Image description

Coral and reef plants and creatures are sketched with people in the foreground. Design: Mili Ghosh

Exploring the intertidal zones of reef walking and my ADHD diagnosis

This International Day of People with Disabilities, The D*List is embracing play, and what that means to us as disabled people. We called for community submissions and how people incorporate play in their lives. In this video submission, Aiwa Pooamorn takes us through reef walking and exploration as a form of play.

Read the transcript here for Aiwa's video submission.

Kia ora. My name is Aiwa. I am a Thai-Chinese mum, artist, poet, student teacher. I have ADHD and clinical depression.

My current obsession is tide pooling or reef walking. It's a beautiful form of play for me because I get to explore that intertidal zone, which straddles the sea and the land. The liminal zone reflects my experience as a disabled person who recently got diagnosed with ADHD, just trying to transition to adapt to this new realisation of how my mind works.

The Māori kupu for ADHD is aroreretini, which means “attention goes to many things”. In our reef walking group in Tāmaki Makaurau, I get complimented for being able to take notice of so many different sea creatures that others tend to pass by.

Shout out to my artist friend, Katrina Steak, for being our field guide.