#13 Simone Fitzgerald (Part 1 of 2) - severe combined type ADHD and Autism

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Diagnosed with Autism and ADHD later in life, Simone Fitzgerald owns and operates a multi-disciplinary clinic, staffed almost entirely by neurodivergent therapists.
Diagnosed with severe combined-type Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at 34, and then Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) a few years later, Simone says that she never felt more validated than when she was being diagnosed.
In this episode we discuss what it feels like to have unmedicated ADHD ("like a beehive in your brain"), stimming, masking, and the way that therapies previously enforced masking on neurodiverse people by, for example, forcing them to make eye contact, which Simone says can be physically painful for neurodiverse people.
We also discuss ableist language, including Kirsty catching herself out during the episode with her own ableist language.
Simone tells us what is great about being neurodivergent, and gives us some info on her hyper-fixation, including the obscure tattoo that she has because of it.
Check out our episodes with Dawn Bayly on "finding a way" and the experience of living in a family with multiple neurotypes:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/05L0JsKl4L5qzKnSIx8FPz?si=2518593889ac4d1f
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5pMIWo3DkJIA3ASYPnl7jf?si=01f182a8c6eb4937
Transcripts available for each episode on the website: https://enabled.buzzsprout.com
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This episode is brought to you by Ability Advocators:
https://www.advocators.com.au/
(02)65 824 946