Welcome to Neurodivergent Experiences!

My name is Kira McGaughey and I created this website to share my own experiences with neurodivergence, showcase others, and provide opportunties for the education of disability.

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4/3/2026

Thankfully today was Thursday so I didn’t have to work, even though I had plenty of homework to do. I don’t have morning classes, so I have been staying up late working instead of being up early. Unfortunately, my WiFi connections had been off and on, all night, while I was working on one of my final group engineering reports. At around 2:30 am when I decided to stop writing, I realized that the autosave feature was not fully connected so that approximately 3.5 hours of work I just did was gone. Obviously, anyone would be upset, but I just wasn’t able to handle it. There’s something about being ADHD or neurodivergent in general that makes it almost impossible to regulate big emotions like this alone. So, that kept me up until 4:30, and luckily my only morning meeting was canceled. It honestly took such a toll on me that it took a few days to fully recover, and it took way more energy to be productive/take good care of myself in that time. It sounds dramatic even to me, but I remind myself that these are inherent qualities of my brain–I can’t control them. I do my best to work with my brain and thankfully I have people around me who help me.

4/11/26

I have been a host at Marcella’s for over a year now, which is where I was this weekend. Because it’s such a high-volume restaurant, there is a specific role for hosts called coordinating, which involves plotting every reservation of the night on a massive grid with all of the tables. Unfortunately, I am quite good at it, so I coordinated twice these past two days. Although there are times when it’s stressful, difficult, or frustrating, it’s actually taught me a lot about taking charge in situations. It’s become easier for me to take the initiative in situations because often times the guest/manager/recipient is going to see it and appreciate it. Empathy can go long way in situations, even if I am just trying to do my job and can’t completely fix the problem. I feel like I don’t inherently understand what I’m “supposed” to do in majority of the social interactions I have, but I was just afraid to speak up and embarrass myself. This job has taught me that sometimes you are simply thrown into a completely foreign situation and you just have to pretend to know what you’re doing.

4/15/26

Today was my two-year anniversary with my boyfriend, which of course I was very excited for! We went simple and decided to go to Cheesecake Factory, and we had a great time. He understands a lot about my sensory struggles, specifically with sound. I feel so used to ignoring when my body or brain is unhappy, especially with sensory aspects, that I was surprised when he asked me if it was too loud for me. I replied back that I worked at a much busier and louder restaurant all the time because this feeling didn’t click at the time. For me to survive in this world, there are hundreds of points every day where there’s something affecting me in whatever way but it’s just another thing I need to ignore. My senses perceive things very differently that those of a neurotypical person would; lights are brighter, sound is louder (or quieter when I need to hear it), and food tastes/feels different. While I’m not ashamed of having ADHD, the sensory issues I experience with it can be debilitating, whether I am aware of the effects I experience or not

4/24/2026

After four years of working towards my bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, I have completed my final capstone project presentation today! Presenting has always been a difficult subject for me because unfortunately I do fear the way I’m perceived, which causes me to endlessly overthink. Most of this overthinking isn’t conscious, but holds a presence in my brain while I handle the other parts of my life. However, my degree has helped me remove so much of that anxiety; I’ve learned that the important part of a presentation is to show up, present yourself well, and know your stuff. That’s it. Doing this, along with creating a script that I practice and read at the time of presenting, has changed the game for me. I think it’s a little obvious that I’m reading, but I make sure to use vocal variation when speaking (hard) and make consistent eye contact with my audience (even harder). All of these resources and skills have culminated in a wonderful final presentation for me, where I was actually comfortable presenting for the first time in my life! This might not seem like a big accomplishment to readers, but my brain views these struggles, skills, and emotions completely differently than it does for the average person, making it that much harder. So, yes, it is that big of a deal!

Neurodivergence involves having a brain that fundamentally functions, learns, and processes information differently than what is considered “typical.” While the umbrella for neurodivergence is broad, it includes conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attentive-Deficient Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, etc. This term was coined in the 1990s by sociologist Judy Singer to help promote equality and inclusion for neurodiverse people (Baumer, 2021).

