The two sides of Neurodiversity celebration 2024

It's Neurodiversity Celebration week 2024!

In addition, I just got my official ADHD diagnosis which is many feelings but mainly relief and happiness to have things confirmed ❤️ 

I adore my neurodivergent friends and family and the community is the absolute bees knees. Even more so if you've spent your whole life finding some elements of life felt hard and clunky. To find a whole group of people who 'get it' is joyous.

HOWEVER, and this is a massive HOWEVER...

I have also spent this week in and out of meetings trying to get my kids the support the deserve to have provided at school. Their school is amazing, and the kids are currently thriving. But take away the support they are given above and beyond and that would not be the case. The system wants to see kids crashing and burning before it provides any help at all, they want our children distressed and having full breakdowns and meltdowns and then they will consider helping. But it's still only a maybe.

What is the excuse? It's always tight budgets. Lack of resources. But that's not an issue when MPs want to re-wallpaper their houses is it? or have a second or third home paid for entirely by the public?

We put disabled people at the bottom of the pile when it comes to funding and it's got to change. You can become disabled at any point in your life or be born that way and I personally believe we all deserve quality of life, equal chances, and to be equally looked after by the state.

I celebrate Neurodiversity this week because of the wonderful sparkly brained people who are creating a safer, happier, more educated world for us and our kids to exist in. But I am deep down angry at the injustice of how our government prioritises it's budgets and the systems that uphold the inequality.

Here is a post I made earlier in the year following a long period of trying to work around systems that confused me and an angry late night painting a tawny owl...

Please put pressure on your MPs and everyone around you to look after those who need it. We shouldn't have people on the streets, we shouldn't have people going hungry, we shouldn't have sparkly brains being broken by neglect.

Sending love to all of you.

Cat