Auternative thinking Autism now affects one in 88 children in the UK. Most people have heard of the condition, but seemingly few understand it. Not being able to make friends, struggling with conventional education, and misconceptions about the condition are just some of the difficulties people with autism face. But there is an upside‌ Exposure investigates.
"Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them." The National Autistic Society
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It was found out I was autisic when I was 4 years old. This is a common age for people like me to be diagnosed. Being autistic isn’t easy all of the time, especially when you’re at school. This is why I want to highlight some of the challenges that people with autism face. This is so that those who read this article know how to treat people with autism. And so that autistic people know that they are not alone, that there are others, like me, who feel the same as they do. I remember looking at other students and seeing how they acted with each other. They seemed 'normal', chatting away without being visibly insecure. I wanted to be like them, but I didn’t really understand what was going on; other people’s conversations would confuse me. I was aware that I was different.
The first school I went to wasn’t very good for me. I wasn’t given the support I needed and the lessons moved too quickly. There was no one around who understood what I needed. So I moved. The next school I went to was much better. I had a key worker in each class who helped me get to grips with the lesson. It was still frustrating though.
This frustration would show itself in two ways. I would feel like I was missing out on learning, and falling behind the other students. I would start to panic, which was horrible. It brought attention to me. People would look at me and make fun of me. I would get paranoid that they were all laughing at me behind my back. I’m not sure that they even were. The other problem with the frustration was that I couldn’t communicate very well. I couldn’t speak fluently, and would keep pausing. I knew what I wanted to say, it was in my head, but I couldn’t find the words to explain my feelings. I was worried about how I would sound to other people. This is a common thing for autistic people. At school it was difficult to make friends. I was worried that they would manipulate me to do something that might get me into trouble. I struggle with my social skills and with being independent, which are both important in getting people to be friends with you. I also worry about things changing. I’m only now starting to watch DVDs after sticking with VHS my whole life. I don’t want to change because it means doing things differently, and I might damage the DVDs. I know that it’s unlikely, but I worry all the same. I worry that small things like this will change my daily routine, which makes me feel uncomfortable. Then again, everyone has challenges, and being autistic isn’t all bad. In fact, there are some good things. It’s not a disease like measles or the flu; it’s a life long condition.
So you know that this is something that you have to accept, and you learn to deal with the hurdles that come your way. It makes you resilient. I have an excellent memory. And I can concentrate on one thing for a long time. I’ve always been interested in trains, specifically steam engines. So I can gain very specific knowledge about something where others would typically lose interest. My brain allows me quickly to look further than the surface information about things I like. Autism is a common condition that lots of people deal with, but each person’s autism affects them differently. It’s like anyone in society really. We’re all the same, but we’re all different. We all need to help and support each other!
Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls
sabrina
My name’s Sabrina, and I’m an aspiring author. I have autism. However I have special talents. These are, writing and illustrating. These compensate for my disability. I try not to let it get in the way of my life. I’ve been drawing since I was very young. Many autistic people have a specific interest. One of my interests is Canada; there’s many reasons why I love Canada. One is the landscapes; another is the people. I have other interests too. I’m currently working on a project called Canadian Boys. It’s a series of stories and drawings. I’ve been working on it for the last four years. The Canadian Boys are people named after places in Canada. Most of the characters have a problem of some sort. This makes them more realistic; I’m attempting to raise awareness of their situations as there are people in society who have similar problems to resolve. It’s important for people to understand that. I don’t just focus on the negatives, I also
focus on the positive aspects in their personas. One of my characters is called Bassano. He is from Alberta, in western Canada (the part of Canada with the prairies). He’s an acoustic guitarist; he has the same type of autism as me, which is ‘high-functioning’. Like nearly all the other Canadian Boys characters, he faces many issues in his daily life. Bassano performs at many venues through-
out the City of Canada (a fictional place in my stories), where all the Canadian Boys characters live. As well as playing the guitar he has a beautiful voice, but he has habits of flapping his hands while he performs to relieve stress and anxiety. Many autistic people have this habit. He suffers discrimination because of his autism – those who bully him only see his disability; they don’t see what he can do, they don’t value him as a human being. Bassano has to learn how to accept himself, and accept that his disorder is incurable. He wants society to know that autistic people are humans too. He thinks that many things are possible if you believe in yourself. Bassano strives to change the way the public sees autistic people; and that’s one of the things I want to do, via the stories I write and the pictures I draw. Real life people who have autism them-
