When you’re neurodivergent, things that seem simple to others can present a real challenge.

And in a world tailored to abled folk, this can be a real problem.

So the woman in this story approached her boss about a possible way to cope with her ADHD during meetings, and he happily permitted the accommodations she requested.

That should have been the end of it, but thanks to a busybody colleague it was just the beginning.

Read on to find out how he caused unnecessary drama.

AITA for crafting during meetings?

So I work in a mainly office setting, and we have a lot of meetings, video conferences and online training which is primarily in video format.

I’ve always needed something to do with my hands, thanks to ADHD – if I don’t, then I cannot focus on things that aren’t reading properly (which is ironic because I also have dyslexia).

I’ve also been crocheting and knitting since I was little, and it’s something I do a lot while at home watching TV and movies because it helps me focus.

So she decided she’d try something to help her focus in long meetings.

When I was at university, I used to crochet and knit in lectures because it helped me.

No one seemed to have a problem with it, and the lecturers actually encouraged it when I asked and said as long as it helped me focus I could do whatever I wanted.

So I decided I was going to take it into work with me to see if that would help me focus more in meetings and not get distracted during them (they’re very long meetings, going up to four hours sometimes, and usually I mentally clock out within the first half hour).

I had brought up in supervision that I had trouble focusing, and my manager was actually the one that recommended I find something to do with my hands and okayed it.

Let’s see whether crocheting through meetings helped her out.

It worked, I was able to focus a lot better and be more involved in the meetings because I wasn’t drifting away.

But recently a colleague came up to me and told me to stop. He said that it was rude and disrespectful towards everyone in the meeting and our service users whom the meetings are generally about.

I tried to explain that it actually helped me to stay on track and remember more of the information about our service users, but he held his stance firmly.

Its not like I’m not participating at all – I don’t need to look down at my knitting or crochet because I’ve been doing it so long, and I bring in pieces that are simple and mindless to do. I also put it down to write and type up notes, and if I’m talking.

But her colleague was undeterred.

Anyway, my colleague said he was going to bring this to higher-ups if I continued, even though I had already cleared it with my manager before I started doing so. Regardless, it’s gotten me a bit worried.

The meetings I take part in aren’t massive company meetings; usually there are between six and fifteen of us, and it’s generally group discussions. The service users are not present.

Also, where I work is quite relaxed and generally a casual setting – like, we wear smart casual – so it’s not super formal.

So should I stop knitting during meetings? Is what I’m doing disrespectful?

AITA?

Sure, it’s understandable that to some of her colleagues, her choice to knit or crochet during meetings might seem disrespectful.

But once they are aware of her condition and understand that this is a viable accommodation to help her to focus during meetings – as well as the fact that her manager has approved it – they should accept it without question.

After all, they are not an expert in her disability: she is.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit thought about this.

This person agreed that her colleague was being completely unfair, and likely discriminatory too.

However, others thought that trying to change how the meetings work might be better for everyone.

While this Redditor thought that what she was doing was more than reasonable.

The truth is, she passed it by her manager who okayed it, and that should be enough.

We don’t all get to comment on others’ disability accommodations, because to be honest, it’s none of our business.

She finds it easier to focus for extended periods if she’s doing something with her hands, so there is no downside to this, as long as she really is paying attention.

As for her colleague?

It’s none of his business.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.