Grateful Heart My reflections on gratitude for this time of the year. Grateful for every act of love That touches my heart Grateful for every minute spent Listening to my unspoken words Grateful for every piece
Organizing Doesn’t Have to be an Ordeal How I’m transforming routines and planning devices from shame trigger to support People with ADHD and other kinds of executive dysfunction struggle to manage our time, space, and tasks. To
IMAGINE Swap your body with mine. Funnily, it is probably different from what you are thinking. This is a happy view; I am sure you will enjoy the swap for a while. Speaking of my body, let
Conquering My Fears My mind prepares me for lots of challenges. I keep visualizing what i would do in certain situations and that lets me handle those better when they come One of those challenges I have
NEURODIVERGENT YOUNG ACHIEVER AWARD (Swarit won the Neurodivergent 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 award in London on September 28 2023, for overcoming extreme odds to create a meaningful difference.𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 are the largest awards in the
Welcome to my world A window in a palace of thoughts Prompted by his parent’s question, “Tell us about your world”, Hasan, an 8-year-old minimally speaking child on the autism spectrum, reveals his answer in the form
JOYS and CHALLENGES OF MOVEMENT I love movement in general. Not in the traditional sense but in a relative sense of the term. For example, moving my hands in front of my eyes is considered as movement
AMBEDKAR The life of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar (a prominent Indian leader, jurist, economist, and social reformer) was a pursuit of social justice. He has instilled a sense of hope in me for our tribe’s injustice that changes are
BEING IN THE MOMENT There is nothing like painting for being in the moment. Here is a take on being present with painting as a metaphor. Painting for a Twist Today I imagine colors of
Life in a Multigenerational Household Life in a multigenerational household is so fascinating to experience. There is always an element of intrigue to the different interactions as long as learning about the family is the goal. Different
I have a HUGE Problem with DEI, and I’ll Tell You Why I won’t waste your time explaining what DEI is to you. If you’re here, you have some awareness of what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is
FOOD TROUBLES My love for food is a blessing and a curse. I love all types of food that are meant for the soul. The love is how my palate morphs into a palette of colors and
To Accept Neurodivergence, Cultivate Compassion for Yourself and Others Disability acceptance means being kind, letting go of shame and accepting imperfection Most neurodivergent adults I’ve encountered learned as children to feel shame about their disabilities. Because some
TRAVELLING THE WORLD AS AN AUTISTIC Travel always provides perspective about our limitations and the associated lies we tell ourselves. This is particularly true for those like me that continue to be defined by our limitations. As
Justice Sensitivity in an Unjust World It’s tough and utterly difficult to express your opinions in a place where speaking out is seen as a crime, and justice is either delayed or denied. It’s more than just
Disability Movement in India I had the opportunity to meet Mr. TMN Deepak who is a leading disability rights activist here in Chennai. It was so kind of him to pay me a visit amidst his extremely
Why People With ADHD Write Such Long Posts (and Also Have Trouble Reading Them) Some people with ADHD have difficulty reading long things. They especially dislike long posts about ADHD. I get it. I’ve looked at seemingly
Meltdowns- A Day of Being Misunderstood Another day of feeling misunderstood, of struggling to find my place. The constant stress and exhaustion took its toll. Maybe they couldn’t see it, but I was tired of being misunderstood.
Life in India Life in India is mostly expected to function without many of the privileges that I take for granted in the U.S. The contrast is so stark and striking. From my observations during this trip,
Intersection of my Faith, Culture, Ethnicity, Choice, Body and Neurodivergence “Don’t worry if you’re making waves just by being yourself. The moon does it all the time.” – Scott Stabile I have always been fond of the
Law Enforcement is Failing the Autistic Community Here’s How Kind Theory is Addressing this Huge Overlooked Equity Issue Autistic people in our communities have good reason to fear interacting with law enforcement. People with disabilities, including neurodivergent
Being Autistic in Japan Japan is a lovely place. For a relatively small country geographically, it packs a punch at all levels from the majestic mountains and the bountiful nature to the technological and engineering innovations that
What It’s Like to Have Difficulty Remembering to Remember (Prospective Memory) One of my most frustrating ADHD-related difficulties is failing to “remember to remember.” That ability is called “prospective memory.” When I learn strategies for self-regulating, communicating,
Ostrich I’ve lived most of my adult life either ignoring the fact that I have PTSD or flat-out denying its impact. Why would anyone want to admit they’re diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder―especially when it’s military service-connected?
