About Us
Old and Autistic
Empowering the Neurodiverse
Accept Advocate Adapt
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Welcome to our website! We are Matthew and Leanne, both 41 years old and both neurodiverse (Matthew with Autism Spectrum Condition | ASD and Leanne with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | ADHD). We also have a 9 year son with both ASD and ADHD our little AuDHDer
Hello from Matthew - The Old Autistic Man
I am late diagnosed autistic and on reflection, my autism has caused me a lot of issues throughout my life. I recently left my job as an English Teacher due to struggles with my autism and now hope to pursue my dream of writing fiction stories and novels. I am an avid reader who also enjoys playing guitar, watching football and binge watching Brooklyn 99.
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I am all too aware of the struggles of being a neurodiverse parent raising a neurodiverse child and I want to provide information and insight to all those interested in the confusing and often brutal world of neuro-diversity. My aim is to provide a safe and inclusive environment for our readers and creative writers where we can share and enjoy each others work. Welcome and thank you.
Hello from Leanne - The Wife
I am late diagnosed peri-menopausal ADHDer. I enjoy binge watching The Golden Girls and cross stitching alongside endless hours of doom scrolling on the internet.
Just over a year ago I put my 20+ year career as a mental health nurse behind me due to struggles managing what the job had unfortunately become. I remain passionate about wanting to help and support others and this passion lays firmly within the neurodiverse parenting sector. I hope to be able to share and create resources for individuals who need support with managing neurodiversity from a personal and parenting perspective.
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Our Vision by Matthew
I always knew I was different but it wasn't until after my son was diagnosed with Autism and 15yrs of my The Wife telling me I was autistic that I sought out a formal diagnosis. During this time I was working as a Secondary School Teacher but recently had to leave the profession due to the ongoing struggles I (and others) had with my 'traits'. I have a wonderfully supportive family and a child who I wouldn't change for the world but I always feel that something is missing, my purpose.
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I know now that I want my purpose to be an advocate for the neurodiverse community especially to help things easier for my son. I want to be sharing informative experiences, research, resources and tools to help support and educate individuals about neurodiversity from all perspectives. I am lucky that The Wife is not only passionate about the same things but she is also experienced. We've put our creative passion and drive together and have landed here.
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Another goal I have is to help people develop a passion and joy of reading and writing. Here will be a safe space for our readers to share: book reviews, poems, and stories, fiction or non-fiction. To quote the ever wise Dr Seuss:
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"the more that you read, the more that you will know. The more that you know, the more places you will go".
Creative Writing Submissions
If you would like your work to be featured on our site, please send your submissions via our submissions email address or the submissions page.
Please ensure you include any contact information or website links so that you can be credited or state that you wish to remain anonymous.