person. (there is also an ace and an aroace version, which I think is super neat)

Demiromantic is a label that I personally connect with, be that because I'm naturally incredibly slow to make connections, or maybe connected to the fact that I'm very neurodivergent, (although thats a post for another day-) and feeling comfortable being and feeling romantic about someone is already incredibly rare, and I feel like I need a connection to someone personally until I can feel romantically (I say that like I control when I feel romantic. Its kinda. I dunno I can't control it. this label is just one I felt encompassed it. which is the point.)

Transgender

Transgender is an umbrella term in which someone doesnt connect or identify with the assigned gender given at birth. (I'm very sure I have made it no secret that I am transmasc. We love the transes here)

However. no matter how many labels I find to express and explain my gender being 'masculine' (with several different question marks. I'm a boy in the same way orange soda is the same as a regular orange. same sorta spirit. completely different executions.) above all. I am still trans. and I will always be trans. that's who I am <33

My gender is. an interesting topic. In the way that I have not yet found a label to describe it other than being transmasc. which I know as different to being a trans 'man' in the fact that I didnt transition to be a 'man', not binarily being a man. I bounce between being androgynous and being masculine, but in a way where labels like demigendered/demiboy or boyflux (other labels I've considered) don't seem to fit. because it is in a way where some days I feel more or less masculine to completely genderless. (If anyone can think of a label that fits that- I would love to hear it. I haven't even gotten into My pronoun search. maybe a seperate post on that later.)

[agent-barnes40]

Clara Oswald Platonic Imagine request please where reader is Neurodivergent and has a love for history, but was made to be ashamed of it when young despite Clara sticking up for them, and Clara being happy for them when they are able to talk all the time about the interest when travelling with the doctor? Sorry it’s so long

Thank you so much for the request! I took the liberty of choosing Capaldi!Doctor as the doctor in this. I should mention also, I am neurodivergent myself and have a life long fascination with The Romanov's, so I get it.

The Doctor picks their companion's with pride and care and so when Clara suddenly drags you onto his ship, he's all hands wavy and gesturing at you.

"Doctor!" Clara's voice is stern and The Time Lord fully stops in his tracks.

Your watching the two while rocking back and forth on your feet. "I can go, Clars, really."

Clara turns to look at you. "No, you will not. Doctor, you need to apologize."

"Really, you should be the one apologizing. You're the one bringing someone completely new onto the TARDIS." The Doctor is saying, gesturing a hand out towards you.

Your eyes widen and you look at him, although you barely make eye contact. "I can pay, just like I have for tours and all that. I just wanna see Alexander Palace in its prime, that's all."

The Doctor swiftly turns to look at Clara, the hand pointed out towards you waving as he begins to talk. "Oh, so now your using as a tourist service, Clara?"

Clara swiftly grabs his arm, turning him in a circle and marching him towards the stairs toward the upper part of the console room. Her voice is lowered, but you know from the look on her face she is lecturing him just like she does her students. The Doctor, every once in awhile, turned to look at you, before nodding. "Alexander Palace, right?"

It was the best day of your life, being able to sit and explore the palace at the end of Tsarist Russia.

The Doctor was eager to listen to you info dump all about the palace and the information about it, and he fed you little bits of information that you didn't know while softly correcting you on information you had wrong.

Clara and him didn't expect you to become a staple in the TARDIS after that.

The next couple of months were filled with just history trips and The Doctor and Clara making sure you weren't interrupted whenever you'd just stop and stare at the people or paintings.

Clara sat next to you, the two of you sitting on the floor of the TARDIS next to the door, as you just stared up at the construction of the Eiffel Tower. "So, how does it feel?"

"Amazing. These have been the best months of my life. I can never thank you and The Doctor enough." You whispered, watching the men move about.

"You don't have to thank us at all. I know how much this means to you." Clara said, watching you for a minute before looking out at the construction herself.

"I'll have to get The Doctor something." You whispered, continuing to watch.

"You don't have to get me anything. It's good enough to see someone appreciating Earth's history. I should take you to The Titanic." The Doctor says, swiftly moving to join the two of you on the floor.

"I'd rather not die in 1912, thanks." You said absently.

"He'd get us off the ship before, right Doctor?"

"Of course, duty of care." The Doctor said, watching you.

The two try to keep you out of the process of events surrounding places.

You three had been there for the beheading of Anne Boleyn, you had been in fact quietly singing "Don't Lose Your Head" during it all under your breath.

The two enjoyed your little info dumps about situations and locations and people as you travelled through time.

The two never ever put you down about your little quirks or when you'd stim excitedly over an event (you excitedly flappy handed when you three "accidentally" ran into someone you had excitedly read about as a kid)

The three of you were apart of The Ides of March, and you and Clara had joined in on the stabbing of Julius Caesar.