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 20, 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 BrainAcceptance isn’t the same as submission. The School System Gave Up on My FatherMy father spent much of his life believing he wasn’t very smart. School had taught him that lesson early. He struggled to learn the way other kids did, so instead of figuring out how he learned best, the system simply kept moving him along. What nobody seemed to notice was how intelligent he actually was. He understood machines. He could solve problems with his hands, instincts, and persistence in ways a classroom never knew how to measure. He became an Army Ranger, a firefighter, a business owner, and the guy his coworkers called “Gene the Machine.” Years later, after my sons and I were diagnosed with autism, I began to see my father’s life differently. Not as an excuse for the ways he struggled as a parent. As context. And one day, after years of barely talking about himself, Dad finally told me what school had been like for him. It was like a vault opened. Now he’s 85, and that vault has closed again. I’m incredibly grateful I got to hear some of what was inside before it did. This piece is about unseen neurodivergence, intelligence that classrooms sometimes miss, the stories we inherit about ourselves, and what can happen when we finally learn to see our parents as whole people. Read The School System Gave Up on My Father What Changes When You Finally Believe You Matter? with Danielle BernockWhat happens when you spend years learning that your needs should come last? Maybe you became the easy one. The helper. The person who learned to keep the peace, push through, and ask for as little as possible. Those patterns can begin long before we have words for them. In my latest conversation with relationship repair specialist, author, and speaker Danielle Bernock, we explore how childhood wounds can quietly shape the way we see ourselves well into adulthood. Danielle shares her own journey through fear, shame, and feeling unseen, along with what helped her begin moving from simply surviving toward believing something very different: My needs matter too. We talk about people-pleasing, perfectionism, self-worth, and why healing usually isn’t one dramatic breakthrough. Sometimes it starts much smaller. One boundary. One act of care. One moment when you stop automatically believing the old story about who you’re supposed to be. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to change the way you see yourself, I think you’ll find something meaningful in this conversation. Your story isn’t finished yet. 🌿 A new review of Agatha’s Garden 🌿Have you purchased your copy? I'd love to hear your feedback. 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...