m e mor e in th e boy e UK h s than ave a utism girls w ith au tism
N O S A M
fected f e h c i Hi, m ars wh e y ly comp y name r etter. n ea i is C b iled t ly t i r b e a a p m hese track fact eron an ool pro n h o c s I like k s& d t c ba figur tinIg in a Harr o get t Egg t d e g Foo y Pottertrouble fi es ana s fear i Yung had , Fo m h I c i p h u w , I ... other niterowing thus I didn’t yum! rtpeople, struggle Ito ASCto phobia dtalk and g o a n s h lp but y a e C w h n I e e t ’ v h n n a e a W whschool. ave many friends This was a problemis that I h but at but I c g d n r i i g n e n r u w y lea r membecause I felt like an outcast, mostly was yo at that sounds I n e h w s and dthat andau Forte. I felt likeea freak, e had a disease r v i ’ I b s f o nc erienear. . pbe is fear x o one wanted to h e c i n d h a w b animals a t e i s b and ca m o o o s o m S e h n v t i o r n e n and Or poor n ot kee n s y g r o m e ’ I d v when s s e a of was that ven worse I was lumped with the rest r v e a m h h e t I o e of th ict on ecause aidwhich r b r t f akes m s s the outcasts made me feel even worse a n m e o i e b t t b i a n s u a a sit eople c nd me atedI wouldn’t p u bout myself and made me feel like c li o n r p e a h m w or colucky as to see evenASC lt feel e s u t e c i a ake friends at all. I do my m f h i f t I i some like d letrait. ’s what b t a a t h r I don’t a much t ould has been worse o f nd uncom rades. llious a g e e rting t i b o w u e p lo q s r t t a e o e b t g g to why I gdays like ge yinother s r ’ lf t t e a s e h y find it easierheto talk to people these r t m I’m the f n t o a u h e b s t t ya , r cau imagine ecause the college me with my ething large ndisbesupporting n a a c s I u o n erv do som es tha n m i SC. People nwithout ASC don’t know awhat it’s a t c y I n t a is ththem own m e went to StAutism Clares school and and I liked it because the d m d ke toIlessons have how it affects and s e k e s up. v the c e o r v were good and we had wet breaks. I iliked i n d g k t n r a e ee teacherssee especially the PE Jackson and Mrs I’to ow they the ve bothers. er, wMrhdifferently nd nev vteacher . a e over it t weworld r c e Thornhill. We hadHaolesson called tutor with groups. We u s i e t d f u f s d i n n h think us autistic people are had Mr Jackson for ICT as well. r the ith, awant to be Loads We cofk opeople fo g fajust a b f r dinlike o e s n e t a p r e t a a g s c le s d y a n a We used to do inter-house competitions.aWe had teams, , a e not an horrible when lwSt George,naughty and bratty but we’re not.chIt’s e people treatd ho were blue, yellow, green and red. The others w a oic g abov n n an i e o s k i s a r r e m t d usthink St David, St Patrick.pI am a good speller and I can type excuse but our brains don’t asu loads of people nwho o work the tsame o t u b o a e r v a s ’ a fast as well, and I have a good memory. I am also very all can just believ all hloud noises and it, i keconcentration. roes You we with wewstruggle thing. a e good at sports and extremely good at using computers. t n h e o g h t n i ess on. . autistic t a timeWe hear everything d inspir arewere llingngoing i n but if eyou a w I extremely love having Autism because iteissvery helpful w s e m u h o o o t h c e s w g ( e i a and it lets me do what T I want. her es for it’s real. he lea l, cour t lv a e e f s r o r u e e r o e siz eve in here a li t e not th t b a d h t anexample, I can always hear eyesfor I know In then classroom There’s loads of things we . r d u n o u o e p gr o s i o hearing people say. I hate e to d everyone talking, electrical equipment, things v a h e w moving and everything going on all at the I don’t ‘look autistic’, ‘E
M S I T PHOEBE U A D E N I A L EXP
DANIEL
“I hate how because I’m people think t to baby
same time. It can make me play up. Us autistic people can say how it is but not mean harm.
autism’, ‘Autism isn’t rea are the same’ and ‘Autist
FACTS & FIGURES* • • • • •
You can’t cure autism You can’t grow out of autism There are a variety of types of autism Around 700,000 people in the UK have autism More boys than girls have autism, studies have shown it is between 2:1 and 16:1!
