Why Coding Is The Best For People With AuDHD

I live in a world that doesn't always make sense to me.

A lot of things don't make sense. In fact, most things.

Learn JavaScript? No problem. Easiest thing in the world (well, within reason...). Really, I love it. Ask me anything about curly braces and colons and semicolons (disclaimer - it's good but it's not as good as it was before I learned Python - now my default is Python, honestly...).

Ask me to read a book or watch a video though - that's already terrible, right -

But ask me to fill out a form? WHY. Ask me to read someone's facial expression? I can just about discern serious. And I can always, always tell smiling 🤗🤗🤗 And I can especially always tell a warm, heartfelt smile.

But ask me to read between the lines and play in small talk and engage in banter? No thanks.

Ask me to go into a bar and know what to say in there? No thanks. You mean people don't want to talk about coding in there??! Ask me to engage in power play or in power politics in public spaces? I can try with an effort. Ask me to name an emotion - no way.

People can say effortlessly in two sentences more than I can express in a lifetime.

Or rather - people can articulate my own emotions better than me - they only have two listen for two minutes and usually they can summarise into words - what I have been trying to say for years.

I can't always make sense of difficult life experiences - of why people choose to do certain things - I can't always process things.

But I can code

When I started coding it was like I had immediately discovered what I was born to do.

Nothing made sense in my life and actually nothing still makes sense.

But with coding everything makes sense.

But with coding everything adds up.

Everything adds up.

So why we should code

People with AuDHD who want to - and similar experiences - autism, ADHD, I know a lot of dyslexic programmers and I love them all to pieces and cherish them with all my heart...

• Coding is black and white and we like to think in black and white.
• Coding quite literally helps us to make sense of the world when nothing else makes sense
• People are not literal and they don't say what they mean - programs DO, and that is really helpful.
• Coding can help to process trauma and help to regulate and focus a mind which has been otherwise grappling with, and trying to, and struggling to process things.
• Coding can be a good financial equaliser for people who are neurodivergent who might otherwise struggle in the workplace.
• Coding is FUN. Need I say anymore?
• Coding provides challenges - we need challenging.
• Coding allows us to be silly while working - there is no end to creativity when testing things out.
• Coding allows us to meet like minded people - I was so lonely before I started software engineering, now it is not the case anymore.
• Coding is just like the funnest computer game that you will ever play in your life...

Case In Point:

I asked Chat GPT to summarise this post. And it listed two words as the main reasons for people with AuDHD coding:

STRUCTURED THINKING.