Being neurodivergent changes all aspects of a person’s life, which can be difficult to describe exactly as there are many levels and conditions within neurodiversity. For example, ASD can require various sensory needs for an individual, change their communication capabilities, and can contribute to other conditions like anxiety or depression. The specific experience depends on the person, their neurodivergence, and their life, which includes so many different variables that aren’t fully researchable.

However, many of the common experiences for neurodivergent people involve how they are treated and viewed by society because it simply wasn’t built for them. Society was built for and by white, able-bodied men, which clearly does not include people of color or women, and specifically neurodivergent people. This can include facing unsuitable forms of communication, a lack of independence or autonomy, discrimination, abuse/control from caregivers, forced institutionalization, and harmful treatments, often administered without consent (National Autistic Society, n.d.). Because of the wide variety of characteristics in neurodivergence, individuals have different support needs and levels, which requires a board framework of support.

Regardless, there are many ways to support neurodivergent people in all aspects of life, through both representation and accessibility. First, giving neurodivergent individuals a voice in workplaces and academic settings will help increase others’ awareness and lead to possibilities for communal or individual accommodation. It’s also important for neurotypicals to acknowledge the current barriers neurodivergent people are facing within their workplace, university, or community and to do what they can to reduce these burdens. Important ways to support often involve society at large; for example, encouraging people to be who they actually are (rather than contributing to social pressures) and by emphasizing mental health and wellness for all (Beyond Accommodation: Advancing Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage in the Workplace, 2024).

Academic

Accommodations that will support your academic success and overall state of being at university.

• Priority class registration

• Service animal access

• Interpreter or student notetaker

• Alternatively formatted textbooks and assignments

• Ability to record lectures and attend class virtually

• Lab accommodations

○ Lab assistant

○ Adaptive lab equipment

• Testing accommodations

○ Computer access

○ Extra time for tests or assignmnts

○ Scribe or reader

○ Accessible formats

○ Noise-cancelling headphones/sound machine

• Captioning, text-to-speech, dictation software, and screen magnifier

• Flexible attendance, preferred seating, and eating/drinking/taking medication during class

• Single and chosen location dormitory

○ ADA compliant bathroom

(DisAbility Inclusion Affinity Group, 2025)

Professional

Accommodations that will support your professional life in the workplace.

• Standing or alternative desk with chosen location

• Ergonomic office workspace tools

• Meeting captions

• Interpreter

• Access to sensory tools

• Consistent access to private and distraction-free workspace

• Flexible work hours or hybrid arrangements

○ Shifting work hours to less busy times

○ Remote workdays as scheduled or at any time

• Private cubical (i.e., with door or shade)

• Sound machine or sound absorbing wall panels

• Written digital communication rather than phone calls

• "Do not disturb" hours

○ Ex: DND door sign to preserve workflow

• Consistent scheduling for routines

• Small and quiet fidget toys for concentration

• Receiving written meeting summaries or transcripts

• Check-ins with disability awareness trained supervisors

○ Supports productivity

○ Discuss current and possbilities for support

(DisAbility Inclusion Affinity Group, 2025) and (Kowalczik, 2024)

Personal

Accommodations that will help make your life easier and allow you to give yourself grace.

• Meal flexibility

○ Everyday water bottle

○ Frozen or nonconventional foods

○ Different mealtimes and amounts

• Communication patience

• Dimmable lighting at home

• Multiples of everyday objects for separate locations (hygiene, housework, etc.)

• Routines

• Ear plugs/headphones and sunglasses

• Reduced social contact and social boundaries

○ Saying "No" to events that would be difficult or unenjoyable

○ Being honest even if there are consequences

○ Self-care time

• Service and emotional support animals

• Comfortable clothing for all events

• Autopay/subscriptions

(sleep-deprived-dryad, n.d.)

Alora Young (@alloraofficielle):

Alora Young is a young neurodivergent activist who herself has ASD and ADHD. She has a large online presence gained from her creation of tools for neurodivergent people to succeed in various aspects of their life. She is currently working on her doctorate related to neurodivergent studies and tools, along with working as a student researcher for similar content at Vanderbilt University. She creates quick online content, meant to reach neurodivergent people who are struggling and provide a variety of free and purchasable tools to them.

