HAPPILY DIFFERENT
MYTHBUSTERS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT It is not true that autistic people can’t feel empathy – some feel empathy for others so strongly that it becomes uncomfortable and unmanageable.
REFRIGERATOR MUM Historically, one theory suggested that lack of love and attention by mothers of children with autism caused the condition. This theory has since been discredited by scientific research.
THE MALE FACTOR
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Autism used to be described as a male condition, with patterns of behaviour described as more consistent with a male brain. This theory has now been debunked as there are as many women diagnosed as men.
A morning at the hairdressers was anything but relaxing for Caroline Keep (above). As a child she was super sensitive to having her hair brushed or plaited. “For me it was like having a root canal treatment,” she recalls.
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any years later, an assessment for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) suggested she would benefit from being assessed for autism. “I was always smart, stubborn and a bit problematic,” says Caroline. “I didn’t enjoy parties. I was popular, but not that interested in other people. I would spend hours on my own making things.” After working in engineering, she spent a decade as an airline steward, gained a degree in geophysics and became a teacher. But by then she was struggling with extreme highs and lows.
“I would push myself to achieve, become overwhelmed then crash and burn out. At one stage I didn’t speak for four months. I felt as if my Life Game settings had been set to Very Hard and that other people were cruising along on Easy.” In 2018 Caroline won the Times National Teacher of the Year award and cofounded Liverpool MakeFest, a festival to promote science, technology, engineering, art and maths (Steam) to young people. Three years later, aged 41, she was diagnosed with autism.
