Looking at ADHD differently, part 4

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The photo shows me sitting in my studio, wearing black, holding up the Ruschia design to the camera. The Hat is silver grey and features a repeat of tapering horizontal lines across garter stitch. I’m caught mid-sentence whilst discussing sideways slouch Hats.

This is the 4th post in my series for ADHD Awareness Month, where I look through the lens of my work to try and raise awareness about ADHD from a different perspective.

The non-linear thinking aspect of ADHD makes me a master at off-tangent rambles. Because so many connections are made at lightning speeds within an ADHD brain, it's hard to focus thoughts and channel them into cohesive words and sentences. This also causes us to forget what we've said or intend to say on a scarily frequent basis.

This is why one of our accessibility needs is to receive information in clear, detailed and succinct formats.

If something isn't fully explained, our brains try to fill in the gaps, and there's a world of possibilities as to what should be in the gaps. If the information is too long, or not well edited or ordered, we can lose focus and drift.

And if it's not broken down clearly, with paragraph breaks or bullet-points, we'll miss details or take so long trying to understand because we'll be processing the information as a whole, causing a bottleneck in our brains.

#ADHD is a cognitive disability.

When we design, we instinctively design to our own needs. So though I may be a master at off-tangent rambling, in the same way that sideways knit Hats reflect so many of my ADHD needs, so it is with my approach to pattern writing.

If a design I'm working on has a loose end that's not easily explained or there's an aspect that leaves room for misinterpretation, the design will be changed or even abandoned.

Repeats will be neatly ordered, I see my patterns as executable code. I aim for logical and memorable instructions, and if different sizes require different instructions then there'll be a tangible relationship between them.

The instructions, and thus the components of the Hat, are broken down into short distinct tasks. Each part is either a clearly defined whole OR clearly connected to the next part. Either way, they'll stay true to the internal mathematical structure. You may not see my logic if I've thrown in something unexpected, but it'll be there.

What I'm trying to say is that it's not just that my pattern writing is ADHD friendly, the designs themselves are.

I believe this may be why so many of you enjoy knitting my patterns. As #UniversalDesign suggests, if something is accessible to one group, it'll be of benefit to others too.