24/11/2025
The more articulate someone is, the easier to miss their difficulties and challenges.
To an outsider, I appear "Confident", "Bubbly", a "people-person", at the detriment of my own wellbeing.
I do have a hard time expressing with words the struggles I have. With adaptations and aids, I am achieving more than I thought I would, but if I didnt have these, I would not be where I am.
This is a struggle I have had all my life when explaining the difficulties I have, especially when I am told statements like this:
"But you are so well spoken"
"You are such a wise person"
"You've overcome so much, you do anything you put your mind to"
"I cant imagine how hard it has been"
"You're exceeding expectaions"
These statements are usually well intended, but they are assumptions.
Autism and chronic illnesses have been missed partly because of a smile, beause of my vocabilary, because of my knowledge, because of my people-pleasing, because of my inability to feel safe enough to be "me".
I feel very lucky to have found a way to express this, through art and creativity.
I have a few very beautiful people in my life who have been on this journey along side me, who "get it"
Image description: a digital drawing of two cartoon figures with curly ginger hair with two straight hair pins, and a green dress. The figure on the left is vibrant and open eyed, looking up to the quote in a thought bubble style cloud "The more articulate someone is, the easier to miss their difficulties and challenges", whereas the one on the right is faded in colour, and is closed-eyed, looking down to the floor.
