“Hi my name is Madison and I was misdiagnosed for 15 years. I was 6 years old when I started experiencing OCD and 8 years old when I went to therapy for anxiety and was diagnosed with GAD. For years my OCD would come in and out of different themes from health to schizophrenia until I was properly diagnosed at age 23. I received ERP first and got about 70% better but what really launched my recovery was ICBT (inference based cognitive behavioral therapy) another evidenced based OCD treatment.

I am happy I have recovered by I grieve for the girl who has felt so confused as to why she couldn’t get her mind right. Why she was so “strange”. Why she couldn’t just drop it. And why no matter how much I tried to access myself I felt farther away then ever. OCD is the worst thing that has ever happened to me and although there is nothing I can do to change that journey I admire and stand in awe at my own strength and resilience everyday.”

“My name is Sam, and I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when I was 10. Since my diagnosis, I’ve had pretty moderate tics that come and go depending on triggers such as caffeine, anxiety, and being around other ticcers.

I think one of my least favorite instances was after Tourette’s camp, when all of us campers went to a Cici’s pizza. We were ticcing, and of course many curse words were flying out of our mouths. We couldn’t control it. We got harassed by several different people. One lady yelled at us, saying, “My child is Autistic, he doesn’t need to hear this.” I was shocked at how uneducated and ableist someone could be, especially a mother of a neurodivergent child. I decided I couldn’t go another minute without spreading awareness. I couldn’t let people go uneducated like this.

Since then I’ve dedicated my time to educating others. I made a YouTube channel when I was 11. I was trained as a TAA Youth Advocate in 2022, and I have had multiple Tourette Awareness pages since then. Advocacy is a very important part of my neurodivergent identity. I’m proud of where I’ve come and I can’t wait to grow and become more confident in myself and my tics.”

“Hi! I’m Justin, creator of theocdblog, and I have OCD. I’ve had OCD since I was a kid, but it didn’t get bad enough for me to take treatment seriously until I was a young adult. I think if I could go back and tell that kid (and your inner child, as well) one thing, it would be: “This is not your fault”. OCD has a way of ripping your life into pieces, only to laugh at the mess that “you” supposedly made. But it doesn’t take into account family history, childhood trauma, chemical makeup, and many other factors. Many of my taboo and unwanted thoughts growing up were just that: unwanted. But because the idea of free will and mental sins cannot be measured, I was left with a kid whose mind was telling him that he was a terrorist, a pedophile, and a murderer, despite never having come close to doing any of those things. See, it is not the morally reprehensible content that is so frustrating (it is), but rather the inability to control the thoughts. The idea that the OCD Brain can convince you of your horribleness despite evidence can be very debilitating, but it helps knowing, “It’s not your fault”. You didn’t create this and you did NOT choose this. If anything, you are begging it to stop. Now, with the recognition that you are good and worthy of love, let us go and find out how to live a free and full life with the disorder, not in spite of it. “

"My name is Romy and I am a 21 year old who is passionate about raising awareness of Tourette Syndrome, PANDAS/PANS, and related conditions. I’m also Autistic!

Being neurodivergent has taught me that being different allows you to make a difference in the world. My neurodivergent brain has actually given me freedom, because I know that people will judge me anyway, so I might as well just be myself! It has also taught me that we must advocate for ourselves and learn about the way in which our brain works, because the system isn’t designed to help us, sometimes we must learn to help ourselves. Despite the fact that living with Tourette’s can be very difficult, I wouldn’t want to get rid of it or erase my past experiences. They have helped me grow, and Tourette’s feels like a part of my identity. In a way, it makes me who I am. I refuse to be ashamed of being neurodivergent, it isn’t a flaw in any way. Having TS has given me a sense of purpose in life, to raise awareness and try to help others going through similar struggles."

“Hi, My name is Nay and I run an Instagram account raising awareness for autism (+neurodiversity in general) and mental health recovery, also exploring the links between autism and mental health as I feel it is not a topic talked about well enough. I am currently an Occupational therapy student. As long as I can remember I have always wanted to work in health and social care  my passion has always been helping people. I grew up as an undiagnosed autistic person which contributed to a lot of serious mental health problems. It wasn't until I reached my first crisis when I was fast tracked for an autism diagnosis. I wish I could say from there it was plain sailing but unfortunately it hasn't been. I still struggle with my mental health on a daily basis but getting diagnosed has allowed me to have a deeper self awareness  and respect for myself. I am passionate about helping other neurodivergent folk realise that they are not broken, that they are so valued and important.

Though this world can be so inaccessible and feels like it is squashing our spirit, our creativity, our personalities, we are special. Yes we may have a disability and life can be so tough for us in a world that isn't designed for us, but I want people to know that they are not alone. We are stronger together. We can learn from eachother, build eachother up, exchange skills and stories and fight to build a world where we are accepted and valued for who we are. I won't stop fighting until that happens.”

”I once thought the aim of personal development was to become more neurotypical and assimilate into the world.

As I’ve matured I’ve learn’t how important being authentic and advocating for my own way of living and communicating.

Unmasking has in many people’s eyes made me seem less developed to many outsiders, but in my eyes I’m more myself and much happier than I ever was trying to meet the expectations of others and society”

My name is Tess. I met the creator of this page, Natasha George, while working as a camp leader at Stanford Neurodiversity Pproject’s REACH program. I am a neurodivergent nursing student in my third year of college. I wish to contribute the following quote that I was told by an autistic elder while attending Autism Campus Inclusion by Autistic Self Advocacy Network:

"Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair." - Mariame Kaba

This is an important thing to keep in mind as I work in and study disability health equity. While investigating the roots of many issues affecting the disability community (like institutionalization, lack of healthcare, filicide, and marriage inequality) I found myself feeling hopeless at certain times. However, I try to reframe the way I think about these topics, looking to the wonderful cultural blossoming and resilience of other disability community members who are constantly improving the state of disability justice. In times when I feel despair due to the mistreatment of disabled people, I organize activism events that can help alleviate the issues that plague the disability community. I allow myself to feel the emotions affiliated with injustice but remember the disabled elders before me who created the opportunities I enjoy now as a college student, researcher, and someone with healthcare access. Some things I have done in the past few years include running a disability justice film series at UofM, starting a disability culture anthology at UofM, contributing art to the local Center for Independent Living's gallery, taking action against ableist education policies, presenting anti-ableist healthcare talks at academic conferences, and organizing student art markets to raise money for various organizations. My greatest hope is health equity for the disability community. I want other activists and neurodivergent/disabled/Deaf/chronically ill people to be radically accepting of themselves and hopeful for an accessible future.