Hi folks. I'm currently waiting for ADHD diagnosis with a psychiatrist however the NHS is a long drawn out process as usual. This got me wondering, how many if us other WAM fans are diagnosed with ADHD and or autism spectrum disorders. I love the sensory side of our world and the more I researched I think that ties in a bit with the sensory side of autism.
I use WAM as an escape from reality and my stresses and as it's secret passion it allows me to be me.withiut masking

It's something I have wondered about with other kinks and poly/ENM. There seems to be a high proportion of ND folks on the scene.

It might just be where I live but I wonder if because the ND have to discover ways to live in a world set up for the neurotypical, does it mean that the self-reflection and analysis also lead them realise and accept their kinks/lifestyles more readily?

(N.B. I am not ND, but share a quite a few traits with my ND friends).

A useful read that I know has already helped some in the community.

https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/me-and-monotropism-unified-theory-autism?fbclid=IwAR0ZV9vLCXrcQWgvNfSd8a5ZDKz8Ikgh4JZVviWxmrq4Idbpd5XpRQ_OD30

I got bi polar 2

https://youtu.be/h_cSoU5kC70?si=3oPzyjUZgmhpDr6i

Which wam helps me handle in many ways

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zPJvEHdJdUg&pp=ygUqU2lsdmVyIGxpbmluZyBwbGF5Ym9vayBtb3ZpZSB0aGVhdGVyIHNjZW5l

Also a bit of Clive barker
https://youtu.be/sfgxV45TjaI?si=KNuAfCC15pNM8-IO

I am on the spectrum. WAM is about sensory stuff. Not just textures but smells, sounds and the chaos that is mess. On the other hand I enjoy getting wet as it is quite soothing and calming. Unless I don't have a pair of flotation devices on, otherwise I flail about becasue I can't swim. Soaking in the tub or in the shallow end of a pool in skin tight rubber just feels good.

Like your wet and when you take your rubber off not that much.

Kink/ Fetish lifestyle has helped me navigate and develop stratergies to cope with sensory overload. I enjoy sensory deprevation.

Unlike most Ausitics in my local community I prfer tight clothing over loose. Mkae me even more unique than I already am.

This thread is super-timely. I strongly believe I am ND, likely on the spectrum, and just today started making some inquiries into getting a formal diagnosis, although it seems like I will have to wait til at least some point in 2024 to start the process.

I have a stutter, It may be a sign of adhd.

I can't believe I missed this thread - I actually got an official spectrum-related diagnosis about the time of the original post. I'm a bit...well, a lot older than most who are newly diagnosed, but that's because it wasn't screened for or well-understood when I was young, and by the time it was more commonly recognized I'd broken and rebuilt myself rather thoroughly in an attempt to present "normally". It wasn't until fairly recently (due to some personal matters) that some of the cracks started showing and led me to seeing about my up-to-then unidentified strangeness.

As for whether it ties into my WAM interests in any way...I'm not sure, really. It's not about the sensory aspect to me, as one of my primary symptoms is a moderate level of hypersensitivity and sensory avoidance. The idea of WAM-related experiences outside of a controlled environment or otherwise lacking immediate availability of mitigating or ending the sensation triggers a touch of anxiety, honestly.

I suppose it is a stress-reliever, though, since it's hard to stay too serious when lobbing a pie at someone. As something that isn't an everyday activity, too, it might help push past the reduced neural "reward" system that presents as part of or alongside ASD (being the hypoactive dopaminergic system, for those also of a neuroscientific persuasion), providing a bit of a thrill that everyday activities can't. It's also tied into something of a D/s thing (switch with a hard leaning toward D, for anyone interested), which I'm not sure has anything to do with ASD. I suppose a feeling of control could provide a bit of a boost for someone for whom a lack of control is an all-too-familiar experience...so maybe, I guess.

In the end, though, I'm just not sure. I'm still coming to terms with being on the spectrum, along with the ideas of not really knowing and greatly misunderstanding myself for pretty much my entire life, so I can't say yet how it all fits together within my (hopefully) coherent identity. It does help, though, to know I'm not the only one out there, so thank you, everyone who's posted in this thread.

I'm also waiting for an ADHD test. The doctor said the waiting list could be anything up to five years (and I've already been waiting at least two of those).
I was tested for Autism earlier this year. The results were that I don't have it. Either because, while I do have autistic traits, they aren't extreme enough to warrant a diagnosis, or because I mask my traits very well. But they said that there's definitely some kind of neurodivergence in my brain and it may likely be ADHD.
I'm quite tempted to see about a private test, even though I know it will be expensive.

I've been Diagnosed with ADHD, unspecified bipolar, and my psychiatrist and I agree I'm probably also on the autism spectrum too. It's funny because growing up I used to detest getting messy in anyway. It was almost like a fear. Some of my first erections were watching nickelodeon shows with pies and slime in them and I used to get very...uncomfortable. Of course, once puberty hit, I discovered a pie to the face makes for an instant boner and the rest as you might say, was history.

Dude. You just explained my whole life. If anybody asks me how I got started in WAM, I'm just going to show them this post. I've never gone to get diagnosed but I'm pretty sure I've got some form of autism. Possibly those others you've mentioned too. One thing I love about WAM is it allows me to make connections with others that I would normally struggle with. I'm just not much of a people person. It's been very difficult trying to make my way through this crazy life filled with all these ridiculous rules and regulations especially nowadays which I'm sure we can all agree with. So this website has been very therapeutic for me.

It's crazy how similar we are. That must be why we work so well together Ugh. I need to find some time off to drive over to you to release some stress. We haven't been able to have a session together in a whole year.

Diagnosed autistic here.
Yes.
Definitely.

I was diagnosed as ADD, not ADHD, when I was 21. For me now at 43, my ADD is not as severe as it used to be. For me if I'm actively doing something like chores around the house or running errands or working on a project or hobby I don't have as severe symptoms. But if I'm just sitting or laying down my thoughts get very, very loud. I practically live inside my head, I have a very active imagination, my brain absolutely does not shut off, and I suck in conversation a lot because I will interrupt everyone constantly by asking them to repeat what they just said to me because I already missed half of it because I was so deep into processing information they just gave me which puts me into a trance like state. I will kind of go in and out of this trance like state sometimes because I will get so involved in a thought or a fantasy and I will be so completely deep into it that it's like I'm not aware of my surroundings at all and it feels a lot like I'm waking up if something happens to get my attention when I'm doing it. Unfortunately I've also been smoking marijuana for a looooooong portion of my life and it certainly wasn't the best, but my ADD also causes pretty bad anxiety coupled with childhood trauma from abuse, and it's the one thing that calms me. When I don't consume marijuana I will not sleep and I can sometimes go 48 hrs without sleep and the lack of sleep makes those symptoms worse. So does alcohol so I have to stop drinking. But I spent years in NLP therapy and it helped me IMMENSELY. I have a light and sound machine I can use to help calm me down, help me sleep, and help me be more mentally focused. But I was going deep into these trance like states at a very young age, which is when my obsession with WAM started. I mean, almost 40 years of my life I've been fantasizing about WAM.

So with all this, WAM and sex in general has been exceptionally therapeutic for me. It keeps me present and in the moment, which has always been hard to do. It keeps me active which helps me stay focused. Also having an orgasm is the best tension reliever I've ever experienced. And it also gives me a safe way to act out humiliation. After having been abused and forced into feeling humiliated, by choosing to take pleasure in acts of humiliation it gives me back the control I lost when it wasn't consensual. WAM is something that I've always identified with and I consider it my sexuality, my sexual identity, it's just always been a part of me.

I'm undiagnosed but otherwise I have the exact same story.