Divergent Sandwich Philosophy
Welcome to Divergent Sandwich!
My intention is for this to be a safe space, resource, and sounding board for divergent adults, adults with divergent children, and/or adults with aging/elderly family members.
“Divergent Sandwich” refers to being sandwiched between my husband and children and “sandwiched” between my immediate family and family of origin and elderly/aging relatives.
I am neurodivergent and was diagnosed with combination type Attention Hyperactive Deficit Disorder (ADHD) as an adult. I have two children, ages 7 and 5, who were diagnosed with Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in late 2023 and early 2024. My son (7) also has the inattentive, impulsive, hyperactive type of ADHD and a sleep disorder called Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (similar to restless leg syndrome). In the overnight sleep study. the threshold for the diagnosis is 5 movements per hour and my son averaged over 25! My daughter has some autism related sleep issues I have not been able to successfully diagnose yet, despite 3 overnight sleep studies. She struggles to fall asleep, stay asleep through the night, and wake up in the morning.
I got my adult ADHD diagnosis after my son was diagnosed because I found myself completely overwhelmed often and unable to focus and complete tasks like I had previously been able to before becoming a parent of 2 special needs kids. The path to my ADHD diagnosis took 8 months and consisted of drug testing, neuropsychiatric tests, and interviews with psychologists. While scientists and researchers believe there may or may not be a genetic component to ASD, I went through all the testing and was determined not to be on the spectrum during my ADHD screening and diagnosis.
Neurodivergence is the “norm” in my humble opinion but society seems to prefer the illusion that neurotypical is what should be “normal” and what is standard. I have come to realize after my children were both diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder that there is so much misinformation about what autism is or what it looks like. Especially high functioning level 1 ASD. It’s not the movie Rain Man’s brother where ASD means you are like Dustin Hoffman’s character (see link for the trailer if you are unfamiliar with the movie). I want to de-stigmatize the notion of what “autism” can look like. I have had family deny the diagnosis, refuse to accept it, and tell me not to share it because it is shameful, embarrassing, or a dirty secret. I have had others ask if my children need help – YES, they need help and I need help and it’s completely OKAY to need help.
In this day and age, everyone wants to show off their best selves on social media. Few talk about taboo topics such as autism or miscarriage that are deeply personal but ALSO deeply connecting to who we are as human beings with feelings and emotions. I want to be a safe space and resource for people to connect and find help if that is what they need. My website and IG will reflect of this intention.
I am a lawyer turned full time mama and am transitioning back to my career and pivoting into special education law now that my daughter is in elementary school with her brother. LinkedIn profile below if you want to learn more about my background.
I would love for you to join me on this journey!
Rain Man Movie Trailer: https://youtu.be/mlNwXuHUA8I
歡迎來到分歧三明治!
我的目的是為不同的成年人、有不同孩子的成年人和/或有年長父母、教父母和老年家庭成員的成年人提供一個安全的空間、資源和共鳴板。
在我兒子被診斷出患有多動症後,我很難被診斷出患有多動症,因為我發現自己經常完全不知所措,無法像我在成為兩個特殊需求孩子的父母之前那樣集中註意力和完成任務。我的成年 ADHD 診斷花了 8 個月的時間,包括藥物測試、神經精神測試和心理學家訪談。雖然科學家和研究人員認為自閉症譜系障礙可能存在也可能不存在遺傳因素,但我進行了所有測試,並在我的過動症篩檢和診斷過程中確定不屬於自閉症譜系障礙。
“分歧三明治”指的是“夾在我的丈夫和孩子之間”,“夾在”我的直系親屬和原生家庭(母親和姐姐,因為我父親在2015年突然去世)和年邁的教父母/年邁的親戚之間。
我患有神經分歧症,成年後被診斷出患有組合型注意力不足過動症 (ADHD)。我有兩個孩子,分別為7 歲和5 歲,最近於2023 年末和2024 年初被診斷出患有1 級自閉症譜系障礙(ASD)。即註意力不集中、衝動、過動型。他還患有一種稱為週期性肢體運動障礙的睡眠障礙。在夜間睡眠研究中。診斷的閾值是每小時 5 次運動,我兒子平均超過 25 次!它類似於不寧腿症候群。最近,我在旅行時犯了一個錯誤,與他同睡一張床,感覺就像睡在大座鐘的鐘擺旁邊。我女兒有一些與自閉症相關的睡眠問題,儘管進行了 3 次夜間睡眠研究,但我尚未成功診斷。她很難入睡,整晚都睡著,早上又醒來。
在我看來,神經分歧是“常態”,但社會似乎更喜歡這樣的錯覺:神經典型就是應該“正常”和標準的東西。在我的兩個孩子都被診斷出患有自閉症譜系障礙後,我開始意識到,關於自閉症是什麼或它是什麼樣子,有很多錯誤的資訊。特別是高功能 1 級 ASD。這不是電影《雨人的兄弟》,其中 ASD 意味著您像達斯汀霍夫曼的角色(如果您不熟悉這部電影,請參閱預告片鏈接)。我想消除「自閉症」這個概念的污名。我的家人否認診斷結果,拒絕接受它,並告訴我不要分享它,因為這是可恥的、尷尬的或骯髒的秘密。我曾經讓其他人問我的孩子是否需要幫助 – 是的,他們需要幫助,我也需要幫助 – 我需要幫助,需要幫助以及您的孩子需要幫助是完全可以的。
在當今時代,似乎每個人都想在社群媒體上展現最好的自己。很少有人談論自閉症或流產等禁忌話題,這些話題非常個人化,但也與我們作為人類的感受和情感有著深刻的連結。我希望成為一個安全的空間和資源,讓人們聯繫並尋求幫助(如果他們需要的話)。我即將推出的網站和 IG 也將反映這一意圖。
我是一名律師,後來成為全職媽媽,今年秋天(2024 年)我女兒上幼兒園後,我將重新開始我的職業生涯並轉向特殊教育法。如果您想了解更多有關我的背景的信息,請參閱下面的 LinkedIn 個人資料。
我很高興你能加入我的旅程!