CHAT SESSION 18 with Melissa Sotelo
Topic-'Neurodiversity'
1pm Monday 28th August 2023 https://rppfm.com.au
Catch up and listen to our chat session https://megaphone.link/LCRUI5023431294
When Melissa’s 6 year old was diagnosed with a myriad of neurodiverse conditions, it was the ADHD that came as the biggest surprise. As an educator of young people, Melissa thought she had a pretty good idea of what ADHD was. The bouncy boy in the classroom, who was always getting into trouble. However, what her daughter taught her was that, like many others, she actually had no idea. Throwing herself into learning how to support her daughter was life changing as a mother, a teacher, but most surprisingly for herself.
There is currently a lot going around social media about ADHD, and you may be familiar with the many stories of women receiving a late diagnosis as they learn more and more about the condition. Melissa is one of those. At 40 years old Melissa was officially diagnosed with ADHD. However, it was in the years leading up to this moment, where she learnt about how ADHD presented in females, that she discovered her own neurodiversity.
As Melissa made more links to her own life, she was able to understand ADHD on a deeper level. This became extremely useful in her understanding of her daughter, and the difficulties she was facing. Having this insight allowed Melissa to explore strategies to better manage those difficulties, for both herself and her daughter. This exploration also led to some pretty amazing discoveries of her strengths and how they were linked to the ADHD brain. Melissa’s confidence grew as she learnt how to harness those strengths, and how to model that mindset to her daughter. Additionally, others who were having similar experiences with their children or students, and sometimes even their adult self, were connecting with Melissa for support.
Melissa believes that being uniquely placed in education as an adult who embraces their ADHD, creates a great opportunity to be a voice for ADHD learners and their families. Unfortunately, there is still so much stigma around ADHD, and often the focus is trying to change the child’s behaviour to fit the school structure. Melissa reflects on her own journey of schooling and how much anxiety she suffered, eventually failing secondary school altogether. Schools were, and still are, challenging places for neurodivergent people. Despite the growing understanding of neurodivergence, and the good intentions from schools to cater for diversity, our current education system is designed for neurotypicals. Melissa hopes she can advocate for change within the system, and wider society, creating equal opportunities for neurodivergent people to experience success.
One way she is working on this is through her writing. Melissa published a children’s book in 2021 called Luna Leads the Way. The book features characters based on the people in Melissa’s life, including her daughter, Luciana and her Boston Terrier, Luna. The main message is to embrace the power of ‘yet’ as part of developing a growth mindset. It also addresses differences and that we all have our strengths and challenges. Melissa plans to keep writing and illustrating children’s books with the intent to open up dialogue at school and in homes about personal and social challenges as well as embracing neurodiversity. While Melissa has many ideas for her books, she has put those on pause to write a different story. Melissa is currently writing about her own journey in discovering her ADHD and how she is working on accepting, forgiving, and loving her neurodivergent self. The book, Behind the Mask, is a selection of anecdotes from Melissa’s life, filled with humour, as well as some raw moments. Ultimately it is a story of self-discovery that she hopes many others will connect with and learn to embrace their own differences.
On top of her already busy life, Melissa is also undertaking her Masters of Education, Specialising in Wellbeing. She laughs about the pitfalls of being an overachiever and admits that it is one of her best ADHD strengths AND one of her biggest ADHD challenges! One thing that Melissa has learnt is that an ADHD life is one full of contradictions. However, Melissa craves learning and is always thinking about how she can use research and new learning to influence change. Recently, she heard the concept ‘Seek to Understand’ in one of her courses. While not a new concept, this very simple message has had Melissa thinking about how voice can be such a powerful tool in how we understand each other. For this reason, Melissa is advocating for the many who have taken to social media to raise awareness and share details about their neurodivergence. She believes it not only helps to connect with their neurokin, but also teaches others about diverse brain types, and how they can be better friends, colleagues, partners, and family members. Melissa says that ‘seek to understand’ is the way forward to a more inclusive society.
Melissa will be attending the Disability Expo in Langwarrin on October 28th, hosted by Julie Fisher. She encourages you to come along and learn about inclusion from the very people it means so much to! https://events.humanitix.com/local-disability-expo-2023
Follow Melissa's journey
CREATING A MORE INCLUSIVE WORLD FOR AUTISTIC GIRLS: THE YELLOW LADYBUGS STORY
My hope is that when you’re looking at yourself in the
‘The Daily Mirror’
YOU SMILE
EMBRACE BEING YOU
AND FIND 10 MINUTES IN YOUR DAY TO NOURISH YOUR SOUL!
To get in touch with Cathy email smileinthedailymirror@gmail.com
'The Daily Mirror' acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.
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