* or How I Use AI to Support My AuDHD (and How You Can Too)

A Queer, Neurodivergent Engineer’s Guide to Using ChatGPT to Support Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, and Creative Flow

✨ Intro: Neurodivergent, Not Deficient

For a long time, I couldn’t quite explain why I felt like I was sprinting just to stay upright in spaces where others seemed to float. Working in tech—especially on bro-y teams in corporate America—felt like a slow, constant drain. Every interaction was a performance. Every day, a struggle to mask my confusion, my overwhelm, and my growing burnout.

I knew not everyone felt this way just trying to exist. I started looking for answers and stumbled across descriptions of AuDHD—Autism + ADHD—that clicked in a way nothing else had before. The more I read, especially about how underdiagnosed women and queer people are, the more I realized: this is me.

But here’s the thing no one tells you—knowing the diagnosis and even getting medication isn't a magic fix. I needed to find accommodations. Ones that fit me. Ones that could actually support my energy, my cycles, my nonlinear way of thinking. That’s when I started talking to ChatGPT.

At first, I approached it with a lot of caution. I know AI isn’t neutral. But over time, I realized that when used mindfully, ChatGPT could be like a low-stim, judgment-free assistant—one I could train to speak my language, support my rhythms, and even help me come up with accommodations that felt like they were written by a top-tier specialist—if I asked the right questions.

One of the first major shifts was how it helped me redesign my lighting setup. It didn’t just throw me random Pinterest aesthetics— it gave me a layered plan with ethical IoT recommendations, ND-friendly sensory logic, and low-overhead solutions. For the first time, tech felt like it was being designed for me.

🧩 Section 1: Executive Dysfunction, Meet Your Match

How AI helps me do the things when the brain says “nope.”

🛠️ Tools I Use:

• ChatGPT as an Executive Function Proxy
  I ask it to break things down: "Help me prep for my move this week in 3 manageable steps."

• Starter Scripts + Gentle Deadlines
  I prompt it to gently guide me into action: “What’s the easiest way I can start this task with the least resistance?”

• Routines Without Shame
  Instead of rigid schedules, it helps build scaffolding I can adjust each day.

🔄 Section 2: Regulation in Real-Time

Using AI to co-regulate, ground, or shift states

• Sensory Check-Ins
  I ask: “What can I do to reset after a day of masking?” or “Give me ND-safe ways to decompress without scrolling.”

• Emotional Scripts
  When I’m anxious: “How do I message my manager that I need more time, without oversharing?”

• Gentle Validation
  It reminds me: “It’s okay to stim. You’re not behind—you’re surviving a system that wasn’t made for you.”

🧠 Section 3: Creative Overflow, But Make It Focused

Channeling chaos into clarity

My brain is never short on ideas—it’s the organizing that’s hard.

• Stream Dump + Sort
  I paste brain dumps and ask: “Can you help me find a pattern or theme?”

• Blog Co-Writing
  (Yes, even this one hehe) It helped me turn my internal monologue into a narrative arc.

• Design Companion
  When I was setting up my new space, it gave me ND-friendly, budget-conscious decor suggestions that actually helped my mood.

💡 Section 4: My Custom AuDHD AI Stack

A glimpse into my AuDHD Mode setup

I call it MashaCore Mode—because it’s mine, and because AI should bend to my needs, not the other way around. Find the way to set up your ChatGPT to this Mode in this post!

🤝 Section 5: Tips to Create Your Own ND-AI Relationship

• Define your ideal tone and pace. I prefer low-stim, conversational.

• Save favorite prompts (“Help me start without pressure”) to reuse.

• Check in with yourself. If a reply overwhelms you, that’s a signal.

• Let AI be a buddy, not a boss.

🌈 Outro: Reclaiming Tech, One Prompt at a Time

This isn’t about hacking productivity. It’s about building a life I can actually live in. For the first time, I feel like I have a tool that adapts to me—not the other way around. If you’re AuDHD, ND, or just tired of performing for systems that don’t see you—maybe AI can help you too.

Not perfectly. Not always ethically (unless we push for it). But maybe.

The trick is: teach it to care. Not by making it human—but by showing it who you are.