Invisible Wounds Don’t Get Casseroles

People with physical disabilities are often (and should be) given accommodations and support. When someone breaks a leg, has major surgery, or suffers a serious injury, they get meals delivered, kind messages, and permission to rest.

But someone who struggles daily with ADHD or autism is often told to try harder, get organized, or stop making excuses.

Physical injuries come with visible proof: a cast, a scar, a hospital stay. People see pain and instinctively offer help. But when your brain is what’s hurting — when executive dysfunction, sensory overload, or burnout hit — there’s no crutch or sling to make it visible.

Instead of getting space to heal, neurodivergent people learn to bottle it up, mask it, and keep going. The struggle gets mistaken for laziness, defiance, or lack of effort.

Yet many of us are doing the mental equivalent of walking on a broken leg every single day. We mask the pain, push through, and smile, because the world rarely brings casseroles for invisible wounds.