Neurodivergent Skill Regression: When Skills We Thought We Mastered Become a Challenge Again

If you've started unmasking and suddenly feel like you can't do things you used to handle effortlessly, you're not imagining things. In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina Ph.D. breaks down skill regression, a disorienting but normal phase of the unmasking journey that many late-identified neurodivergent adults experience.Regina explains how so many of us built our skills, routines, and even our sense of identity around a masked, performative self, and why removing that mask can feel like losing abilities overnight. She covers how social skills and reading the room were often fueled by hypervigilance and fear, and why glitches in those skills are actually a sign of progress.This episode reframes skill regression not as a setback, but as a data-collection process, a chance to discover what you are truly capable of as your authentic self. If you've been late diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or another form of neurodivergence, this episode will help you understand the awkward, in-between phase of unmasking with more compassion and context.Sign up for N.E.R.D. Notes and get weekly nerdy neurodivergent insights!Book a Clarity Call with ReginaAbout Dr. Regina McMenomy, PhDRegina is a neurodivergent coach and educator who helps late-diagnosed adults unmask, heal from burnout, and build lives aligned with how their brains work. She founded Divergent Paths Consulting to provide the type of coaching and support that late-diagnosed nerdy neurodivergent folks need after receiving their late diagnoses.