Growing up neurodivergent often means growing up being taught, directly or indirectly, to override your needs. The thing is, what can seem like a preference to a neurotypical person is often a necessity for us. Needing more recovery time. Needing clear communication. Needing predictability. Needing sensory accommodations. Needing more novelty and movement. Needing considerations to be made for our nervous system sensitivity. Our bodies and brains aren’t broken but they are different and therefore so are our needs. When those needs are constantly minimised, questioned, or treated as inconvenient, we learn to question ourselves. We often internalise beliefs that we’re being dramatic. Too sensitive. Too much. Too needy. Spoilt. Especially if we grew up undiagnosed. This damages our self trust and sense of self. We often experience a mismatch between our experience of ourselves and how we are perceived and experienced by others. It’s not having needs that is the problem. You st...