Neurodivergent woman's Lego passion helps her focus

A neurodivergent woman who estimates she has about £3,000 worth of Lego says it helps her focus.

Al Palmer, 23, from near Norwich, has autism and ADHD and became interested in the brick-building phenomenon as an adult during university.

She said she found the building process "therapeutic" as it offered her a distraction away from the everyday stresses of life.

"It's so therapeutic to do; it takes your mind off of things", she explained to BBC Look East.

She decided to get up at 05:00 GMT on Thursday so she could be one of the first through the door of the new Norwich Lego store, and ended up as the third customer inside.

Palmer said her hobby helped her unwind between essays and lectures at university.

"I love collecting it, displaying it. I love finding out about it - going to Denmark, going to the museum they've got there, learning about how Lego has developed over time.

"It's so therapeutic to do; it takes your mind off of things.

"It allows you to focus and also online I've made such an amazing community of other people that love Lego, and getting to talk about it with other people that love it just as much as I do."

Palmer saves a small amount of money each month to fund her passion.

"You do have to save up and it's a nice thing to save up for," she said.

"It's what I've achieved through working hard at [my job]... this is what I choose to spend my money on, in the same way that someone might want to go on lots of holidays or buy handbags.

"That's my thing that I want to collect and be proud of."

The primary school teacher said she was "always trying to get it into my lessons", and she also shares her passion for bricks to her 4,000 TikTok followers.

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