A Lesson from my son in being true to myself!

My son is so similar to me in so many ways, he is neurodivergent and his expression of difference spans across many different developmental criteria. He stands out as unique, he is loud, he moves all the time, he is very sensory sensitive and he is super clever with very impacting learning differences (mainly due to sensory integration differences, dyslexia, dysgraphia and autsitc processing) we are a family of 'twice exceptional' neurodivergents.

He has just started secondary school and we have been discussing him making friends. He keeps on talking about who could be his 'maybe' friend and how he is doing on the friendship front (he has come from a primary where he had a wide circle of people to a secondary where he knows hardly anyone) and tells me he is just so 'socially awkward' (his words not mine).

We have talked every day this week about him turning up everyday and being exactly who he is (true to himself). I have assured him (because this has been my experience) that if he stays true to himself and lets people get to know him in all his utterly odd quirky ways that he will attract the 'right' friends, the other people who he will be able to relate to, share interests with and who will appreciate him for his wacky, beautiful intelligent self.

He told me yesterday that he left the initial group of people he was hanging out with and introduced himself to people he would like to be friends with by saying 'Hi - I am going to hang with you' - okay so he told his new 'maybe' friends that they were going to be his frined but they accepted him in all his confidence and he was so excited.

I remember my own confidence and how it was lost when I grew more self-aware of how other people percieved me. I want to keep my son in his own little protected bubble for as long as possible and through watching him I hope to re-gain some of my own 'no fucks given' attitude - such an awesome guy!

Supporting and Celebrating Neurodiversity,

Jess x x