Perjurer, purveyor of falsehoods, trousers alight

I lied.

I lied to everyone.

"But, A.A., whatever do you mean?" one may ask.

Well, if you recall, I closed my most recent post - dated June of last year - by saying that I would be creating another post in the near future. As it turns out, it's been over six months of radio silence. Certainly, this was unintentional, but perhaps not unsurprising.

Since receiving my diagnoses of ASD-1 and ADHD-C, I've had a few opportunities to meet with people with whom I share one or more of these conditions. In doing so, I've learned some things.

Before I proceed, allow me to clarify that any assertions I make here are based solely on my experiences and observations, as well as those of others with whom I've interacted. I have no intention of speaking for ASD and/or ADHD patients as a whole, nor do I claim to be an authority or expert on these conditions.

Now then, where was I?

Oh, yes. As I was saying, I've learned some things. One of these things is that those of us with ADHD can have a devil of a time committing to actions and completing them. The routineness or difficulty of said actions is irrelevant. It could be something as simple as neglecting the most basic daily oral hygiene because I don't feel like getting up and doing it. It could be an act as pedestrian as putting my laundry away after washing and drying it; I don't know how many times I've lived out of the laundry basket because I don't want to take the extra time to fold my clothing and/or put it in the dresser. Making my bed, putting something away after using it - these are all things I was taught to do in early childhood; I'm sure most of us were. It's only in recent days and weeks that I've begun making a conscious effort to complete these most basic of tasks - tasks that, for others, may require little to no mental effort at all.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I like patterns. I like symmetry. I like order. I dislike randomness and I dislike uncertainty. Yet ironically, "[my] room looks as though it's been lived in by pigs," to quote from the children's book Jillian Jiggs. (Which I read in kindergarten - oh, holy twigs!)

Jokes aside, there's much for me to still do to feel that I truly have gotten my life in order. In fact, who knows if such order can ever be achieved? It's been said that the only real constant is change; how will I make that work in my favor? Only time will tell.

Until next time, everyone.

- A.A.

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