ADHD is often an excess of attention than a deficit. Autism is often an excess of empathy rather than a lack of. - ThreadSky

roryreckons.bsky.social • 102 days ago

ADHD is often an excess of attention than a deficit.
Autism is often an excess of empathy rather than a lack of.

What is common knowledge in your field but shocks outsiders?

(Bringing back a 2018 Twitter hit): Keeping honey bees to save the bees is like keeping chickens to save the birds. They're a managed species and not at risk of extinction. The bees at risk of extinction are wild species.

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sjbedard.bsky.social•100 days ago

Yes. I do not lack empathy but sometimes have trouble regulating it.

resistthegop.bsky.social•101 days ago

True

misssayruh.bsky.social•100 days ago

Interesting. The family members I have with autism or audAdhd struggle with empathy. They have to be helped in many instances.

paulychilds.bsky.social•102 days ago

After my diagnosis in 2022 I described my brain as being like this.

Multiple streams of thought, all mixing up and intertwining, making it very easy to get on the wrong track, or to take the wrong turn and get lost or locked into going the wrong way for miles

paulychilds.bsky.social•102 days ago

And I assumed that the medication and occupational therapy I would be getting would turn that mess into this.

All those things swirling around up there would be silenced so I could concentrate on one thing at a time and I'd have the agency to change direction to a new track when I needed to.

paulychilds.bsky.social•102 days ago

But after a year of meds and professional help at work, I found that it was more like this.

All those thoughts are still there but are not so mixed up anymore, and I can switch to another track more easily if I want to.

But I can also focus on what's ahead and ignore the other tracks if I need to.

ericajanemp.bsky.social•95 days ago

This is so interesting, thank you. I have an assessment coming up and what you’ve just describe above is what I’d like to get to. I don’t want the busy brain/many lines to stop, I want to be able to be in a bit more control over it.

justteachingela.bsky.social•101 days ago

Yes!!! Thank you!!!!

seanconroypac.medsky.social•101 days ago

Always strange to find posts written about me by people I haven’t met 🙃

mollierincon.bsky.social•100 days ago

My oldest is AuDHD and he’s always been an empathetic kid. I tell him he feels things more deeply than others, and that’s not a bad thing, but it can be a struggle because others don’t know what it’s like to feel things like that.

roryreckons.bsky.social•102 days ago

ADHD people don't lack attention, they lack the ability to direct it. ADHD attention is like Cyclops without glasses often. Often having our attention stolen.

Autism can cause meltdowns and shutdowns by being OVERWHELMED by the emotions of others. Being a human mood thermometer isnt fun.

roryreckons.bsky.social•102 days ago

The Māori name for ADHD is 'Aroreretini' which means attention goes to many things

roryreckons.bsky.social•102 days ago

Before I get crushed for not using a quantifier - 'ADHD people OFTEN don't lack attention' it's not universal.

reneepatrice.bsky.social•102 days ago

I had a hard time going to work b/c of the different personalities. There were always people that wanted to tell me all their problems and their energy would overwhelm me so much, I couldn't think clearly for hours. I didn't realize I was AuDHD until I went into complete shutdown.

jackiegardina.bsky.social•102 days ago

My wife has ADHD and she has the ability (gift) to hyperfocus--so there isn't a lack of attention. She can absolutely focus on something that interests her (dopemine hit) and it will be nearly perfect. In contrast, I can accomplish a lot at an OK level, but I can't hyperfocus. Society values me.

kitchencollective.bsky.social•102 days ago

There’s not enough written about those two areas to make it more commonly known.

george-nada.bsky.social•101 days ago

Autism and ADHD are both non-Hive. So no stripe on any flag.

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