Dear Readers,
There is something that I have realised I have never spoken about on my blog, meanwhile I have shared it on Instagram and Facebook. (That’s the problem with trying to have too many social media’s). In February of this year I was diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This might come as a surprise to you, or not. Either way, if you had asked me two years ago if I was autistic I might even have laughed at you. This is not saying anything about me or you, it is saying something about the way that autism is represented to the world and how little most people actually know about it.
For clarification; as there are most certainly people who are going to read this who were around before 2013. In 2013 the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) renamed Asperger Syndrome to the broader definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder which includes both Autism and Asperger Syndrome. (reference: Wiki)
There is really so much to talk about this topic in general that I will need to do multiple posts. However the purpose of this post is to explain why I want to post about it here.
Why Post at All?
Why would I want to post about my Autism? Well the reason I want to talk more about my autism is directly linked to the fact that I was already an Adult before I realised I was Autistic. I say “realised I was autistic” as separate to “diagnosed” because although I did get a diagnosis and that can be useful the most important part was my self realisation. The self knowledge is what allowed me to start doing research and being able to implement coping mechanisms! I did this long before my diagnosis as the diagnostic process took me around 5 months which honestly is quite short for a national health care system.
A lot of the information on Autism Spectrum Disorder that is out there is either written by scientists and doctors who are not autistic, this information tends to be very one sided and pathologising, Or the information is aimed at parents of children, maybe directly aimed at teens themselves. This leads to either very negative portrayal (understandably because doctors usually focus on what is “wrong” with you) or a very infantalised portrayal with very little information for someone who has made it to adulthood.
Thankfully, in recent times there are more and more autistic adults who are putting their voices out there and I guess I would like to be one of those people.
Some examples that I follow:
Youtube
Autism Sketches
Autisticbailey_
Why Post here on this blog?
Good question, why would I post about my autism here on this blog instead of starting a new dedicated blog just for autism posts. I have a couple of reasons.
One: I would like to give a full view of my autism rather than a very flat portrayal that skips out the real me. I don’t want the blog to be just a collation of information that skips the real human behind the experience. Therefore by including my posts on my usual blog which (in my opinion) encapsulates a lot of my real life I am hoping to give a real picture of how a female autistic adult’s life might look. I specify female here because in the past a lot more attention was given to male autstics unless the female had particularly high support needs. I prefer the terms “high support” and “low support” as opposed to “low functioning” and “high functioning” (more about this in a future post).
Two: I do not have enough energy (spoons if you subscribe to Christine Miserandino’s Spoon theory) to try and run multiple blogs. As I have said in the beginning of this post, having a Facebook, an Instagram, and a Blog is almost too much for me already. Let us not forget the KO-fi, Payhip, Ravelry and Folksy for selling my patterns. My Youtube for supplementary knitting tutorials (for my patterns), My Pinterest, second Instagram and Redbubble for selling my art. Really I cannot contemplate starting ANOTHER blog.
Three: Although I have not spoken about my autism before (mostly because I didn’t know I was autistic) in a strange way this blog is almost a shrine to all of my special interests : Historical Knitting, knitting & crochet, cats, and art.

Thank you so much for reading this post. I will definitely be doing some more posts on autism from my perspective and experience.
Do you have anyone in your life who is on the Autism Spectrum?
Do you have any questions for me about Autism?
Are there any posts you’d specifically like to see ?
I hope that you are having a wonderful crafty week!
Peace and Love
Ellie
I wish you all the success and happiness in your self discovery journey! Thank you for your lovely comment.
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Interesting post, I too am at the stage to be diagnosed and it seems to be that I have autism and/or adhd. I never ever would have realized that I was autistic either due to the lack of portrayals and the fact that it’s mostly directed towards kids as you said too. I am only now learning what is and is not “okay” and how I should be handling it. Thanks for posting. โค๏ธ
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Thank you for sharing something so personal. We’re in a similar situation so I can completely relate. I wish you all the best for the future
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I’m so glad that we can find eachother through the internet! Thank you for you lovely comment ๐ All the best, Ellie
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Dear Ellie, Iโm so happy I found your blog! I was diagnosed at 56, and feel a common thread because I see youโre also very creative (like me)! I look forward to reading more of your posts. All the best, Leslee
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Thank you very much ๐
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Informative post, yes I know some of the people whoโs child are having Autism.Itโs a challenging task for their parents.Best wishes to you regarding creating awareness in society through your blog post.๐๐๐
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Thank you. And thank you for sharing of yourself too. I agree coping strategies are so helpful, really wish I had had them as a teen.
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And thank you so much for sharing about your own journey too! Glad that we share a special interest! ๐
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I canโt wait to read more! I realized last year Iโm autistic. My therapist took me through the diagnostic criteria and we confirmed it, though I donโt have a medical diagnose. I feel the same way about my blog โ a shrine to my special interests! I love knowing this about you, so thank you for sharing!
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Very interesting. I am seventy-five and it is only in recent years that I can see that I am mildly autistic (found labels for other minor issues I have!!) It does explain a lot and makes me feel better about myself. I donโt want a diagnosis because although the way I am causes me problems out in the real world, I think it lies behind my strengths too. Maybe some coping strategies when I was younger would have been useful. One of my grandsons has been diagnosed as autistic. And looking at my children, I think some element of it in them explains why one head teacher regarded all three of them as odd.
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Thank you for your kind comment and for sharing as well ๐
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I look forward to reading more about autism. I have 2 godchildren that are autistic. Ages 18 years and 9 years old. Thank you for being so open about this.
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Thank you so much for sharing about yourself in this particular regard. Wonderful post. I look forward to more installments ๐๐๐๐
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