Bad day at the office.
I am told to talk and then am not listened to.
Told that my understanding is skewed.
Even if the world screams one thing, I need to focus on the underlying meaning,
Not the bare, simple words in front of me.
Why do people say things they don't mean? That they don't hold true?
These poems about sensory overwhelm as part of neurodivergent experience emerged after conversations and experiences with my neurodivergent son. The first one was written after a conversation with my son about why he did not like to enter temple spaces.
The second poem was written after an experience of overwhelm that occurred one evening when my son had been to a group play session in a therapy centre that included several other children. After a couple of hours, he became increasingly dysregulated, leading to a full-blown meltdown. During a conversation later that evening, he said that the room was too bright and crowded, a statement that surprised the therapist, who remarked that it was just ‘a normal tube light’ and ‘sounds of conversations in a normal tone’.
Loud sounds and weird smells / Parenting a neurodivergent child
I've always known that I was a little different from other people, or whatever is considered the "norm". It was easier to navigate when I was younger because typically as a child, you're not expected to know. You're told to listen and be agreeable to those around you and sometimes, you cave in just to make life a little easier for yourself.
But as you grow older, you begin to put yourself out there in the world and figuring out how you can fit in, how much space you can take up, and how you wish to be perceived.
In college, I never felt "abnormal" because most people around me were a little different in their own ways. I could be myself and still get through it all, as long as I attended classes, submitted my work on time, and wrote exams at the end of the semester. Everything else…
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