Aliens

On autistic special interests, hyperfocus, and joy

GIF of the “Aliens” guy from Giphy: https://encr.pw/vWV6P

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As I write this, I'm currently fighting the urge to reenter hyperfocus on one of the silliest and most fun and satisfying projects I've ever done - crochet alien plant hangers.

A completed alien (with tongue, as requested by my 5-year-old).

Two days ago my friend sent a video of this pattern to the group chat, and I immediately bought it and have been making these goofy little things ever since (the current total, at the time of posting, is nine completed aliens - two with improvised tongues).

Ironically, though I've known the basics of crochet since I was a kid, these are my first completed crocheted objects.

If you've been here a while, you may be confused about this current attention tunnel¹ because my “thing” is usually knitting; except, it's not, exactly.

Fiber arts in general have been one of my special interests² since I was pretty young (though since I am late-diagnosed, I wouldn't have known to call them that) and I sometimes think it's my ADHD that decides which specific niche I settle into at any given time.

I've bounced between sewing, embroidery, crochet, and, more recently, knitting (and more) for as long as I can remember.

Engaging with my special interests is something that can help me regulate and stay more present, but something I especially love about projects like this one is that they bring me a significant amount of joy - layers of it, really.

I get autistic joy from the learning and process of creating, as well as from the finished product and, in this case, being able to gift them.

I am lucky that while growing up, my creative interests were regularly encouraged and celebrated. This means that when I rabbit hole for a few days (or longer) on a project that is perhaps technically not traditionally “productive" I don't usually feel much guilt or shame for allowing myself to follow the flow and enjoy it.

When I was in burnout, I struggled to do or enjoy much of anything, and I know now how important it is to cultivate and embrace joy wherever we can find it.

I never know how long it will last, but I'm more determined than ever to not only allow myself these kinds of simple pleasures, but to acknowledge the value of them in my life.

My completed aliens so far (I ran out of safety eyes😅 Not to fear: replacements have been ordered)

So, if you need me, I'll be off crocheting aliens…until I'm not.

What's bringing you joy lately? I'd love to hear about it. And as always, feel free to share if this resonated with you!

1. I love this alternate term for hyperfocus from

KateFox

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2. I'm aware that many autistic individuals have started to use different terms for things like “special interests" and “hyperfixations” which I'm fully on board with, but I'm not super familiar with any of them yet and am still figuring out what I'm comfortable with, so since these terms are commonly understood, I'm using them to describe the experience for now.