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Continue reading →: When honesty lands: telling the truth about pathwaysI was invited back to my old secondary school this week to speak at their speech day. On paper, it was a fairly straightforward brief. Five to ten minutes. A reflection on my journey since leaving. Something loosely described as “inspirational” for Year 12 students receiving their GCSE certificates, and…
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Continue reading →: Belonging (and the Absence of It)We talk (rightly so) about the importance of belonging for new and continuing students . We run induction activities, develop learning communities, and invest time in projects to help students feel part of something. We do this because we know that for our students, a sense of connection can make…
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Continue reading →: Starting Over (Academically Speaking)I’ve started more postgraduate courses than I’ve finished. There, I said it. It’s one of those statements that carries a huge amount of weight when you work in higher education—especially when you’re in a senior role, surrounded by people with PhDs, publications, and portfolios that seem to stretch endlessly. On…
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Continue reading →: Am I a Failure?This post links closely to my recent one on Rejection, as many of the themes and emotions are interrelated. This week, I posted an update on LinkedIn and was absolutely blown away by the response from both people I knew and absolute strangers. The support was incredible; I was so…
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Continue reading →: RejectionOne of my biggest fears about this blog is/was how it would be received by others; whether people just wouldn’t bother reading it because it was written by me and they didn’t see the point, or had no interest in what was going on in my life. It sounds crazy…
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Continue reading →: My cup is empty…Can I have a refill, please?Self advocacy isn’t something that comes naturally, not for me, anyway. Apparently this isn’t unusual in neurodivergent people; we often experience challenges in exercising skills associated with self-determination and self-advocacy. Unfortunately, these are essential life skills that have a huge impact on how we succeed in education, employment, and life…
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Continue reading →: Tidy House, Tidy Mind?I don’t usually observe Lent, although the days of Lent are seen as a season of reflection and self-discipline and so I thought it was a great time to start on a decluttering journey. As I’ve already described, when in the peak of my burnout, my impulsivity got the better…
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Continue reading →: Burnout(Advance/content warning: it’s a raw one full of personal reflection) We’ve all heard the term ‘burnout’ but do we really (a) know what it means and (b) use it in the right way? In neurotypical people, burnout refers to the feeling of mental and physical exhaustion due to prolonged stress,…
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Continue reading →: Hello World!Hello, and “thank you” for joining me on this journey. Let’s hope it doesn’t become the latest hyper focus! I thought I’d take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about me, and why I’ve set up this blog… As someone who is late-diagnosed Autistic and ADHD, I’ve recently…
Hello,
I’m Kirsten
Welcome to The Atypical Academic – An Insight into the Atypical Mind: Navigating Life, Work, and Everything in Between.
Follow me as I explore the world through a neurodivergent lens in the hope to raise awareness of the challenges neurodiverse people may face, the benefits they can bring, and to share some resources to help anyone with an interest.
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