Most of us that grew up in the 70s and 80s that were on the spectrum or ADD went undiagnosed.

After my youngest son got diagnosed it became completely obvious when my psychologist and I started talking  about it that I was that kid that could not sit still from an early age. Like, chicken wire over fences so I couldn’t climb them and escape. I think my Mum found me on the shed roof when i was like 2. I climbed up the cray pots, so probably that is why they let me play with a record player, to keep me occupied inside.

So my moment where I couldn’t just mask and fend off ADHD was having radiation therapy for breast cancer. I could not relax. Like, I had to go to the most extreme types of mindfulness, like counting backward from 561 by 7s. But that didn’t really help because it all turns into a predicable pattern, I may have studied some maths at University level so that also might help make numbers not a great mindful thing. So I made up trying to think of as many shades of colour that I could. So that is what made me go and get a diagnosis. Also if you have heard it costs near $2000 in Australia to get a diagnosis you are being ripped off. You get a medicare rebate back on your upfront fee of about $400, the upfront fee should not really be more than $1500 at the most. But in Australia everything is so expensive at the moment it could have gone up since last year but I am sure I paid upfront around $1100 in 2024.   

I obviously have anxiety even though I like to pretend I don’t but I can’t seem to escape a doctor wanting to write that down. I also have cPTSD. I have a song called How are you? Which is all about anxiety (I don’t think I knew I had it when I wrote the lyrics, but I had been pretty depressed at that time). 

I think that many musicians would find they are somewhat Neurodivergent. It takes so much time and engagement (the young kids of today call it hyperfocus) to learn a song or an instrument, then when you get to recording and mixing everything becomes even more hyperfocused. 

I don’t see my ADHD as a superpower but I do see it as providing a unique skill set. The hard thing is time management and not burning myself out.

My brother who is ASD probably has the most musical talent in our family but he didn’t get the opportunity to learn due to my family having a small 24 hour international business and no one having time for a child with special needs. Now he has other things he is hyperfoced on and also has schizophrenia and that is a whole other post.

If you think you have any neurodivergent genes or epigenes then I find the Additude Magazine a great free resource. I have not signed up to anything I just read the free articles and look at the fidget toys 🙂

 https://www.additudemag.com/

Anyway if you are like me you probably just want to find resources by yourself.

Things ADHD kids have in common: Told they aren’t listening, paying attention or sitting still or a distracting influence. From my own research :-) These things are totally unhelpful and not really true. It is just some times things are just not that interesting. 

This is an article that has got me actually interested in the other things ADHD does to your nervous system. 

I had a cold this week and my temperature kept going down to like 35.3! Of course I thought I was dying.

https://www.additudemag.com/mast-cell-activation-syndrome-pots-adhd/ 

If someone tells you that everyone has ADHD to dismiss you talking about it, then just say, yes but they aren’t me. 

Also everyone is different and has different life experiences so it just better to always be kind. And it pisses assholes off!

For science nerds epigenes are defined as proteins that perform post-translational modification of histones or DNA. In human terms Epigenes act on the outside of cells to make surface changes and therefore may change our appearances (phenotype).