Let's normalize being different!

Martin is a creative soul from Denmark who is using his platform to raise awareness.

Meet Martin Moxness

"My name is Martin and I’m autistic, but I also have ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome along with other hidden disabilities.

I always knew I was different, but it got very noticeable around second grade when I suddenly couldn’t keep up. I got so easily overwhelmed by the rest of the class and the rising expectations for me to perform in a neurotypical way.

I felt very alienated and was somehow either the loudest and most disturbing student or the quietest and reclusive one.

I also started having a lot of verbal and motor tics, which made it very difficult for me to attend classes. I often got put out in the hallway so I wouldn’t be too disruptive. This caused me to start having meltdowns and sensory overloads that made things super stressful for me. Public perceptions and prejudices can have damaging consequences, for me personally it lead to suppressing tics which caused me great exhaustion, both physically and mentally.?

I started my Instagram and TikTok in the hope to raise awareness. I think it’s very important to normalize Tourette Syndrome, including tics and stimming, to foster acceptance and understanding.

Eventually, my school wanted me out, and it wasn’t a nice process. For quite some time I blamed myself that I hadn’t tried harder not to tic, even though I was told by professionals that it is not possible for me to control them. After leaving my old school I got put in a psychiatric hospital school and then received special education till I got older.

Growing up I didn’t really embrace being different, and I often struggled to see it as anything positive. So for the longest time, I tried to mask my neurodivergent traits in hopes to fit in and be what I perceived as being normal.

Eventually I stopped faking it, mainly because I figured out that the way I am is totally normal for someone that’s autistic.

Embracing who I am really turned things around for me. I realized that I had worked against who I was for such a long time that it became my norm and that norm was hurting me. Now I’m working with what I got and that makes me feel a lot better. Sometimes life requires a different approach to figure out what makes us happy, to realize and reflect on what works and what doesn’t for us.

With the right support and inclusive environment, people like me can sometimes get really far in life, despite having a disability. For quite some time I had no idea about how far I could come because my time in school made me believe that I was not capable. So learning about that gave me a great amount of confidence and hope.

You know, some neurodivergent people have some really great traits that they can also use professionally.

I personally really struggled for some time to find an inclusive job, but luckily I have a job now where they praise my strengths and accommodate and help me with my struggles. Which is really amazing.

Reflecting back, I am happy and proud of how I turned out, and I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve gotten since “coming out” as autistic. The support, love, and understanding of others really make a great difference.

It’s important to me to normalize being different and to spread awareness and acceptance around being different. Social media is such a good tool to do that and reach many people. I made a lot of great friends this way.

I’m still very much learning to unmask and to be more comfortable in my autistic self, as well as learning more about autism and how I best accommodate and advocate for myself and others that are wired differently, but that’s ok. Life is a learning journey and I’m having so much fun navigating this path with so many beautiful souls around me."

-Martin

https://instagram.com/a_different_spectrum?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=