Connie Tu: Internalized ableism, PDA & learning to unmask

Episode 175 with Connie Tu.

“In many ways I miss my old mask because it worked for so many years. This new mask is taking a lot of work to build.”

Connie lives in Bradford in Northern England and has spent the last 10 years as a skilled body artist in the medium of natural henna and ethically-sourced jagua. She received a dual diagnosis of Autism and ADHD about a year ago. 

Connie was one of my Instagram followers who answered my call for “regular” guests because she definitely didn’t see herself as an ADHD success story. She is currently trying to run her creative business, while parenting two neurodivergent teens and maintaining her marriage. 

We talk about her journey to diagnosis and her experiences with untangling her internalized ableism. Connie also talks about her experiences with PDA (pathological demand avoidance), childhood masking, feeling different, and the pressure to be white passing. And we discuss the pressure to model healthy emotional regulation as parents of neurodivergent teens.

And, inspired by Sonny Jane Wise’s new book “We’re All Neurodiverse,” Connie makes the case for renaming ADHD to “capitalistically challenged” — and I’m definitely here for it!

Website: createdbyconnie.co.uk

Instagram: @createdbyconnie

Links & Resources:

Connie’s Caught Red-Handed Podcast episode

We're All Neurodiverse by Sonny Jane Wise

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Episode edited by E Podcast Productions

Find the transcript of this episode at www.womenandadhd.com/transcripts

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