This newly diagnosed disorder runs rampant among the knitting community. In fact, researchers now believe that ASD was first isolated in knitters and then spread to other crafters, though these secondary carriers do not tend to exhibit the same severity of symptoms. Could you be an ASD sufferer? Ask yourself these questions:
1) do you sit for hours on end doing the same repetitive motion over and over AND (this is key) find JOY and comfort in the activity?
2) do your non-ASD friends marvel at your ability to spend months, even years, on the same project, since when they tried knitting they just couldn’t “get into it”?
3) are you unable to leave the house without a knitting bag?
4) when unable to knit, do you become agitated, nervous, lose the ability to concentrate? In other words, do you exhibit the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder?
If you answered yes to any of these questions (and if you were truly being honest with yourself, you did), then you too suffer from ASD. I’ll admit it: I’ve got it bad.
ASD sufferers often think we are superior to those with ADD — after all, we have our finished knitting projects to show for it (at least some of us do). However, this could not be further from the truth. We both exhibit the same aberrant social behaviors: unkempt homes, neglected children, poor performance reviews. Substitute “I’d rather be knitting” for “I just can’t seem to stay focused” and the problem becomes clear.Â
We need the support of the community, but we do not want a cure. Accept us for who we are. We have ASD and we are proud.
We even have support groups that meet on a regular basis. My SnB knitting club night is Thursday. Sometimes, the ASD is so bad that I go to other meetings.
Thanks for putting a name to it. And you’re right. I don’t need a cure!
Comment by Karen B. — August 9, 2006 @ 9:30 pm