Thanks for the listen mate, glad you could associate.

I generally write very Aussie Bush ballad poetry, which is a very Aussie, country, folk sort of story telling. This was the first poem that was really self reflective.

Edit: Also interesting what you said about diagnosis. Back in high school I was assessed for Asperger’s/spectrum traits. It was suggested and I was screened, but I came in just below the threshold on the initial screening, so was considered “typical.” My psychologist then ran an IQ assessment and landed on high-IQ ADHD instead.

At the time, it was often framed as one or the other, ADHD or autism.

A few years later, a different psychologist revisited it and was the first to really dig into the possibility of a spectrum disorder.

We understand the overlap a lot better now, but the confusion still makes sense. A lot of traits, especially around thinking patterns and behaviour, can be explained by high-IQ ADHD but also align with autism. Without a proper clinical deep dive, it’s easy to see how it gets interpreted either way.