PGP / SPD My story:

🧠♿ UNDERSTANDING ADHD, AUTISM, OVERLAPPING DISABILITIES & SENSORY OVERLOAD Did you know someone can be highly knowledgeable, articulate and intelligent, yet suddenly struggle to remember information, answer a question or even speak? There are neurological, psychological and physiological reasons why this can happen. Let's explore some terminology and the science behind it. 🧩 ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting attention regulation, impulse control and executive functioning. Executive functions are cognitive processes that help us organise information, plan, concentrate, regulate our responses and complete tasks. ADHD can affect: • Working memory — holding and using information temporarily. • Attention regulation — directing and sustaining attention. • Information retrieval — accessing previously learned information. • Task switching — moving between different demands. • Inhibitory control — managing distractions and...

When an Autistic Brain Can’t Just “Move On” Just because an autistic or otherwise neurodivergent person is still talking about something that hurt them does not automatically mean they are attention-seeking, dramatic, “obsessed,” or refusing to move on. Sometimes the brain genuinely has not finished processing what happened. Rumination is when the mind keeps circling back to the same event, conversation, question or feeling, often trying to understand it, make sense of it, work out what should have happened differently, or resolve something that still feels unfinished. For autistic people, this can be especially intense because several autistic traits can make painful or confusing situations much harder to mentally put down. Perseveration can make it difficult to disengage from a thought once it has become emotionally significant. Monotropic attention can cause the brain to focus very deeply on a small number of things at once. If one of those things is an unresolved conflict, injustic...

The Briefcase: Every person working on a script should have a lockable briefcase! 🎬🕵🏻‍♀️ Not only does it make you feel like you're some kind of secret agent (which I'm absolutely embracing 😂), but it's also an amazing way to keep your work organised and take it wherever you go. Now I just need a few power suits to complete the look! 😆 Joking aside, this has been perfect for the movie script breakdown I'm currently working on. Everything has its place, and because it expands, there's plenty of room to add more documents as the project grows. As an autistic person, staying organised really helps me. Having everything together means I can easily pick up where I left off without feeling overwhelmed, which makes such a difference when working on larger creative projects. A huge thank you to my Dad for thinking of me and giving me this brilliant briefcase. 🥹❤️ I'm genuinely so grateful. It's going to take a little while to finish the script breakdown, but I...

Foodvisor: One month. One stone. 🎉💚 I'm so proud of myself! Living with AuDHD, EDhS, POTS and chronic pain means consistency can be incredibly difficult. Executive dysfunction, pain, fatigue and fluctuating energy levels can all make healthy habits much harder to maintain. That's why losing 1 stone in a month feels like such a huge achievement for me. 🥹👑 I've been using the Foodvisor app to help me track my food, stay accountable and make more mindful choices. It's really helped me build healthier routines without feeling overwhelmed. This isn't about perfection—it's about improving my health one step at a time and celebrating progress, however big or small. If you're on your own health journey, keep going. Every positive choice counts. 💚✨ Sarah Wingfield ❤️  Actor • Author • Advocate  KawaiiDollDecora.uk #WeightLossJourney #Foodvisor #HealthJourney #AuDHD #Autism #ADHD #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #hEDS #POTS #DisabilityAwareness #Neurodivergent #SelfC...

 Autistic people are labelled “abusive” far too easily — especially in medical settings. Being in pain, crying, shutting down, or struggling to communicate is not abuse. Autistic distress is not aggression. I’ve had medical records filled with claims that I was “abusive” while I was literally immobilised in hospital — unable to move, in severe pain, and being shouted at. I couldn’t have hurt a fly. Yet I’m the one who left with bruises as a disabled patient. Those labels don’t just disappear. They follow you. They affect how future professionals treat you, whether you’re believed, and whether you get help at all. This is what happens when systems mistake disability and trauma responses for “bad behaviour”. It’s harmful, it’s lazy, and it puts disabled people at risk. Distress is not abuse. Crying is not violence. Autism is not a character flaw. Sarah Wingfield  Independent Disability Advocate  #chronicillnesswarrior #autismawareness #disabilityinclusion #strongertogether ...

  Mini facts about Autism 🩵 • Autism is neurological, not behavioural. • Autism is a spectrum, not a straight line. • No two autistic people are the same. • Autism is lifelong — not something you grow out of. • Many autistic people have strong sensory differences. • Stimming helps with regulation, not misbehaviour. • Autism is not caused by bad parenting. • Some autistic people are non-speaking and still fully intelligent. • Communication can look different — and still be valid. • Routine often brings comfort and safety. • Meltdowns are overload, not tantrums. • Autism exists in every culture and country. • Girls and minorities are often underdiagnosed. • Autism can include intense focus and deep interests. • Eye contact is not a measure of respect. • Autism can co-occur with ADHD, anxiety, or epilepsy. • Support needs can change day to day. • Autistic joy matters just as much as autistic struggle. • Acceptance improves quality of life more than “fixing”. • Autistic people deserve...

You Can’t Dunning-Kruger Away Disability: Today I experienced something that highlights a much wider problem within discussions about disability and neurodivergence. A man entered an ADHD group, openly flaunting his Psychology PhD, and used that perceived authority to make sweeping, harmful claims about people with ADHD — framing the condition as an excuse to avoid accountability. When those claims were challenged with evidence, lived experience, and respectful factual correction, he didn’t engage. Instead, he mocked, dismissed, and ultimately blocked me. I did not hide behind a nickname. I spoke openly, calmly, and transparently as a woman and as a disabled advocate. That visibility made me a target — not because I was wrong, but because I refused to be silent or defer to ego over evidence. This isn’t about “winning” an argument. It’s about what happens when people prioritise authority, credential flexing, and belittlement over meaningful discussion — and how that behaviour actively h...