I relate to Katrine's experience a lot. Late-realisation and diagnosis was so revelatory, a relief, a big positive and life has been better since. But the process very much surfaced old traumas or things I hadn't previously recognised as trauma. My diagnostician really encouraged me to make some space for grieving the years without identity and finding some support for trauma processing. The tricky thing is in my country accessing trauma therapy is not easy and is only funded for some cases. So I ended up doing a lot of self-led work using whatever resources I could draw on. I recognise that I likely could not have done that so effectively if I'd had intellectual or learning disability. A lot of that was body reconnection too, and yes I think the years of significant invalidation drove a lot of that disconnection In my ideal world we'd have clear neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed care, free diagnosis available to those of all ages and free trauma therapy of many kinds available to neurodivergent people. I put a lot of work into processing through my own internalised ableism. I do have the spiky profile, dynamic and fluctuating needs, real strengths, but things that are very hard. I reached a point of being able to proudly identify as disabled and accept support workers in my life - it was a hard process to adjust to after so many years of suppressing needs but it has made my life much, much better. I'm such a believer now in the role of support. It allows us to give more back to the things that matter to us, so I also work now to support others too. Our needs are real, the fact they are contextual, dynamic, and complex doesn't make them less real. I think being able to live and embrace that makes us better at advocating for others so if we can't get over the line to accept support just for ourselves (even though that is more than enough), that it benefits us all may be the thing that gets someone there.
Thank you for such a heartfelt message, and we are so glad you found the sessions resonated with you. We will let Katrine know so they can read your kind and valuable words.
Very interesting. I am involved in Australian National Autism Strategy which so far none of it is Trauma informed !! Its so important to about our Lived Experience of Trauma driven Autistic Lives. This a conversation that is deeply moving & humanizing to me. My stim is drumming. Not proper drumming but just tapping along to good pop / rock / soul beats
Chloe! Hoorah, lovely to see you again!
I relate to Katrine's experience a lot. Late-realisation and diagnosis was so revelatory, a relief, a big positive and life has been better since. But the process very much surfaced old traumas or things I hadn't previously recognised as trauma. My diagnostician really encouraged me to make some space for grieving the years without identity and finding some support for trauma processing.
The tricky thing is in my country accessing trauma therapy is not easy and is only funded for some cases. So I ended up doing a lot of self-led work using whatever resources I could draw on. I recognise that I likely could not have done that so effectively if I'd had intellectual or learning disability. A lot of that was body reconnection too, and yes I think the years of significant invalidation drove a lot of that disconnection
In my ideal world we'd have clear neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed care, free diagnosis available to those of all ages and free trauma therapy of many kinds available to neurodivergent people.
I put a lot of work into processing through my own internalised ableism. I do have the spiky profile, dynamic and fluctuating needs, real strengths, but things that are very hard. I reached a point of being able to proudly identify as disabled and accept support workers in my life - it was a hard process to adjust to after so many years of suppressing needs but it has made my life much, much better. I'm such a believer now in the role of support. It allows us to give more back to the things that matter to us, so I also work now to support others too. Our needs are real, the fact they are contextual, dynamic, and complex doesn't make them less real. I think being able to live and embrace that makes us better at advocating for others so if we can't get over the line to accept support just for ourselves (even though that is more than enough), that it benefits us all may be the thing that gets someone there.
Thank you for such a heartfelt message, and we are so glad you found the sessions resonated with you. We will let Katrine know so they can read your kind and valuable words.
Correction: Professor Jason Arday is at Cambridge, not Oxford. 😊
Very interesting. I am involved in Australian National Autism Strategy which so far none of it is Trauma informed !! Its so important to about our Lived Experience of Trauma driven Autistic Lives. This a conversation that is deeply moving & humanizing to me. My stim is drumming. Not proper drumming but just tapping along to good pop / rock / soul beats
Thank you for talking to us about this ❤
Sending kind regards and support Chloe re your burnout 🌻❤🌻