Written by Bella Wong
ADHD is a condition that affects how the brain regulates attention, behaviour, and emotions, and and autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition affecting how a person perceives the world, communicates, and interacts with others.
ADHD and autism affect how I think, focus and experience the world. It doesn’t always look obvious, but it changes how I experience everyday things!
For me, being on the spectrum means seeing the world in different colours to others, but also being misunderstood sometimes.
Sometimes understanding and reading other people’s emotions and social cues can be hard, as sometimes I misunderstand happiness to be sadness, or silence to be anger towards me.
For neurodivergent people, challenges and struggles often aren’t visible from the outside to others. We might look fine but are actually dealing with a lot in our heads. This is called ‘masking’. Hiding these constant worries, anxieties inside of us sometimes makes it hard to think properly, or even concentrate on things like schoolwork.
When it’s too noisy, I’ve been masking too much or I’m socially exhausted, I experience what is known as a shutdown. This makes it hard for me to form sentences and think clearly.
Instead, I feel drained, and like I need to isolate myself from the noise. Shutdowns have affected my schooling a lot, because sometimes when I’m placed in an overwhelming situation, its hard to find the right words to say, and I suddenly seem quiet and distant, making it hard to communicate and talk to other students.
Sometimes, one of the hardest parts of school for me isn’t the work itself. It’s trying to stay focused on it.
Others might just be sitting in class, listening to the teacher and everything makes sense. But for me, it can feel like my brain is constantly switching from focusing from one thing to the next.
I’ll start listening, and then suddenly I’m thinking about something completely different, or noticing every little thing in the room except for the work I’m supposed to be doing. And then there are also times where I get hyperfocused on one thing, leading me to only think about that ONE thing for the rest of the day.
But it’s not just me, I’m pretty sure everyone has had a moment where you realise you’ve been staring at your work for five minutes and haven’t actually done anything. The difference is, for people like me who are on the spectrum, it happens way more often, and intensely.
Although I overthink a lot, this actually can sometimes be one of my strengths. Sometimes, I’ll have a ton of ideas all at once, and my brain is coming up with suggestions faster then I can keep up.
So even though my brain can be a bit chaotic sometimes, it also means it can be imaginative, curious, and innovative. And over the years, I’ve learnt to love and appreciate that part of me.
Being on the spectrum hasn’t just affected how I learn, but also how I see other people.
I know what it’s like to struggle with things inside that other people might not notice. This has made me more aware that everyone is dealing with something, even if you can’t see it. It’s taught me to not judge too quickly, as it’s easy to assume things about people but most of the time, we never know the full truth. And I think it’s also made me more aware of including others, because sometimes, all it takes is one act of kindness to change how someone feels.
It’s not just me. In fact, everyone experiences the world in their own way. Even if you’re not on the spectrum, you might still relate to feeling distracted, overwhelmed or different sometimes. We all have experienced a time where things feel so much harder than they seem for others.
A world where everyone’s the same, sounds kind of boring anyway. Our differences are what make us stronger, unique and our own person.
My name is Bella Wong, and I’m a year 12 student at Perth College who lives life on the spectrum with Autism and ADHD. I am currently a PC student official as one of the Innovation Captains. I like to draw, write, game, sing and spend time with my family and friends!
The Reframing Autism team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we have the privilege to learn, work, and grow. Whilst we gather on many different parts of this Country, the RA team walk on the land of the Awabakal, Birpai, Whadjak, and Wiradjuri peoples.
We are committed to honouring the rich culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this Country, and the diversity and learning opportunities with which they provide us. We extend our gratitude and respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to all Elders past and present, for their wisdom, their resilience, and for helping this Country to heal.
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