Unmasked is our story. Mine, Rebecca’s, and my son Joshua’s.

I spent 47 years wondering why things that seemed so easy for other people could feel so hard for me. Becoming Joshua’s mum began to uncover the answers. Through understanding him, I started to understand myself, eventually receiving my own autism and ADHD diagnoses.

Now I’m learning how to be myself while raising a little boy whose needs are complex, whose world I’m still learning to understand, and whom I love more than I can put into words.

Here, I want to share what that actually feels like. The exhaustion of advocating when I’m already overwhelmed. The guilt when I lose patience. The hurt of being judged by people who see a moment of our lives and think they know the whole story. And the joy, laughter and little connections between Joshua and me that can turn a difficult day around.

I love my son fiercely. I also find parts of our life incredibly hard. Being honest about that doesn’t diminish my love for him.

I’m sharing our lives because I know how lonely it can feel when nobody seems to understand. If something in our story helps you feel understood, or gives you words for something you’ve struggled to explain, that matters to me.

This is us, finding our way together. Unmasked.