Hi all,
I’m interested in knowing if any other crafter/makers have Asperger’s Syndrome? I’m an aspie myself and I’ve only just started to reveal this to those who don’t know me. I still find it difficult to share this information, and I’m just interested in how others with the condition deal with day to day activities, customers, friends and family or anything else that you may struggle with.
Tanya
Hi Tanya.
While I don’t have Asperger’s myself my younger brother does (4 years younger than me) and my job is actually mainly working with children/young people with Asperger’s.
So knowing some of the challenges, I think it’s great that you’re becoming more comfortable with yourself to let people know. This is something my brother still finds very difficult- he’s 23 and prefers to just talk with people over the Internet- mind you- I definitely understand that.
Your shop looks fab by the way-I love the idea of the brightly coloured backgrounds where you display your jewellery.
I hope you find some answers to your questions. 
Hi Tanya @momatuvi, welcome to Folksy. I think you’re very brave and hope you can take some comfort offered within this coummunity because everyone is absolutely lovely. Good luck with you’re shop. x
Hi Tanya,
I have Dyspraxia and I am also an introvert so joining in any group activities or interacting with people is not my strong point. I have been working from home for nearly 5 years now and I have never been happier. I enjoy not having colleagues and that I don’t have to engage in small talk and I don’t have to go to the pub on Fridays with work colleagues or I don’t have to take part in any social activity. As for the art/craft side of things, I am happy that I can sell my work online so I don’t have to knock on the shops’ doors to see who may be interested in my work. I do sell in a brick and mortar gift shop in my town, but I only visit every few months when I change the stock or to get my money if I sell something. I also pop in sometimes for a chat, but I already know the lady so I am more comfortable now. The other jobs I do as a self-employed don’t require too much interaction (mainly via email) so it is all good.
The downside of being quiet (extremely quiet) in the Internet era is that my facebook page is dead because I don’t interact with people on a personal level, I only post images with my latest paintings/products, links with my latest listings, I share sometimes other people’s work and that’s it. I can see other people talking about their families, and bring some personal aspects into it, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that. I can see (and I read everywhere) that the general advice is to show your personality so people will see you as a person and not a robot, but I am not sure what to say. I have noticed that when I post something more personal or funny (humor is not my strong point either) I get more interaction but this is very rare.
Another downside is that I have never done a solo exhibition as I am not sure I would be able to handle it. And I don’t do fairs either or open studio so my business miss out on opportunities. Only group exhibitions at the moment.
I know how it is not wanting to talk about ceartain things, as I don’t really bring my Dispraxya into conversations either (as long as I am not required to swim, to catch a ball or to ride a bike, I get away with it), but I can’t get away with being socially awkward so I avoid it as much as I can and I only meet people that I feel comfortable with. The good thing about it is that I can be professional with customers and clients but as I said before, I communicate mostly via email. But I enjoy Folksy forum though and I try to contribute to conversations any time I can :).
PS. Your shop looks beautiful. Good luck with evrything!
Teodora
Hi Theorda,
Thank you ever so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I too find it hard to bring my personality to social sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. I often wonder ‘do people really care what I think?’, and ‘am I making myself understood?’.
I’ve started to use Instagram, a photo sharing site, you can write stuff if you want but mainly it’s all about the images. A good marketing strategy for your products btw.
Anyway, hope you have a great day Theodora. x
Thank you. I started to use it too, but I only post work in progress that I photograph with my phone, I am still to work out how to transfer my photos from the computer to my phone so I can post them to Instagram. I am a computer person, not a phone person.
You, too, have a great day! x