Castle Bromwich Community Website

April 2nd is officially World Autism Awarenes Day and I have been unable to find a single event trying to promote understanding of autism in Castle Bromwich or the surrounding area. I'm going to have to declare a very personal interest in this, as my son has been diagnosed as being on the Autistic Spectrum, and having researched into the area and being fully aware of the diagnostic criteria, have to confess to probably being on the spectrum myself. You might think, so what? Does it really matter? Why should this bother me? The truth is that autism is far more common than most people realise and it is profoundly disabling. It is largely an invisible disability, and so you probably know someone who is autistic without even realising it. Many people on the autistic spectrum are able to live perfectly full lives and achieve much but in doing so are having to work twice as hard as everyone else.

When my son was diagnosed, the Consultant told him that he wanted him to make his first task when he got home an internet search on famous people with autism. Why not try this yourself? It might just surprise you.I am absolutely passionate about raising awareness of Autism because there is so much misunderstanding and prejudice floating about. What is Autism? I could give you a medical diagnosis, but instead I'll try and explain it in terms of the difficulties which people on the spectrum face. Autsim makes it difficult to understand the social complexities of the world. Going outside the safety of the home causes immense anxiety for me and my son as we struggle to make sense of the people, the sensory input of sound, smell and touch and the events occurring around us. Other people know intuitively how to act with others, understand what they're not saying as well as what they are saying. We don't. We have to consciously learn every little nuance of social behaviour and then try and incorporate it naturally into our interactions. An example I can give is that when I was 18, we received advice about going for job and university interviews at school. It was stressed to us that we needed to make eye contact during these interviews and that if we didn't we created the impression that we were dishonest or evasive. I duly took this on board, and although I find it difficult o make eye contact and think and absorb at the same time, tried hard to do so. It never occurred to me that I should be making eye contact in any other situation until my son was diagnosed and it was pointed out to me.I think the title of Claire Sainsbury's book "Martian in the Playground" on the experience of Autistic pupils at school is probably a very good description of what it's like. Imagine that you were that Martian dropped into a school playground, looking to all intents and purposes like anybody else, but in reality trying desparately to work out what's going on and appear to fit in.

Autism is a spectrum disorder and as such no two people experience it in exactly the same way. There is a common triad of difficulties but the way in which they manifest themselves vary. All autistic people have greater difficulty than normal in social and emotional situations such as maintaining friendships and team work, they have difficulty with language and communication, in processing verbal information and understanding non-literal language such as jokes and sarcasm, body language, gesture and the social use of language. They also have difficulty with flexibility of thought, can have obsessional interests, difficulty with coping with change and generalisation.Throughout my son's life I have been told he will have to adapt. Would you ask a blind person to adapt by seeing? Would you ask a person who's paralysed to get out of their wheel chair and walk up the stairs? Would you ask somebody who's deaf to try harder to hear your voice? Of course the answer is no. So, why do people expect an Autistic person to adapt to their requirements? I fully accept that we need to do our best to help them understand the social world, but the world at large must be prepared to make some adaptations to theirs.