I'm Bizzy, and welcome to my Brain Space—this new community is a call to other autistic/ADHD (AuDHD) adults.
Here is what you should know about me. Creativity, chronic illness, AuDHD, love of my spouse and our cats make up my entire personality. You can find me writing or taking photos when I am not doing mundane things like trying to fix the American "healthcare" system as a registered nurse case manager. While I write both non-fiction and fiction under different pen names, I am best known online for being the author of Late-Identified AuDHD: A Starter Workbook and for speaking publically about my experiences with being an autistic adult with ADHD.
Why am I starting a Substack now? I've been interested in Substack for a couple of years since I was first introduced to the idea by an acquaintance from an autistic peer support group. While she highlighted all the things she hated, all I could see were possibilities for community. I have been looking for a way to connect and combine my new ideas with my serial essays, photography, and newsletter on one platform while providing opportunities for my readers to support the Brain Space I need to make this happen.
Then, this year, I was given the sage advice NOT to start a Substack by someone successful on this platform because it's a marathon with high Spoon risk. I promise this came from a place of tired compassion because we share an experience with chronic illness and neurodivergence—the Spoon cost could easily exceed my whole utensil drawer capacity and send me into a tailspin. Yet here we are, my first Substack post because... Impulsivity? Brattiness? I'm unsure, and it's unlikely anyone, including the naysayer, cares. Bottom line? Being told, "You can't/shouldn't do this because of X," might be the invocation to awaken my sleeper superpower.
What can you expect? Right now, I am writing a weekly post related to autism, ADHD, mental illness, a myriad of overlapping subjects with neurodivergence, and chronic illness while experimenting with engaging on this platform. This content will be for adults only, rawer than many publications, as there are fewer filters here between me as the writer and you as the reader. Later, you may see expanded mixed-media posts, podcasts or audiobooks, access to a Discord server, expanded essays, or *very early access* to drafts of upcoming publications or projects.
What am I asking for in return? Subscribe within your ability and enjoy, engage, share, or just watch as I experiment with sharing my Bizzy Brainz in this format. Your subscription gives me the gift of having space, time, and energy to create!
P.S. If you're signing up for this train wreck, you're declaring you are an adult and that you understand nothing I write is medical advice for you.
P.S.S. Know someone who will vibe with this? Please share with them.
P.S.S.S.
Here’s the link for the workbook!
Late Identified AuDHD Booksellers - eBook & paperback