Manifesto Item 6

As an AuDHD creative, it's pretty safe to say that there are A LOT of people who don't think like me. When I have enough time to process what is in my mind and the space to carefully and clearly say what I want to say, I'm a very effective communicator.

A part of autism is social deficits, which I *definitely* have. And a fun thing about how ADHD functions in me is also slow processing of immediate stimuli. It takes extra time for what is happening to make it through the labyrinth of my mind, integrate with all the other information in there, and come out as a useful piece of information on the other side.

So, honestly, I could probably elevate nearly everyone around who inspires me and fulfill that "who don't think like me" criteria. But I also recognize and acknowledge that there are some aspects of my demographics that give me advantages that others don't have, and I think this is where I can do the most good.
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Most of this work is actually done internally in examining my own unconscious biases and isms (and we all have these), and with all that personal work, eventually what comes out the other side will be in alignment with the things I've integrated into the core of who I am. As I said two weeks ago, if it feels performative or inauthentic, I'm going to choose silence. But that silence should never be taken as being complicit to injustice--I'm still processing and that's okay. I don't need to have immediate opinions about things. I don't need to share immediate opinions. I can do what I need to do in being authentic to myself and my own limitations before acting on them. And in doing so, it creates a space where others are also free to take their time to process whatever may be happening before speaking about it, too.