Neurodivergent

Streaming video - 2021

In this profoundly personal mixed media experience inside the ADHD mind, NEURODIVERGENT follows the filmmaker’s journey as she discovers her ADHD diagnosis during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. From Post-it notes to magnets, keys, pens, rubber bands, and receipts, the unorganized chaos of a junk drawer is the perfect representation of what Afton Quast Saler’s brain feels like every day. Growing up, she knew she wasn’t like the other kids but never really understood why, and doctors didn’t seem to be much help. She was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, rapid cycle bipolar, fibromyalgia, addiction disorders, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, insomnia, and dyslexia – but none of those diagnoses felt right.In March 2020, at the... beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and in her third year at USC School of Cinematic Arts, Afton underwent extensive psychological tests and was diagnosed with something she never even considered: ADHD. In a unique way of coping with this new information, she courageously decides to put herself in front of the camera and, with the help of her husband, Jesse, documents this very personal journey. Her bible soon becomes the 1995 book, "Women with Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life", as she learns that she is not the only young girl to have silently suffered in school. In fact, women with ADHD are more often under-diagnosed than men, as well as commonly misdiagnosed and treated for anxiety and mood disorders as primary diagnoses. Finally feeling understood, Afton is thrilled to have the opportunity to meet the author of the book and superstar advocate in the ADHD world, Sari Solden. With Sari’s help, Afton recognizes that her life-long pattern of negative thoughts and feelings were not the result of the learning disability itself but rather the shame of not being able to fully inhabit her genuine self. more