I’ve been traveling all last week- so keep your eyes open later this week for a free post on traveling as multiple neurodivergent. I love to travel, but it’s a lot. Over the years my wife and I have learned tricks to make the most out of our trips while not pushing ourselves too far.
Also this week I will be posting my first paid subscription only newsletter on ableism & morality. It’s a topic I’ve been exploring from my background as a Historian - you won’t want to miss it. It’s $5 a month and you can cancel at any time. I am planning to have 1-2 paid subscription only newsletters a week. So it will definitely be worth the $5.
So, because I just got back from traveling, I’m going to share a little introduction about myself.
My name is Nikki, some people call me Nik.
I’ve never struggled with introductions. It might be because I spend a lot of time reflecting about the things that make me, me. Or it could be my autistic love of list making. I do, however, forget to listen to other people when they give their introductions. I’m too busy scripting what to say in my head.
I’m a gender fluid person. I prefer to go by they/them pronouns because my gender does shift and change. Being gender fluid is something that I’ve just recently allowed myself to explore and recognize in myself.
I’m queer & very happily married to my absolute best friend. I am a dog mama- He is literally my human child and I love him so much.
In addition to being a peer support mentor, I’m also an illustrator, and a photographer. Running 3 businesses as a neurodivergent person can be a lot at times, so I often follow my interests and inspiration and switch between them as needed. I never try to force creativity.
Being autistic & adhd means I have a lot of special interests. I’m always jumping between interests, learning and collecting a little bit here and there. When the dopamine is gone I start learning about other things.
A big special interest of mine is color. I love learning about pre-history and how people used different natural things to make pigments and color, I also love learning about color theory & psychologically how color affects us. As an artist I love experimenting with different color palettes in my own artwork.
Some other special interests I have are historical fashion, trees & plants, dogs, Bob’s Burgers, Psych (the tv show), Summer Camp Island, history about pirates, autism & neurodivergence, Surrealism, Queer culture, Tegan and Sara.
Some special interests I had growing up; Barbies, polly pockets, mermaids, fairies, witches, sharks, frogs, dinosaurs, deep sea creatures, drawing (especially illustrations in books), reading, Rugrats, Mulan & Pocahontas, Michelle Kwan & Whitney Houston.
As you can see my special interests have always been important to me. They were the one part of my neurodivergence that was always encouraged. My parents & teachers were so proud of how much information I retained & skills I developed related to my different special interests. And because of this support I was allowed to spend most of my time pursuing and growing within those special interests.
Stimming is anything that engages your senses. Stimming is often used to self soothe when you’re stressed, or just a way to enjoy your surroundings. A few stims that help me when I’m overwhelmed are swaying, tapping/pounding my hand on my thigh or hip bone, scrolling through my instagram explore page, and rocking back and forth. A few stims that bring me joy are watching the leaves and plants blow gently in the wild, watching sunlight filter through the trees, looking at dust floating in the sunlight or rain trailing down a window.
Like most autistic people, I have a few collections. Because we move often we don’t like to have a lot of things, so most of my collections are small items or digital. I collect interesting rocks, since I travel a lot I try to find a rock or two every place I’ve visited. I used to collect antique photos. I also collect information and images. I have a giant spreadsheet of every movie & tv show I’ve watched, all organized and cataloged (that I really need to update!)
I’ve moved a lot as an adult, (at least 17 times in the last 10 years if I’ve counted correctly) I’ve lived all over Michigan, Boston & Somerville, recently in Arizona & Texas. And I’m going to be moving to the pacific northwest soon! I am so excited to see the redwoods, the coast, and all the waterfalls out there. I miss being surrounded by green, moss, and trees. I feel like we’ve been waiting for the time to be right to move out there for the past 10 years and now we are finally able to. So it will definitely be emotional once we make it out there.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I studied Education, and Art History in my undergrad, and got a MA in Public History. I honestly regret getting my masters degree. The burnout from grad school was awful and it caused me to lose my special interest in Art History. However, without that burnout, I doubt I would have realized I was multiply neurodivergent.
I am chronically ill. Almost all of them are commonly co-occuring in Autistic people. Including Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (and vascular issues), POTS, PCOS (and NAFLD), & Migraines. I had a big medical trauma about 5 years ago that I’m still working through. A big reason why my wife and I are traveling and moving so much is because of my chronic illnesses. Most of these are life long, and will probably get worse as I age. I don’t want to spend my whole life waiting to travel, dreaming of seeing places & then not being able to when I’m older.