Hi Reader,

I hope this week’s newsletter finds you well. I spent most of my week reworking a series of Venn diagrams that I first posted on Instagram a couple years ago now. I made these Venn diagrams as a visual aid for myself, to help with my need for visual processing.

Shortly after discovering my autism, I realized there were a lot of Autistic people showing up in therapy (in fact a recent study done in Sweden found that 18.9% of adults who seek mental health treatment are Autistic, while only 0.53% of them are diagnosed!) So the question that led me to make these diagrams was: if they aren’t being diagnosed with autism, then what are they being diagnosed with? (And I have the same question for adult ADHD, which is why I later created a series of ADHD Venn diagrams).

I wanted to visually lay out how the traits or symptoms could present similarly, which is what led me to create these diagrams. The diagrams help show how diagnostic overshadowing can easily happen. Diagnostic overshadowing is when the traits or symptoms of one condition are attributed to the presence of another. For example, if someone has social anxiety, their sensory avoidance and other Autistic traits may be wrongly attributed to the social anxiety.

So these diagrams were a big part of my process in trying to sort out what was exactly happening to all these undiagnosed adult ADHD and Autistic people seeking therapy. I then posted them on Instagram, and wow, what a wild ride it has been since then. They took off, and that made me realize there were others like me who appreciated visual insight into the complexities of neurodiversity. From there, I started what became Neurodivergent Insights.

Tangled Complexity

I’ve learned a lot in the last couple years, including how often these conditions co-occur (and how rarely an adult ADHDer or Autistic person just has autism or ADHD), and my eye for design has evolved quite a bit. So it really felt like the right time to give them some attention. It turns out they needed quite a bit more than just a fresh coat of paint. I’m excited to have updated versions of my 15 Venn diagrams about autism to be able to share:

• ADHD and Autism
• Schizoid and Autism
• OCPD and Autism
• Depression and Autistic Burnout
• BPD and Autism
• OCD and Autism
• Social Anxiety and Autism
• PTSD and Autism
• Schizophrenia and Autism
• Avoidant and Autism
• Bipolar and Autism

Special Series Editions:

• Non-stereotypical Autism and Stereotypical Autism
• Autism, BPD, and ADHD, all in one Venn diagram
• ADHD, OCD, and Autism, all in one Venn diagram
• Autism Narratives and Autistic Stories

My brain has been swirling, thinking about these 12 unique diagnoses and all the different combinations that I spent my time untangling this week. And then I began to think about the myriad of possible combinations between these conditions that I didn’t make Venn diagrams for (like OCD vs. PTSD or Bipolar vs. PTSD). I got curious and found out that if I made all the possible Venn diagram combinations for all the terms (and if my math skills are right) that’s 66 possible Venn diagrams. That’s a lot of Venn diagrams! While I don’t plan on making all of those, it doesn’t mean I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about how important and complex the ways that all these different conditions can combine.

I was also thinking about the complexity of living at the intersections of these Venn diagrams — my personal Venn diagram would be quite the graphic, at times combining Autism, ADHD, OCD, Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety.

So, this week, I am thinking of all of you and the ways that you are also likely living at the intersections of multiple Venn diagrams. It can make for a complex life! I’m also thinking of those of you doing clinical work, helping people to tease out and support these different experiences.

My hope in all this is that we can continue to untangle these complexities and shine light on these unique combinations, bringing clarity and insight to those of us who are living within this tangled complexity of being multiply neurodivergent.

— Megan Anna

Neurodivergent Insights

★彡 Weekly Roundup ★彡

🎙New on the Podcast

This week on the podcast, we cover the ADHD tax and talk about some of the harder aspects of living with ADHD and the temptation to romanticize our future self as someone who will magically have it all together!

💻 New Blog Post

This week on the blog I wrapped up the interest-based nervous system series and unpack ways of working with your system rather than against it. If you have found ways to incorporate play/passion, interest, novelty, competition or hurry into your life I'd love to hear about it!

It's also the last day that the workbook is on sale. To get it at 25% off use the coupon code "Interested." This discount applies to both the individual workbook and the clinical version for use with clients, which you can purchase here. ​

📖 NDI Resource Refresh

As discussed above, the Autism Venn diagrams got a big upgrade (both in design but more so in content). In this series, I've focused less on core traits and more on how to differentiate from the other condition. For example, exploring how social isolation in anxiety is not quite the same thing as social withdrawal for sensory reasons in autism.

For those who previously purchased, you will find the updated version in the Google Drive (search your email for an email from me with title: "Autism Venn Diagrams 🔗 Inside". And if you're interested in these but haven't purchased them before they are on sale this week (no code needed).

💡 New Infographic Resource

I distilled what I've been learning about the interest-based nervous system into a 10 slide post. So if blog reading isn't quite your thing, but you want a quick overview, you can check that out on Instagram.

📩 Pass It On

If you're finding value in these weekly resources, you can share this newsletter with friends and colleagues. You can just forward this email or send them here to sign up.

Thanks for being here. I'll catch you next week.