The Monthly Dispatch

An update and recent posts.

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Again, I will start by saying it's been an eventful month... Is that ever not the case for the neurodiverse?! I cant't speak for anyone else, but for me it certainly seems to be so.

Firstly, I am so excited to share with you that I now offer in-person and telehealth coaching sessions every Wednesday at Melbourne Children's Clinic, Surrey Hills! If you are an adult or have a child who could benefit from this, please contact the clinic on 03 9813 5700 orinfo@melbchildrensclinic.com.au to make an appointment.

My parents have been over from the UK and it has been a tough transition. I struggle to acclimatise when they first arrive, and then again when they leave. By the time I navigate the changes in my living circumstances, they up sticks and change again. Even the mental preparation I do before these events does not seem to soften the 'deer in headlights' phenomenon that occurs.

One thing that always seems to happen when they're here is I undergo some sort of crisis. This year was no different. After getting my car sideswiped at the start of February, off to the body shop it went. One month later and it's ready to collect.

"Please could you go to get it for me, dad? I have work.", I say with a pleading look in my eye that would give Puss in Boots a run for his money. After reluctantly agreeing, off he goes to collect my wheels. When he arrives at a busy junction, only minutes after collecting my car, in the middle of rush hour, ready to turn right... the lights turn red. The stop-start technology kicks into gear. All of a sudden, the lights on the dashboard begin to flash and the car ceases to function.

Oh dear.

As you can imagine, he was not a happy man as the rude, aggressive and obnoxious Melbourne drivers (I'm sorry, Melbourne, but it's true... I've never experienced drivers like you anywhere else in the Western world) began to beep and shout curses out of the window at him. For 30 minutes he sat in that car, his levels of rage brewing as the insults kept being hurled in his direction. After a jump start from the garage, off he went again, this time turning the stop-start technology swiftly off.

Before I left for tutoring the next day, he reminded me that I MUST turn off the stop-start technology before beginning my drive. With a nifty machine I acquired for emergency situations, I solo jump started the car, as she had died again. I drove to the first house. 50 minutes later, I jump started her again. As I did at the next house, and the one after that. It was now the evening and the sun had just slipped below the horizon.

Safe in the knowledge that once I got home I would break down again, I confidently had my lights and audio on in the car. As I was driving down the Dingley Bypass (it's pretty much a bloody motorway), I was audio messaging my friend to tell her of my ordeal.

"I would turn off the audio, but what's the point? I'm just going to break down again by morning!", I chirped as I slowed down at the traffic lights. As soon as those blasted words escaped my lips, the car drained itself of all life once again. Guess who forgot to turn off the stop-start technology? There I was, in the third lane from the left and the third lane from the right. Smack bang in the middle of course. Would you have expected anything else?! Expletives rushed from my mouth as the realisation of what had happened dawned on me. 'Ironic' by Alanis Morissette echoed around in my head.

This is how I looked during the whole ordeal!

With my super speedy thinking, I rang my dad in an absolute panic. After telling me that 'the majority of people who die on motorways are those who stay in the car, as they accidentally get rammed from behind - especially at night', he advised me to get out of the car and onto the side of the road. I looked to my left and saw a collection of very spiky looking trees and bushes. Would I risk crossing the road and camping out in there? What if I got attacked by a bushel of spiders? It looked like a red back and white tail spider haven. Just as I was about to hang up, he had a change of mind and said, if safe to do so, jump start the car yourself and get yourself home - IN THE SLOW LANE.

Had he not have told me, just moments earlier, that it wasn't so unlikely that I would be hit by another car, I may have been more confident with this solution. Death by car accident VS death by crossing a busy motorway in the dark (or by spider bite if I made it across). This was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, both of which wanted to kill me. I decided to jump start the car, it somehow seemed safer. With legs like jelly, I popped the bonnet and made my way to the front of the car...

With images of being run over by my own car rushing through my head, I desperately tried to clip the leads onto my car battery. The black lead (negative of course) refused to go on and kept popping off. My hands were shaking so severely you could have seen them from space. People stared out their car windows watching me struggle, then would accelerate off without an offer of help (thats those Melbourne drivers for you). After a short pep talk (out loud to myself of course) I finally got the lead attached. With breaking speed, I ran into the car, started the car, ran back to the bonnet, unattached the leads, got back into the car, turned off the stop-start technology and drove all the way home.

I was to live another day!

Do you find that chaos follows you around? Can you never seem to catch a break? Does the overwhelming stress of life threaten to cripple you? Do you forget important information when stressed, thus leaving you to be run over by your own car? Do you need to change your story? If so, this is absolutely something we can cover together in coaching. Check out my website for more information.