The ‘Why?’ – Helping my fellow AuDHDers travel

What if I told you this first post took months just to start writing?

Well, if you’re autistic or AuDHD (someone with both autism and ADHD – that’s me), you may well relate. Procrastination, low motivation, Executive Dysfunction, brainfart, whatever you want to call it, it’s the story of my life. I was so excited to get going with this new website. I did all the fun parts, like making it look pretty, setting up the core pages, and tweaking the information with painstaking perfectionism, I was in one of those rare states where things just flowed…

But when it’s time to get into the nitty gritty? *freeze* 🥶

To be fair, it wasn’t helped by the fact that I went on a trip. One which meant a lot to me, and I’d planned out and really looked forward to. But as wonderful as the trip was, it completely threw me off my rhythm, and it’s very hard for me to get back on it again afterwards.

But while I was on that trip, I got a text from back home – one I’d been waiting 2 years for. It said “Good afternoon. I am getting in touch to see if you would like to go ahead with your ADHD assessment” and provided an e-mail address for me to reach out to. I stopped walking on the street right there and then, and e-mailed them immediately! Two months, a video call, some questions answered in writing (and I’ll be honest – a bit of nagging) later, I had my diagnosis:

That was this summer, and it came nearly 30 years after I had been diagnosed with what was then known as “Asperger’s Syndrome” in the late 1990’s. Now, the broader community just calls it Autism, without trying to differentiate so much between people who are visibly struggling and those who are able to hide it well. Because we’ve gotta look out for each other, right?

So, I have both Autism and ADHD. I always did, but only now do I know, and can develop even more self-awareness and get more support to make my life easier and more successful.

Right now, I’m going through the titration process for ADHD medication, but I’m writing this the night before I attend the World Travel Market 2025 in London, so I can really start to get this site going. It’s not the medication, it’s the urgency of that deadline dragging my brain kicking and screaming to finally let me start writing. And yeah, once I do start, it gets a bit easier, but I can’t just make myself start. As unglamorous or unprofessional as it seems, that’s the cold hard reality of living with what I’m finally being treated for.

So why am I telling you this?

Because it’s important that you know – I get it.

I know how hard it is. The sensory overload, the social anxiety, the jumbled thoughts that you can’t straighten out, the knocks to our confidence and self-esteem, the being made to feel like you’ll never fit in or amount to anything in life unless you just try harder. 😩

Because I’m like you.

(ok, not literally…)

And no – I’m not some transformed guru preaching down from on high. I’m still very much a work in progress myself. In fact, this whole website is a massive gamble for me, but it seems to be the only next step in my life that makes any sense.

Why should I keep spending years going to patronising workshops and ‘Yet Another CV (resume) Review’, firing it off in all directions on Indeed and LinkedIn, putting hours into tailored cover letters, and embellishing my skills and experience, without any professional connections or referrals to rely on? Just for a chance to be considered for yet another high-demand, low-pay job that I’ll still get fired or driven out of within 6 months? Even with the “reasonable adjustments”, (you might call them accommodations,) I think I need and have to implement all on my own? All that work, masking, rejection and hardship, just to land back at square one again?

No. No more. ❌

It’s time I learned how to be my own boss. To find a way to work with my brain, not against it for the benefit of a company I had to pretend to give a toss about, in order to get the job in the first place.

It’s time to combine my passion for travel, my wish to have a creative outlet that inspires other people, my acknowledged position of privilege, and my lifetime of personal difficulty – into something that lies at the intersection of what I’m good at, what I love, what the world needs, and what I can get paid for.

In Japan, that’s called ikigai. In France, it’s called a raison d’etre. A reason for being, a purpose, that thing that makes you get out of bed in the morning… or the afternoon. These are just a few of the things you pick up on when you travel abroad.

Travel has always brought out the very best in me. Most of my executive dysfunction just seems to evaporate when I travel. Sure, I’m still a bit of an impulsive spender and I still need my downtime, but I’m so much more motivated! I somehow get this carpé diem mindset at the beginning of every day, no matter how little sleep I got, or how much my feet still hurt from yesterday. I don’t just throw on a pair of joggers and whatever t-shirt is lying on my floordrobe, and sit in front of my PC with a bowl of Coco Pops, like I do at home – I shower, dress sexy, pack a day bag and get out there! (with at least a rough plan in mind.)

That’s the ‘Why?’, what I made this website for. Because I know the value travel can bring to people like us, when we have the tools, practices and confidence to travel comfortably and on our own terms. Some of us might still need help at the best of times, and that’s perfectly fine. I’m not here to force you out of your comfort zone, or beyond your means. I’m just here to show you the possibilities, and give you some encouragement. What you choose to do with that is completely up to you.

I’m a hobbyist travel YouTuber, now proudly turned British business owner.
I’m autistic – I’m honest to a fault and get annoyed when things don’t go to plan.
I’m ADHD – I’m silly, I’m forgetful, I’m a bit crap with money, but I do my best!
I’m fat.
I’m bald.
I’m short-sighted.
I’ve got food intolerances and sciatica.
I’m a geek – I just went to a Sonic the Hedgehog fan convention the other day!
I’m a millennial – but I don’t care for Harry Potter!

Most importantly – I’m far from perfect. I’m real!
(and maybe a bit too self-deprecating..?)

And yet – I’ve backpacked solo around the Japanese islands of Okinawa. I’ve climbed rocks behind an Icelandic waterfall. I’ve gotten lost in a French village with Google Maps public transport directions proving utterly useless. I’ve held an owl on my arm in Scotland. I’ve stood on high cliff edges by the sea in Malta. I’ve gotten stranded overnight on a tiny remote island in Norway. I’ve rowed a boat all on my own in Slovenia. I’ve ridden a camel in the Egyptian desert. I’ve sat by the ocean watching the midnight sun in Reykjavik, just after getting my 2nd COVID vaccine, feeling a sense of peace and safety I didn’t think I’d ever get to feel again.

And – I want to help you feel like you can do all that and more, too. (If you want to.)

Travel can take us to places we never thought we’d get to experience. But if you’re like me, then I hope you will feel right at home here.

Bookmark this website, get in touch with me on social media, spread the word and keep checking back. I will also be making an e-mail list you can subscribe to.

Sure, a written blog might seem a bit dated in 2025, but Google and the world still needs them, you can still make a living off them, and I might expand more into social content when I’m ready. Yes, this is a business. I do need money, thank you for understanding. 🤪

Oh – and to the travel service providers, the tourist boards, the tour operators, the DMC’s, the OTA’s, the airports, airlines, hoteliers and attractions… you want to learn, grow and serve more types of customer, right? You want to see travel through our unique neurodivergent lens? You want the competitive edge of being welcoming and happily prepared to host us?

Then let’s work together! E-mail me!

Come on, we’ll have a laugh. 💙