Learning How Not to Disappear | A Neurodivergent Mother’s Story

Learning How Not to Disappear is a deeply honest story about late autism and ADHD diagnosis, motherhood, burnout, and the quiet work of staying alive in a world that often feels overwhelming.

In her early thirties, Noemí Santos finally receives the words that explain a lifetime of struggle: autism and ADHD. But recognition brings its own kind of grief. While working a job she cannot afford to leave and homeschooling her neurodivergent son, she begins to unravel years of depression, masking, and survival in a world that was never designed for minds like hers.

This is not a story of perfect healing.
It is a story about staying.

Learning How Not to Disappear speaks to anyone who has ever felt unseen, exhausted, or quietly overwhelmed—and reminds readers that recognition itself can be a form of survival.