Hello there, reader. My name is Ben Donnelly. For the last 22 ½ years of my life, I have seen some of the best and the worst things life has to offer. I have had good days and bad days, I have felt happiness and sadness, fear and anger, satisfaction and disappointment, love and hate, I have known success and failure, I have known good people and bad people, and so on. More of or the other? I don't know, but I like to think that given what other places and circumstances I could have grown up in, I have been lucky - my family has two well-paying jobs and a roof over our heads with the mortgage paid, which puts my quality of life above that of some less fortunate families, who have neither of those things in any quantity. To summarise, in many ways I am just like everyone else; I was born a human baby, having accomplished nothing but with lots of potential, and Powers-that-Be willing I will die an old human man, satisfied with my works in this life and with a loving family to carry my memory with them.
But in other ways, I am different. Very different. Over my lifetime so far I have been separately diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, Developmental coordination disorder (or dyspraxia) and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD for short). There is no need to pretend otherwise; "different" is not an insult or a bad word, nor are any of those conditions unless deliberately used as one. They have been important in affecting the direction of my life, however, and it is because I have lived with these conditions and the challenges they have posed to me that, with some encouragement from people I respect, I have decided to start this blog.
Because if you have found this blog, there's a sizeable chance that you have one of those conditions, or that you are related to/a friend of someone who does. If not, presumably you seek a first-hand account of these conditions in order to find out more about them and understand them. All are valid and admirable reasons for coming here and I thank you for your interest. Regardless, doing this will be an ongoing project for me, something I desperately need, and I would be grateful for any feedback you can provide.
Here I will record the nature of each of my conditions, the problems I faced because of them and some of the ways I overcame them as well as ongoing problems that I am yet unable to address. I will offer my insights into how these things affected me personally and sometimes advice on how to deal with or help others deal with similar situations. It's going to be a long journey, but I believe I can make the trip. Goodbye, reader. I hope you are happy with what my blog provides you.
But in other ways, I am different. Very different. Over my lifetime so far I have been separately diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, Developmental coordination disorder (or dyspraxia) and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD for short). There is no need to pretend otherwise; "different" is not an insult or a bad word, nor are any of those conditions unless deliberately used as one. They have been important in affecting the direction of my life, however, and it is because I have lived with these conditions and the challenges they have posed to me that, with some encouragement from people I respect, I have decided to start this blog.
Because if you have found this blog, there's a sizeable chance that you have one of those conditions, or that you are related to/a friend of someone who does. If not, presumably you seek a first-hand account of these conditions in order to find out more about them and understand them. All are valid and admirable reasons for coming here and I thank you for your interest. Regardless, doing this will be an ongoing project for me, something I desperately need, and I would be grateful for any feedback you can provide.
Here I will record the nature of each of my conditions, the problems I faced because of them and some of the ways I overcame them as well as ongoing problems that I am yet unable to address. I will offer my insights into how these things affected me personally and sometimes advice on how to deal with or help others deal with similar situations. It's going to be a long journey, but I believe I can make the trip. Goodbye, reader. I hope you are happy with what my blog provides you.
