dysfunctional housewives: 04/22/2007

Monday, April 23, 2007

A Ray of Hope

It may seem like a small thing to those of you who don't suffer with NDS, but every step gives hope to those fellow sufferers.

My friend came over and wanted a cup of tea. Of course tea is made by putting the cup of water in the microwave right? Just as I was about to do this the electricity went out. My friend said I could just boil the water on the stove. I felt the panic rising, but always wanting to at least try to be a good hostess, with shaking hands, I filled a pot with water, put it on the stove, turned on the flame, and in a few minutes the water boiled and I poured it into the cup over the tea bag.

Do you realize what a breakthrough this is?!? I MADE BOILING WATER FROM SCRATCH!

what is NDS?

NDS Syndrome or No Domestic Skills Disorder is a multifunctional disorder discovered in the late 80ties by two young scientists who published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several women who had normal if not above average intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited marked deficiencies in domestic skills. In spite of the publication of this paper, it wasn't until recently that NDS is getting more widespread attention by professionals.

Individuals with NDS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with NDS show marked deficiencies in domestic skills, have difficulties with all kind of housework and prefer others to do the same. They often have obsessive dislikes of anything domestic and may just avoid related activities such as cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc. They have a great deal of difficulty to use kitchen utensils or sewing equipment and very often the individual with NDS has difficulty understanding written material pertaining to domestic work issues.

It's important to remember that the person with NSD perceives herself to be perfectly normal and healthy.

By definition, those with NDS often have above normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in several specific areas other than the domestic realm. While intellect and education seem, on the surface, normal or above normal, individuals with NDS often have a deficit in patience and subordination to any kind of authority.

At this time there is a great deal of debate as to exactly where NDS fits. It is presently described as a behavioral disorder but some professionals feel that NDS might have underlying genetic causes, located on the X-chromosome.

Further research is underway but if the X-chromosome genetic cause theory can be substantiated, the unrealistically high amount of reported male NDS cases will have to be treated at what they probably are: avoidance syndrome.

For more detailed information or if you are looking for a support group in your area you can send an email to

ndssyndrome@yahoo.com