I’m not old.
At least that’s what many old people tell me.
Look, I’m 29 years old but I have been told countless times that I am wise beyond my years. Whatever that means.. Nonetheless I tend to spend time researching and reinforcing little concepts of life that either intrigue me or are super relatable. This time I have encountered a historical piece of myself. I circled back to the time when I was in Elementary School and went through a short burst of a “gifted” program.
It was a rather odd program because there was no criteria to be put in it or to be taken out. It felt like a random selection of students just put together in a portable who were “smart”. Some older teacher would read us detective style stories and have us deduce who the lead suspect was or filter out useless information while retaining the important stuff.
Who in the world knows what that was all about. To me though, it meant that I was seen as different to someone, the same someone who recommended I get put into that “program”. What that has led me to believe was that I am simply living with undiagnosed ADHD. Many articles and findings highly suggest that I have it. I firmly believe it too. Yet the reason I am writing this isn’t to tell you that I have ADHD or that I think I do. It’s to inform you that I now believe I also have Autism. Let me explain..
I have come across a few content creators on social media, and yes I know that they aren’t a reliable source of trustworthy information, but they have informed me of certain topics that I wouldn’t have known existed. While deep diving into published papers about autism and some traits on the spectrum, there was a connotation thrown around called ADHD+ or AuDHD.
The research is growing more and more each day and I have discovered more about myself and the way I work finally. It’s very refreshing meeting other people who struggle with the same stupid monotonous stuff that I struggle with. I just leveraged ChatGPT about 10 minutes ago before writing this and what it was able to deduce from my responses was wild.
It absolutely reinforced the idea that I have tendencies from both spectrums but it went more into detail about why my mind was struggling. It didn’t speak about triggers or laziness or excuses. It took my negative feelings and gave them an explanation.
One that I could understand and reason with. It isn’t just a label. It’s a way my brain processes everything. Yes, I am a master problem-solver, but my autistic side pushes me to feel guilty for trying to create a protected work space as I could utilize that space for my family instead and that feels more rewarding than my work area. I reason with value over importance even though I clearly see the big picture.
About the Author
Nick Swinehart writes about leadership and life through real-world decisions, where clarity, responsibility, and long-term thinking matter more than certainty. Drawing from experience in education, entrepreneurship, family life, and real estate, his work explores how people navigate complex choices without theatrics or shortcuts. His essays are written for those who value substance over noise.
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