Keira Rumble always felt like the ‘odd one out’.
As a child, she struggled to focus in the classroom. During her teenage years, she was so obsessed with sports that she completely neglected her studies. In adulthood, she surprised everyone by starting three businesses.
For Keira, life always felt too busy and her mind was constantly abuzz with noises she wished she could switch off.
‘I was an inattentive child who could never sit still,’ Keira, now 34, tells me.
‘I loved all kinds of sports like swimming, hockey and soccer. I had to be the best and moved from one to another really fast.’
Keira had other ‘quirks’ too.
‘At home, certain doors and drawers need to be shut otherwise I couldn’t get on with my day… and certain noises, smells and tastes were distracting,’ she says.
After having her first child in 2023, Keira found her strange symptoms began to present themselves in different ways.
After years of wondering why her brain worked differently, Keira Rumble (pictured) received answers soon after welcoming her second child
She explains: ‘Even after an awful pregnancy, I returned to work quickly and had task paralysis’ – being unable to start or complete a task due to feeling overwhelmed – ‘where I’d have a million things on my to-do list but couldn’t focus or think clearly.
‘I was burnt out, had postpartum depression and rage, so I went to a psychologist.’
That was the moment Keira first heard she might be neurodivergent – a term that covers autism, ADHD and related conditions. It was a possibility she’d quietly been weighing for some time.
‘For the last two years I’d thought, “Maybe I’ve got ADHD,” because I tend to jump from one thing to another and I have found my ability to implement things really hard,’ Keira says.
Her gut was right.
After her second child was born, she was formally diagnosed with ADHD – a moment she says made her ‘whole life finally make sense’.
‘For me, everything changed after I had two kids under the age of two while running a business. I was recovering from pregnancy and my brain didn’t have the capacity to process it all,’ Keira says.
‘My psychologist explained to me that girls often mask’ – or conceal – ‘their ADHD better than boys, but when women grow older and have children, the masking stops because there’s so much to think about.’
The busy mother received a double diagnosis that meant her ‘whole world finally made sense’
‘During the ADHD process, my therapist remarked how I could be autistic, too. I just thought, “There’s no way.” It took a while for me to understand that it’s such a spectrum,’ Keira says
Research backs this up, revealing that undiagnosed ADHD can worsen after becoming a parent due to sleep deprivation, hormonal shifts and increased responsibilities.
Keira went on ADHD medication, which helped quieten the voices in her head and allowed her to focus.
With the ADHD taken care of, a plethora of other symptoms began to show.
‘I noticed I thrived off routine, which I hadn’t done before, and had lot of sensory issues,’ Keira tells me.
Certain smells such as lemongrass or dill really bothered her, as did certain noises. She also felt overwhelmed in public.
Keira says these symptoms were present throughout her childhood, but her ADHD symptoms pushed them into the background.
She continued to seek therapy for these issues, and a year after being told she had ADHD, a specialist diagnosed her with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Having both autism and ADHD is commonly referred to as AuDHD. This is not a formally recognised diagnosis, rather a term used to describe people with both neurodevelopmental conditions.
‘During the ADHD process, my therapist remarked how I could be autistic, too. I just thought, “There’s no way.” It took a while for me to understand that it’s such a spectrum,’ Keira says.
‘Now I know my brain just works differently.’
The two conditions, autism and ADHD, contradict one another in many ways, making living with both feel like a constant tug of war between needs and sensitivities
What it’s like living with AuDHD
The two conditions, autism and ADHD, contradict one another in many ways, making living with both feel like a constant tug of war between needs and sensitivities.
Keira loves socialising, but often feels like she doesn’t quite fit in – and the aftermath hits hard. A big work event can leave her drained for days, needing time alone to recover.
She has multiple hobbies, but can lose interest in them easily.
As for her sensory issues, certain food textures can really bother Keira, and she often struggles picking out clothes with the ‘right’ fabric feel.
Keira’s autism requires everything at home to be clean and organised, but her ADHD means she’ll start several tasks at once then freeze because she’s overwhelmed.
Due to her autism, Keira has specific routines: she eats with particular utensils, prepares her work outfits the night before, and insists that all doors and drawers remain closed.
At work, constant beeping or banging forces her to wear noise-cancelling headphones to cope.
While her ADHD drives her to go out with friends or family on weekends, her autism pulls her toward staying home on the couch – otherwise, she risks burnout.
‘It’s a constant battle between being overstimulated and understimulated.’