Personally, Young’s content has done so much for my life and how I view my struggles and symptoms. Her videos do so much for removing the almost inherent shame associated with neurodivergence, as she emphasizes unconventional techniques if they work for you. Neurodivergent people forget that the world was not made for them, so there is no obligation to act how society dictates they should. She also provides physical tools, for example, her dopamine farming cards are a large stack of free, downloadable cards that help ground neurodivergent folks and recenter them back into their goals. They work by disrupting the flow of the brain and refocusing it into a new activity, breaking free from the previous “stuck” emotions they might’ve been struggling with moving on from.

While Young has had success in (unintentionally) gathering an audience who are interested and willing to support her work, her ASD and ADHD are the main proponent of her activism. She frequently discusses and connects her experience with the audience, which is much more meaningful for neurodivergent folks, since it allows for visible representation. Her role in the community and her professional status make her a key figure in the movement for the new research and understandings of neurodivergence.

Ashra Louisa (@ashralouisa):

Ashra Louisa is a young ASD activist who primarily creates funny or relatable content for other autistic people on her main instagram page. She also has a podcast, named Autistic After Hours, where she discusses navigating life as an autistic adult, along with a YouTube channel which details similar issues as well as vlogs of experiences that might differ for autistic people. It’s unknown what her professional status is, however, it’s clear that her work online is a passion project that aims to inform and connect autistic people.

Louisa’s content is a great, real representation of the life of an autistic adult; often, her content is so realistic that it will hit home for viewers (including myself), which might promote investigation into neurodivergence. Exposure to neurodivergent people as representation, in either a comedic or serious role, is so essential in supporting neurodivergent people and increasing the general public’s knowledge. This will allow people to better understand and support neurodivergent people, so it’s a win-win situation.

Kaelynn Partlow (@kaelynnvp):

Kaelynn Partlow is an autistic advocate, speaker, and therapist, who appeared on one season of Netflix’s “Love On the Spectrum” and wrote “Life on the Bridge.” Partlow is a well-known public figure, beginning from her television appearance and expanding as she began to create skits and vlogs of autistic people and situations they might struggle with (including ones form her own life). Her content is unapologetic and realistic, as she provides real guidance on when something becomes harmful rather than helpful for autistic people along with what to do and what not to do to help autistic people.

Partlow’s skits and examples of situations/actions/topics that autistic people might struggle with are a wonderful and genuine representation of the real problems autistic people face. Majority of these issues have nothing to do with the individual, but stem from how our society is inherently dictated through the dominating archetype of the white, straight, and able-bodied male. She explores them in unapologetic and blunt ways, while also providing so many levels of explanation and analysis. Her method of communication in her activism makes her content revolutionary, specifically because of how accessible it is. It allows an autistic person of any support level to understand and engage with it, which is the ultimate level of accessibility in my opinion.

Overall, I predict Partlow will be a ground-breaking figure as we continue to expand our understanding of neurodivergence, given her ability to break topics down and increase their accessibility. Her personal involvement and responsibility as an autistic person warrant the online presence she holds because she is such strong representation for us. Her, along with Young, emphasize the concept of “nothing with us, without us” which is an infinitely essential concept if we want to truly create successful support systems for neurodivergent people.

Neurodivergence: a quality of a person’s brain indicating that its processes and connections differ from that of the “typical” brain, which can be present at birth or acquired afterwards. Common examples include, but are not limited to:

○ Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD): Neurodevelopmental condition marked by persistent and continues differences in impulse control, sensory regulation, reciprocal social interaction, communication, and repetitive or inflexible behaviors/interests.

○ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Neurodevelopmental condition with hyperactive, impulse-inattentive and combined sub-groups. In general, it involves persistent inattentive and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that affect attention span, focus, and impulse control.

○ Tourette Syndrome: Chronic tic disorder that can involve both monitor and vocal tics, where tics are described as uncontrollable, sudden, rapid, and recurrent actions or phrases.

○ Acquired Brain Injury (ABI): Damage to the brain caused by an accident or event, which can affect cognition and behavior, including memory, organization, communication, and concentration. This is used as an umbrella term for multiple disorders involving brain injuries, that all effect individuals differently.

