My brain has always worked “differently”, and I was relieved to find a new level of self-acceptance after being diagnosed with ADHD in postpartum. Once we left the toddler years, we learned that our son, W, also had ADHD. This added another layer to developing new strategies and tools as a family. At times it can feel like double the chaos, but being on this journey with W has also helped in two ways: 1) having a kid who is also neurodivergent has allowed me to see ADHD behaviors and tendencies from an outside perspective and 2) it has motivated me to keep trying new tools and skills so that W can grow up practicing them from an early age. Living in a household where two out of three people are neurodivergent (W’s dad is the walking definition of executive function!), means that most of the decisions we make are based around our ADHD. And like many parents in our neurodivergent community, we have found that some of the things that work for our family may not “make sense” to more neurotypical folks.

We all know the world is bigger than our backyard. But stress has a way of shrinking us into these bubbles of survival. On this International Women’s Day, we cannot forget, no matter how much we face in our individual lives, we belong to each other. As writer and poet Gwendolyn Brooks told us decades ago: “We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”

As the current administration within the U.S. and governments throughout the world attempt to silence the voices of women and girls, especially those who are most marginalized because of disability, race / ethnicity, etc., we must continually take action, advocating like a mother. As Greta Thunberg, a neurodivergent climate activist, insists: “Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.” I am uplifting sustainable ways to take action on International Women’s Day and beyond.