Living with autism

The Bucks Student

By Nichola Sun

Just because of who I am, I may not sense or understand, Everything on what is happening, I need the time to perceive as it is challenging.

I know, because I have differences, Sometimes if things get too much, I need to take my distances, It is often tricky to get used to this bit, But it is important for us to learn and accept it.

You should not feel you have to fit in The Crowd, Saying “no” to take time for yourself is allowed, You are doing this for your own benefit, To not feel the pressure to do more than your limit.

If we know and learn about acceptance, The world for everyone will have more pleasance, Because of all differences being accepted, It will make us feel more loved and connected.

Just remember you are all fantastic, Despite having differences, it is best to be authentic, Let’s hope to accept differences every day, Rather than just on April 2nd, World Autism Day.

To begin with, autism is more than just awareness, Let’s treat it with acceptance, respect, and kindness! I was diagnosed with autistic features (now known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)) when I was three years old. Therefore, I received speech, physio and occupational therapies and had an intervention programme up to the age of six. These helped me to overcome my challenges and improve my social and communication skills. Due to my personal experiences, this steered me to become an advocate for autistic people so that they can get the support and overcome any obstacles they encounter in their daily lives.

I came across a poem written by an autism advocate based on their personal experiences and I was moved by this poem because it displayed so many different emotions. This prompted me to rediscover an old hobby of poetry writing I had when I was younger. I had taken a break from writing poems for three years and 2021 was a reflective year for me after facing the Covid-19 lockdown. This inspired me to write my ‘Acceptance’ poem to honour Autism Awareness month in April 2021. Ultimately, my former boarding school had asked me to be their mentor for their Autism Acceptance Day. Back in 2019, I initiated the Autism Day event at school to encourage both the mainstream pupils and staff to understand autism and be inclusive to the pupils in the Autism Centre rather than ‘shoving them into a corner’ or putting them into a ‘group on their own.’ Furthermore, we see, we hear, and we are aware of autistic people. However, besides awareness, many still cannot accept autistic people, because of their different behaviours as they perceive the world differently to others. With this poem, I want to portray to the general public to accept others for who they are, and individuals should never be ashamed to admit their disabilities or differences and just be themselves. This is better than having to change to ‘fit in’ The Crowd or become a people pleaser. I hope a message can be sent to our community to be more inclusive of people with disabilities.