“An autistic mom to an ADHD son, I left my evaluation with a new perception of myself and my child. I dove into the research to understand just how fundamentally overlapping ADHD and autism can be. Now I look at my son and can say: I see you.'
My first child, Owen, had a big personality from the start — smiley, engaging, and hilarious. He was also incredibly precocious and intelligent, speaking in complete sentences before he could walk. As a toddler, he loved to command control of the room, directing the minute actions of every adult like a tiny, blonde drill sergeant. I was smitten.— physically, emotionally, intellectually, and sensorially. The world around him was always too much.
I read him the same books, rocked him in my arms in a pitch-black room, and quietly walked out of his room at 7 p.m. on the dot., accurately identified his brain type before he was officially diagnosed. “He’s one of us,” she declared., and a desire to control – in Owen. And I couldn’t have ADHD myself. Surely there was something else that explained our shared lens on the world.Over time, as I tried to make sense of my son’s familiar quirks, I realized that I couldn’t hide from myself any longer.