○ Dyslexia: Developmental learning disorder with impairment in reading as well as persistent difficulty with word reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. It can also impact language cognition and working memory depending on its severity.

○ Dyscalculia: Acquired difficulty understanding numbers, completing mathematical calculations, and applying arithmetic/number concepts that are inconsistent with the person’s general mental functioning.

○ Dysgraphia: Developmental learning disorder with an impairment in written expression as well as difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation, and organizing ideas in writing.

○ Dyspraxia: Developmental motor coordination disorder affecting gross and fine motor skills, planning and execution of coordinated movement, along with physical/emotional/social/sensory developmental delays in some cases.

○ Aphantasia: Condition where a person cannot experience mental imagery, or has a limited ability to picture objects in their mind.

○ Major Depressive disorder (MDD): Mood disorder marked by persistent sadness or loss of interest that interferes with daily life; levels of sadness or apathy vary within the stage of the individual’s life.

○ Anxiety disorders: Group of mental disorders that are characterized by excessive fear and anxiety that is persistent, often uncontrollable, and can interfere with daily life and overall functioning.

○ Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD): Mental disorder involving recurring unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors, completely uncontrollable and may often cause the individual spiral if these thoughts remain unchecked or encouraged.

○ Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Trauma-related disorder that can develop after exposure(s) to a frightening or dangerous event; there is no limit on what these events can be, although are often severe situations like war, assault, or death/grief.

○ Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD): Mental condition resulting from prolonged and repeated trauma, often in childhood where escape is difficult or impossible. Includes symptoms like PTSD along with severe emotional disregulation personally and socially.

○ Bipolar disorder: Mood disorder with episodes of depression and mania (highly elevated mood) that both alternate throughout time.

○ Borderline Personality disorder (BPD): Personality disorder involving unstable emotions, self-image, and relationships, and is often associated with impulsive and self-destructive behavior.

○ Schizophrenia: Mental disorder that affects thinking, perception, emotions, and behavior resulting in hallucinations that can be difficult to distinguish from real life. Tends to appear later in life for individuals, mostly as adults.

○ Gene variations: Genetic change or variant in an individual’s DNA sequence, which can have a wide range of effects on their mental and physical capabilities and characteristics.

○ Pre-birth exposures: Environmental exposures that an individual experienced before birth, including substances like nicotine or alcohol, that can affect an individual’s physical and mental characteristics.

(Green, 2026) and (Neurodiversity Working Group, 2021)

Neurodivergent Tools & Terms:

○ Stimming: Behaviors often used by people with autism to provide stimulation, calm down, improve concentration, or block out an overwhelming sound/smell/feeling.

○ Self-Assessments: Online assessments that allow individuals to perform their own investigation on their neurodivergence if they aren’t financially able to receive one professionally. Self-diagnoses are respected, but not absolutely; some people don’t have the resources while others really don’t possess neurodivergence.

○ Mood Trackers/Journalling: The observation and tracking of a neurodivergent person’s mood/emotions can lead to a variety of explorations, for example, what topics are triggers, the process leading to a meltdown or shutdown, etc.

○ Body Doubling: Doing an intended activity alongside someone completing a similar, or often completely different, activity; the continuous presence of a focused individual can help a neurodivergent person stay focused as well.

○ Meltdown: An emotional state marked by intense feelings of anger, sadness, and instability that are accompanied with moments of poor impulse control. Often requires forceful mental interruption to redirect the brain and stabilize the individual.

○ Shutdown: An emotional state marked by a complete lack of communication and action from the individual; at this point, the individual has forcibly lost many of their regular communication and processing abilities. This forces a shutdown until recovery.

○ Non-verbal: Often occurring in a shutdown, this state is associated with a complete lack of verbal communication, however, this can also be the default state for some neurodivergent individuals.

○ Intrusive thought: Unwanted and distressing mental images or urges that inherently conflict with a person’s values, causing anxiety and instability.

○ Impulsive thought: Sudden urges to act without the full consideration of consequences, and are not inherently upsetting, but are driven by immediate gratification.

