PDF Resources
Information for Friends and Family: A guide to Autistic Experiences
This resource has been created to help friends, family members, and loved ones better understand Autistic experiences in a clear, respectful, and neuroaffirming way. It explores common areas such as communication differences, sensory processing, energy and burnout, and support needs while recognising that every Autistic person is unique. We hope this guide supports more informed conversations, reduces misunderstandings, and helps build environments where Autistic people feel understood, validated, and supported.
Information for Friends and Family: A guide to ADHD Experiences
This resource has been created to help friends, family members, and loved ones better understand ADHD experiences in a clear, respectful, and neuroaffirming way. It explores common areas such as attention differences, sensory processing, communication differences, and support needs while recognising that every ADHD person is unique. We hope this guide supports more informed conversations, reduces misunderstandings, and helps build environments where Autistic people feel understood, validated, and supported.
Supporting Adult Patients Questioning If They Are Autistic: A Guidance Document for Irish General Practitioners
At The Adult Autism & ADHD Practice, we recognise that supporting adults exploring if they may be Autistic can be particularly challenging for GPs. There is no clear public pathway for adult autism assessments in the Republic of Ireland, and access to adult services in general is limited. This is made even more complex by the rapid recent developments in how autism and neurodivergence are understood, with GP training lagging behind current knowledge.
This information leaflet is designed to assist you in providing this, ultimately helping those who are seeking to understand and explore their Autistic neurology. This document is also suitable for patients seeking to discuss this with their GP.
Managing Spoons as an ADHDer: ADHD and Spoon Theory
Spoon theory has been widely applied to physical health conditions, such as living with chronic fatigue or pain, as well as to Autistic and ADHD experience. Many Autistic people and ADHDers also have co-occurring physical health conditions (e.g., joint hypermobility leading to chronic pain), meaning that already limited energy levels can become rapidly depleted. Typically, the focus is placed upon conserving energy (‘spoons’) and understanding how energy might be lost (e.g., through too much sensory input; social demands). In this resource, we suggest that whilst this is applicable to ADHD experience, focusing only on conserving energy to manage spoon depletion overlooks aspects of ADHD experience, such as need for novelty, interest-based attention, and pacing differences. We suggest that ADHDers may ‘lose spoons’ without novelty, or if mental/physical energy is not expended, that is, activities typically assumed to be ‘restful’ or ‘energy-conserving’ actively might ‘cost spoons’.