Stories, insights, and hard-earned wisdom from the AuDHD human experience. I write about autism, ADHD, resilience, relationships, grief, healing, and the everyday challenge of being human. Part personal reflection, part practical wisdom, and part ongoing experiment, my work helps people feel less alone while discovering what becomes possible when they stop trying to be someone else.
Notes From the Thick of It (Aug 13, 2026)
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I call this Notes From the Thick of It because I’m writing from inside real life, not from a polished finish line. These are reflections from the messy middle of AuDHD and chronic Illness, where overwhelm, grief, humor, healing, and small flashes of clarity all show up together. If you like what you read, please share it. Meanwhile, in My BrainAn AuDHD brain is a bit like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. The bigger problem is that the box changes every day. You don’t have the same brain firing the same way from one day to the next, so expecting consistent results is almost laughable. ADHD is a lot more than a hyper kid who can't focusADHD is a lot more than a hyper kid who can't focus. It can mean knowing exactly what to do and being unable to start doing it, let alone keep doing it until it's done. We forget things no matter how important they are. We work to regulate emotions that leave us exhausted. Being blamed for symptoms you never chose and can’t simply switch off is particularly cruel, more so when people without these challenges seem to be committed to misunderstanding us. Don't tell us to try harder because that's what we've been doing the whole time. I have found, unfortunately, that no number of accommodations can solve these problems because they are predominantly aimed at producing outcomes that meet the standards of those who do not have these problems. So what do I do. I am leaning more into self-advocacy and self-compassion so that I can educate others, the teachable ones that is, about how to support me. So I can give them what they want and need as best I can. I work every single day to unlearn my tendencies towards comparison. Comparison that can leave me feeling absolutely worthless and questioning the point of even trying. These efforts often work in baby steps and require a lot of repetition in order to help them stick. I find those efforts can really pay dividends when I commit to being good to myself instead of constantly worrying about how well I am performing for others. The Moment Everything Finally Made Sense with Samantha Foote
What if you spent years believing you were too much... too emotional... too distracted... too sensitive... only to discover your brain was never broken in the first place? In this powerful conversation, Brian sits down with Samantha Foote, founder of Every Brain is Different, to explore what it's like to spend decades living with undiagnosed ADHD. After years of feeling like she was the problem—and navigating multiple misdiagnoses—Samantha finally received the answer that changed everything. 🌿 A new review of Agatha’s Garden 🌿I loved this book! It is a quick and easy read. I read the entire book over the course of a few hours. I read this book because I was getting ready to hear the author speak at a training day for my work. It turns out it was just what I needed to read for something happening in my personal life. If you are looking for something to get in your feels and if you are open minded to learning a bit about neurodiversity this book will offer you some things to think about. — Josh Thanks for being you, |
Brian R. King MSW
Stories, insights, and hard-earned wisdom from the AuDHD human experience. I write about autism, ADHD, resilience, relationships, grief, healing, and the everyday challenge of being human. Part personal reflection, part practical wisdom, and part ongoing experiment, my work helps people feel less alone while discovering what becomes possible when they stop trying to be someone else.
I call this Notes From the Thick of It because I’m writing from inside real life, not from a polished finish line. These are reflections from the messy middle of AuDHD and chronic Illness, where overwhelm, grief, humor, healing, and small flashes of clarity all show up together. If you like what you read, please share it. Meanwhile, in My Brain Life with AuDHD lends itself to latching on to a lot of unhelpful ideas about our own worth, how relationships work, and more. Then the day comes when...
I call this Notes From the Thick of It because I’m writing from inside real life, not from a polished finish line. These are reflections from the messy middle of AuDHD and chronic Illness, where overwhelm, grief, humor, healing, and small flashes of clarity all show up together. If you like what you read, please share it. Meanwhile, in My Brain Unmasking isn’t safe to do in every situation. There are times when masking makes sense because stripping naked in front of others isn’t always safe....
I call this Notes From the Thick of It because I’m writing from inside real life, not from a polished finish line. These are reflections from the messy middle of AuDHD and chronic Illness, where overwhelm, grief, humor, healing, and small flashes of clarity all show up together. If you like what you read, please share it. Meanwhile, in My Brain We don't have cookie cutter brains. Accommodating one person's ADHD doesn't mean the problem is solved for all of us. To suggest otherwise is...