My perspectives on kindness Most people that I have met are inherently kind. People that would not even hurt a fly intentionally. People that always make me feel welcomed and loved. People that go out of their
Our mindset about success and failures Our mindset about success and failures is mostly based on the constant starts and stops our lives have had from the beginning. For every step forward, there are often three or
Being Misunderstood, Part 4: We Can Communicate Better With Neurodivergent People By Imagining We’re Talking to Someone from Another Culture An effective way to create mutual understanding with neurodivergent people is to act as if we’re interacting
Lived experience with Ableism Non speakers are such a major target group for everything related to ableism that it is hard to know where to even begin. Right at the top of the list there is speech
Desi Communities and Neurodivesity “Neurodiversity” is more than just a trending buzz word. It confirms that human minds are diverse in many ways. As an organization we have a focus on Autism and ADHD – the two
Introduction – Swarit Gopalan My name is Swarit and I am excited to be writing for kind theory. I would never have thought something like this was possible a couple of years back when I started my
How I Lost Two Clients in a Weekend Part 2 With the second client, I told them that I had hit a wall and was dealing with new mental health diagnoses on top of the ones they
How I Lost Two Clients in a Weekend Part 1 The short answer to that is bigotry and internalized racism. After you hear the long answer, you’ll prefer the short one. I never really know how to
Being Misunderstood 3: We Expect to be Misunderstood Neurodivergent People Expect to be Misunderstood…and That Only Makes Things Worse From early childhood on, neurodivergent people are often misunderstood. My previous two posts in this series explain why
Neurodiversity in Medical Education and Training As a nursing student and later a nurse practitioner student, I had no idea how much I was missing. Even though I went to a great university and had an excellent
Being Neurodivergent Means Being Misunderstood 2: Why Neurodivergent People’s Behavior Doesn’t Always Match Our Feelings Neurodivergent people often do not know why we are misunderstood and what we need to explain. Sometimes, that happens because neurotypicals are
Inside an Autistic ADHD-er’s Meltdown Two men enter our home with a brand new huge sectional. Not unexpected. It was well planned. We were expecting our furniture to be delivered today. Living a masked life had taught
Being Neurodivergent Means Being Misunderstood 1: Why We Are Misunderstood Autistic and ADHD people vary a lot, but one thing we have in common is being misunderstood. This post is the first in a series about
Lessons From My Cat I rescued two kittens this summer while traveling in Italy, and we recently got them spayed. The vet instilled upon us that they were to wear a cone so they could not lick
4 Accommodations to Advocate for Neurodivergent Learners in School As a school psychologist, I work with kids to help figure out the way they learn best. Some fantastic teachers (with the resources available to do so) will
People who belong to minority groups that are viewed negatively cope with that in different ways. Some of these are positive, such as finding communities of similar people. Others, such as alcohol and substance abuse, are negative.
The
Your laundry is piled on the couch, you’re 2 days late submitting your report for work, and there’s a past-due notice for an unpaid bill sitting on your kitchen counter. If this sounds familiar, you may be
Being part of a minority group that is seen negatively can harm people’s physical and mental health. The unpleasant experiences that people in these minority groups face increases their physiological stress, which in turn, puts them at
I discovered neurodiverse communities by accident. It was 2008 and I was in college, desperately trying to understand why life seemed so much harder for me than for those around me. At that point, I wasn’t diagnosed