Autism is a hidden disability you can't always tell if someone has it
2 April is World Autism Awareness Day. Send a tweet with #WAAD to show your support.
The Canadian Boys by Sabrina
selves could look up to Bassano as a healthy role model; he focuses on his good qualities – he has a positive attitude. He tries to tackle discrimination, but peacefully. He sees music as a way of self-expression – some of his songs are even about the problems that people with autism face. Some autistic people don’t take advantage of opportunities because they feel uneasy about themselves. But if Bassano can make something of his life then so can I, and so can other autistic people. My family sometimes worry that I fixate on Canada, and it’s becoming an obsession that is consuming me. However, the characters I create help me, and other people, raise awareness of issues specific to autism..
Joelle It was a foggy winter morning as I sat down in front of my laptop with a bowl of hot porridge. I thought I’d browse through the Daily Mail website to see what’s been going on in the news lately. I came across a title which brought out my curiosity: “Children can GROW OUT of autism: controversial research suggests not all youngsters have the same fate.” Having grown up with ‘mild autism’ I was deeply outraged by the entire article and this line in particular: “Tests confirmed that the group, aged eight to 21, no longer suffered symptoms of the developmental condition that makes it difficult to communicate and socialise.” This, to me, suggests that autism can be ‘cured’ which is misleading and gives people false hope. Autism is a mental condition, which can be detected from an early childhood of developing a difficulty with communicating or having sense of the world around them. There are different levels of autism, some more debilitating than others.
There are many methods to help treat those who are diagnosed with autism, such as speech therapy to improve difficulty with communication. Then there is Applied Behavior Analysis, which is a method used to study behaviour of autistic children, but more importantly it reinforces positive behaviour. This helps an autistic person in social situations, among other things. This technique itself is popular in helping autistic people function in society. But it isn’t a cure for the condition. Drug warning by Joelle
I am nearly 22 and despite having years of speech therapy and a ‘statement of special educational needs’ - so others understand my condition - I still find myself struggling with communication and fully understanding a task that is given to me. I know of other autistic people who are older than me but also struggle. So you can imagine my anger when the Daily Mail, the world’s most popular news website, reports that people can grow out of autism when there is no proof of it. I’m a case in point that proves the very opposite! Autism is not a disease. It can’t be cured. Articles such as this only confuse a matter that is little understood anyway. Autism may be responsible for social difficulties, but it doesn't make a person sick, nor is it life threatening.
About 40% of children with autism do not speak
More people have been diagnosed with autism in the last twenty years than ever before
And there have been many brilliant autistic people in the world who have achieved great things. Jessica-Jane Applegate, diagnosed with Asperser’s Syndrome, won gold in the 2012 Paralympics. Albert Einstein, one of the world’s greatest scientists, is widely thought to have had some form of autism. Mark Haddon is an author whose books have been best sellers, and have won many awards, and he currently has a sell out play in the London’s West End. It is these examples, which show the world that despite having any form of difficulty, you could still accomplish anything, from being a scientist to a gold winning sports athlete. The media, instead of talking about cures and giving false hope, should concentrate of the positive aspects of autism. Lots of us are happy to talk about our lives. So if you want to find out about the condition it’s best to listen to us rather than read The Daily Mail!
Sabrina Gardiner 19
Max Ferreira 17
Joelle Selt 22
The way we train young people here at Exposure has always appealed to people with autism. We encourage other beneficiaries at Exposure to support and learn from the autistic people we work with. Exposure provides a platform for all young people to have a voice.
If you are under 25 and you have something to say then get involved. Call 020 8883 0260 or email info@exposure.org.uk for details.