Living with invisible limitations

I don’t usually talk about this openly, but apparently its disability pride month, so I figure it's a good time. I live with a disability: a combination of mild Cerebral Palsy (CP) and high-functioning Autism. Neither condition is immediately obvious that I have it, but it does pose some challenges in life that I do want people to know about.

In my case, the most significant challenges are, in order of how limiting they are

1. Chronic Fatigue (2 half days of volunteering results in 2-4 days of recovery, depending of how busy it was)
2. Increased tension due to my CP
3. Sensory overloads (I suppose this is both CP and Autism related)

The chronic fatigue is the most limiting, yet also the one there is no official explanation for (though, I suspect its due to a combination of my CP and Autism). It affects me so much I’m permanently tired, two half days of volunteering means being pretty much worthless for 2-3 days. I need to be careful that I don’t overdo myself on a daily basis.

My CP also affects me, I most notably have issues with too much muscle tension (mostly in my legs). I go to physical therapist twice s week to massage/stretch it away, and since a few months I also have AFO’s (Lower leg braces) that do a wonderful job in reducing tension buildup (and pain) when walking.

My Autism is mostly a limiting factor due to sensory overloads, which are fairly easy to avoid. If avoiding them is not possible, I can always use earplugs to make situations more doable.

But even with all of this, I’m not sure if I’d want to be “normal”, I’ve had my disability since I was born so it has shaped my personality. What I do want though is people to accept not everyone is normal, even if they look normal. They might have some more hidden issues that make living life like playing a game on hardmode: Though, but with the right things happening at the right time just barely doable.