Themes & Analysis
Despite feeling different from others, most of the participants only realized they were neurodiverse after seeking out resources in college. Before being diagnosed, they did not know what neurodiversity meant due to a lack of awareness in their community or the stigma around neurodiversity and mental health.
1. Late diagnosis
"I didn't realize that I had ADHD until this summer. And that was because I was in an environment where essentially every single way that the environment was structured was against the way that I operate … I felt like I was not capable to do a job because of the way that it was structured just didn't work with the way that I functioned. I think, throughout my college career, I can look back and look over those things, [and] I can see how, in simple form, the ways that I struggled in my education were simply because I didn't know the way that I functioned and the way my brain functions."
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“There are so many misconception[s] surrounding being on the spectrum, for one you can be social and have autism. So for me, getting a late diagnosis but being raised in a big supportive community, there's layers to that social experience that involved masking to conform."
After the participants realized that they were neurodiverse, it was important for them to reach out for support, practice self-care, and provide themselves with accommodations to better navigate different environments and situations.
2. Self-compassion & Support systems
“...it's so easy to be overstimulated that finding ways to incorporate moments of under-stimulation … makes it easier to show up as myself without being so easily overstimulated by the demands of college.”
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“I would say looking at my life right now in comparison to a year ago, I'm very content with all the decisions I've made. With the major I've chosen, with the jobs I've quit, and the jobs I've taken, [and] the things I've chosen to give my time to. The things I've said no to, things I've said yes to. I would say that, yeah, I think I feel content with where I am.”
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“Music is a really big thing as well ... [I] have to listen [to] music because that's like a helpful [way of,] like, coping with [the] sound sensitivity that I have, as it allows me to find [the] rhythm and flow to regulate sensory overload with a steady pace.”
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"I liked that therapy ... gave me ways to like manage my ADHD."
The participants understand first-hand that the experiences of black, neurodiverse people have been underrepresented and want more people to understand their lived experiences without making assumptions based on stereotypes or stigmas.
3. Understanding
“I may be different, but I’m not a threat to anyone. My brain functions on its own accord. I think when these processes are respected from the atypical, [then] we can evolve in the way we collective[ly] relate to our educational systems.”
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“There is such little research on the diversity of experiences of people on the spectrum, especially for women of color that already face an intersection of oppression in a society labeling who they are for them. The representation in the media centers mainly around the lens of a white male’s experience.”
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"For people who face intersections of oppression in society and … neurodiversity, we too would like to be admired simply for being a flower … and not for the concrete we had to find the sunlight to grow from.”
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