With so much overlap in presentation and subjective experience of what we call *ADHD, Autism, and Giftedness *(all areas of neurodivergence and common labels found in the neurocomplex), I’ve spent a good portion of my professional career as a psychotherapist and Autism/ADHD/Giftedness assessor exploring the "what's what?" of these identifiers. What I’ve found is that it’s more about the alchemy of the inner and outer worlds that determines expression of different flavors of Neurocomplexity.
If you’ve hung out on any of my platforms (or had to be stuck with me in a room for any reason) you’ve likely been introduced to my term Neurocomplexity and how it encompasses my hypothesis on the connective fascia between childhood Giftedness identification (or suspicion) )and late(r) in life identified Autism and/or ADHD. Here is the written version of my current hypothesis to jog your memory (for all of my burnt out or recovering folx reading this):
Hypothesis:*Neurocomplex wiring, when well-resourced, takes on a similar presentation and, for some, subjective experience of what education psychology refers to as “Giftedness”. When under-resourced and/or in a period of "burnout", Neurocomplexity takes on a similar presentation and subjective experience of what the DSM refers to as Autism and ADHD. *
Thus, a Neurocomplex individual may not meet criteria for Autism and/or ADHD until later in life after or during a period of extensive burnout that has impacted (temporarily or permanently) their nervous system functioning in areas of executive functioning, verbal capacities, sensory processing, and social abilities—exposing these traits of complexity in a new way.
As a visual processor, I’m always looking for ways to communicate my thoughts/ideas using methods that others can comprehend while still honoring my own visual preferences. With that in mind, I’ve created this very special download that depicts a holistic unfolding model of the lifespan of Neurocomplex individuals, based on anecdotal and research that I’ve gathered throughout my career, including the following areas of subjective experience:
School/academic functioning
Workplace functioning
Social/interpersonal life
Mental health
Physical health
Gender
Sexuality
Existential issues
This lifespan model explains common phenomena in Neurocomplex beings in early and middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and beyond.
This download also illustrates common contributors to burnout in the Neurocomplex that can often lead to shifts in functioning and/or diagnosis of Autism and/or ADHD.
Finally, this model offers methods of recovering from Neurocomplex burnout by honoring these individuals’ inherent drive to embody meaningful and purposeful living while navigating the ongoing unique balance of the needs of a complex body-mind (rest, movement/stillness, input/output, connection/alone time, stillness) to support all aspects of functioning, in addition to the sustainability of a meaningful existence.
As always, thanks for supporting my thoughts here on Substack. Your support enables me to spend more energy and focus on getting these ideas out of my head and into the world on a larger scale. My hope for all of this work is to help you make sense of YOU in a framework that aligns with your experience. Let me know your thoughts!
For now,
Lindsey
(You must be a paid subscriber to download the **Neurocomplex Lifespan Model **and thank you, in advance, for your support!)
