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Introduction | Bio
About Me — Jillian
Allow me to introduce myself: the Coles Notes version
My name is Jillian, I’m the mother of an 8 year old 2e boy. 2e means twice exceptional: both my son and I are gifted with ADHD and anxiety. I write about neurodiversity, mental health, parenting, education, and advocacy, so I will explain a bit about why these topics are so important to me.
Why I Write About Health & Mental Health
I was diagnosed with asthma and allergies in early childhood, around age 7, and all of my other diagnoses were late-in-life diagnoses. I had a lot of behavioural and mental health issues as a child, but nothing much was done to unearth the root of those problems, and I was simply labelled a “difficult” kid.
Although I’ve always been hard of hearing, my hearing loss wasn’t diagnosed until the age of 12, and I didn’t start learning American Sign Language (ASL) until I was 13.
I was assessed as being academically gifted at age 14 when I entered high school. I was nearly kicked out of school for truancy, but the school administrators walked that back when they saw I was maintaining solid 80s with a 60% attendance rate.