Show some empathy

l GORDONVALE

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Isabella Guzman Gonzalez

GORDONVALE online counsellor and autistic woman Melanie Foulkes is raising awareness of the importance of amplifying autistic voices and their experiences as part of World Autism Month.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately 1 in 70 Australians have autism.

Mrs Foulkes said that despite having such a large population, there was still a lot of stigma around autism in Australia.

“It’s essential to have a date to allow autistic people to change the negative perception that being autistic has in society,” she said.

“I want the next generation of young autistic people to be understood and to have their strengths, interests and aspirations celebrated.”

Mrs Foulkes said it was important to understand that “autism looks different for everyone”.

“I don’t ever claim to be speaking for all autistic people, but many Autistic people may find trying to fit in with others quite exhausting,” she said.

“Autistic people feel things deeply but don’t necessarily show it through nonverbal cues.

Autistic people intentionally mask aspects of themselves to avoid being treated differently, and they’re gener- ally driven by their strengths and interests.

“Some autistic people are sensory seeking whereas others are sensory avoidant. For example, I don’t necessarily like loud music, but some autistic people find that stimulating, and others can be overstimulated by noise, crowded environments or different textures like food or clothing.”

Due to studies being mostly focused on males, the last decades have seen an increase in figures of women being diagnosed with autism.

“Particularly for women, some signs to look for are, if throughout their lives have had challenges finding or maintaining traditional employment,” Mrs Foulkes said.

“They may have only a few or one close friends, and they may be very skilled in a chosen area or interest but at the same time finding hard to keep up with daily life.

“There’s a feeling that you should be more grown up by now or finding sudden changes challenging, and some people experience difficulties socialising with people of the opposite gender during puberty.

“Women and girls have been missed because sometimes they’re diagnosed with anxiety or depression or an eating disorder without any further investigation.”

For more information and resources on autism, visit www.reframingautism.org.au

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They didn’t finish until the following morning, about 12 hours later.

Mr Dimes’ spine was pieced back together with two metal rods and many screws, ranging from the bottom of his neck, down to the bottom of his ribs.

For the surgeons, it was a marathon effort, as they had already completed a full day of elective surgery. They were well supported by nursing and anaesthetic staff and orderlies, who also worked around the clock to help their patient.

Mr Dimes has been in rehabilitation for the past three months, slowly but surely becoming strong enough to walk.

His doctors said their patient had made a remarkable recovery.

“It’s amazing. We would always tell patients to expect the worse in a case like this,” Dr Maunder said.

“Thomas had flaccid paralysis in his right leg before the operation and after the operation, and I definitely thought he would have bowel and bladder disfunction for the rest of his life,” he said.

Dr Maunder said it was “absolutely amazing” he was now walking around and also still alive.

Mr Dimes said there was some nerve damage to his left leg, but he was otherwise fine. “I think I’ll make a full recovery and won’t be reliant on walking aids or anything,” he said.