○ Masking: Mental state or process that neurodivergent folks use to “blend in” with neurotypicals and avoid the everyday uncomfortability of experiencing neurodivergence in current society. Requires much more energy than the same actions do for neurotypicals and often involves inherent uncertainty in actions, decisions, and relationships.

○ Hyperfixation/Hyperfocus: Phase that encompasses a passionate study of a specific topic, associated with brief, intense feelings of interest (usually accompanied with ADHD).

○ Hypersensitivity: Extreme sensitivity emotionally or physically; this tends towards emotionally, as neurodivergence often relates to a higher intensity of emotions despite the cause.

○ Executive Dysfunction: Struggle or inability to start, continue, and finish tasks, often due to a lack of dopamine or internal chemical reward for completing said task.

○ Overstimulation: An overwhelmed state of senses, with specific senses differing in severity for each individual. Will lead to a meltdown or shutdown without interference.

○ Understimulation: An underwhelmed state of senses, usually occurring due to the constantly overworking, neurodivergent brain. Accompanied with intense feelings of boredom that may lead to frustration and poor self-control.

○ Echolalia: Tendency to repeat phrases or words spoken by others back to them. These instances might be unintentional or uncontrollable, although more often it will occur within safe spaces with caregivers or peers.

○ Burnout: State of intense exhaustion, resulting from overworking with a lack of self-care, that cannot be solved via one day’s rest. It would be more accurate to compare it to the flu because it requires bedrest and absolutely no overexertion.

○ Proprioception: Sense of body position, movement, and force that enable humans to have subconscious coordination and balance. Neurodivergence can impair this ability in a variety of ways and issues can lead to chronic falls and loss of coordination.

○ Support Needs: Levels that describe the support requirements for a certain neurodivergent individual, that differ widely sensorily, emotionally, physically, and socially.

○ Allistic: Person who is not on the autism spectrum, directly means not (allo-) autistic (-istic). Neutral counterpart to the term autistic created to avoiding perpetuating exclusion and differences from autism.

(Neurodiversity Working Group, 2021)

Neurodivergent Resources:

References used in creation of this webpage:

○ Beyond Accommodation: Advancing neurodiversity as a competitive advantage in the workplace. (2024, June 7). Default. https://www.rgare.com/knowledge-center/article/beyond-accommodation--advancing-neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage-in-the-workplace

○ DisAbility Inclusion Affinity Group. (2025, October 30). Things to know about accommodations. SWE All Together. https://alltogether.swe.org/2025/10/things-to-know-about-accommodations/

○ Kowalczik, K. (2024, August 18). The mega list of potential neurodivergent accommodations for social workers. Dr. William Ryan. Retrieved April 16, 2026, from https://drwilliamryan.com/the-mega-list-of-potential-neurodivergent-accommodations-for-social-workers/#:~:text=Utilization%2520of%2520small%2520%E2%80%9Cfidget%2520toys,7

○ Baumer, N. (2021, November 23). What is neurodiversity? Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-neurodiversity-202111232645

○ National Autistic Society. (n.d.). The neurodiversity movement. https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/identity/the-neurodiversity-movement

○ sleep-deprived-dryad. (n.d.). r/AutismInWomen: What self accommodations do you do for yourself that really helps? [Online forum post]. Reddit. Retrieved April 16, 2026, from https://www.reddit.com/r/AutismInWomen/comments/1e6c73z/what_self_accommodations_do_you_do_for_yourself/

○ Green, D. (2026, March 18). Types of neurodiversity and neurodivergent examples. MEDvidi. https://medvidi.com/blog/types-of-neurodiversity

○ Neurodiversity Working Group. (2021, June 10). Neurodiversity glossary of terms. College of Policing. Retrieved April 25, 2026, from https://www.college.police.uk/support-forces/diversity-and-inclusion/neurodiversity-glossary-terms

Other Websites and Tools:

○ https://lifeskillsadvocate.com/neurodivergent-friendly-tools-resources/

○ https://www.embracethemuchness.com/ndapps

○ https://psychplus.com/blog/best-tools-for-neurodivergence-focus-emotions-more/"

○ https://www.neurodiversityhub.org

○ https://libraryguides.mayo.edu/neurodiversity

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