Hi, my name is Cameron, I’’m 17 and I compiled these facts & figures I like Harry Potter, Fortnite and Egg Foo Yung... yum!
*autism.org.uk
MASON I have ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition), and because of this, I had trouble fitting in at school properly in the early years. This effected my learning, but when I was growing up I managed to get back on track a bit better. Some bad experiences I had when I was young affected me. I have Cynophobia which is fear of dogs and Ornithoobia which is fear of birds; that sounds weird but I can’t help but be afraid of them as I’m not keen on most animals. I don’t like difficult or complicated situations because I have very poor nerves and can get quite uncomfortable sometimes even when people can be strict on others when they are trying to be rebellious and that’s what I hate to see around me as it makes me nervous and that’s why I got low grades. However, what drives me is that I can do something larger than myself like get a sporting career for the future. I’ve been knocked down many more times than I can imagine, but I’m the person who always gets back on his feet and never gives up. There comes a time when we all have to make a choice, a leap of faith, and discover it’s not the size of the leap, it’s the willingness to take it, it’s about rising above and standing our ground. I know that there are real, courageous and inspiring heroes all around us and all we have to do is open our eyes and believe in ourselves for who we are.
I struggle to talk to other people, thus I didn’t have many friends at school. This was a problem for me because I felt like an outcast, mostly at Landau Forte. I felt like a freak, a disease that no one wanted to be near. Even worse was that I was lumped with the rest of the outcasts which made me feel even worse about myself and made me feel like I wouldn’t make friends at all. I do feel lucky as my ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition) could have been a much worse trait. I find it easier to talk to other people these days because the college is supporting me with my ASC. People without ASC don’t know what it’s like to have Autism and how it affects them and how they see the world differently to others.
JACOB
DANIEL I went to St Clares school and I liked it because the lessons were good. I liked the teachers especially the PE teacher Mr Jackson and Mrs Thornhill. We had a lesson called tutor with groups and we also had Mr Jackson for ICT as well. We used to do inter-house competitions. We had teams, blue, yellow, green and red. The others were St George, St David, St Patrick. I am a good speller and I can type fast as well, and I have a good memory. I am also very good at sports and extremely good at using computers. I extremely love having Autism because it is very helpful and it lets me do what I want.
PHOEBE “I hate how because I’m autistic, people think they need to baby talk me” Loads of people think us autistic people are naughty and bratty but we’re not. It’s not an excuse but our brains don’t work the same as we struggle with loud noises and concentration. We hear everything going on.
We just want to be like everyone else. It’s horrible when people treat us different. There’s loads of people who think autism is not a real thing. If you were autistic, then you would know that it’s real.
In the classroom for example, I can always hear everyone talking, electrical equipment, things moving and everything going on all at the same time. It can make me play up. Us autistic people can say how it is but not mean harm.
There’s loads of things we autistic people hate hearing people say. I hate it when people say I don’t ‘look autistic’, ‘Everyone has a bit of autism’, ‘Autism isn’t real’ ‘All autistic people are the same’ and ‘Autistic people are dumb’.
“Autistic people can be very clever, another good thing is we are very unique”
We are Cameron (17), Mason (17), Daniel (19), Phoebe (17), Rowan (16) and Jacob (17) and we are students at Derby College. We created this booklet, with the help of Fixers, the campaign that gives young people a voice, because we want teachers and professionals not to underestimate our abilities. We are all individuals, with our own
Let us make our dreams, tomorrow’s reality...
FOR MORE INFORMATION autism.org.uk autismspeaks.org autisminitiatives.org