Autism - what not to say or do

(This is not my photo)

Being a person with autism I've had to face so many challenges and difficulties throughout my life, 
in connection to what people have said, done or acted towards me. I've wanted to do this post for a while but after watching Anne Hegarty in I'm A Celebrity and scrolling through Twitter, I became even more inspired. Although there is a definition of autism, it affects every person differently. For me I have Aspergers syndrome which mainly affects my social skills, which is the same as Anne.

Whilst watching Anne in the jungle and scrolling through twitter I came across a bunch of tweets 
of people being angry and upset that she got choose to do a trial. One tweet that stood out to me was
'How could people vote for Anne after seeing her like that today in the camp'. I was taken back by
this initially because if she wasn't a celebrity, in the jungle or never spoke about being autistic 
then nobody would care about how she was feeling. It’s quite strange and overwhelming to see all 
the love and support, that Anne is getting in the jungle since growing up friends would bully me, 
say thing behind my back, isolate me and many more because of the way I acted, talked or behaved.

Personally I struggle being in social situations. E.G. going to and being at work. When I talk about
my struggles regarding this issue people tend to dismiss me because in their eyes I don't look like I
have something wrong with me (first thing not to say). However for someone like Anne who is in the
limelight, when she is facing struggles people comfort her, offer support and get defensive against
other people's comments. This is a true example of how people care when you have fame.

 I find myself getting quite frustrated because a lot of people treat others differently depending 
on their social status/fame level because they want to seem to care about others but in reality 
they don't. I've gone through my life, without any friends because nod boy has ever understood 
me, the way I acted or why I am the way I am, yet nobody would realise that. 

Autism can't be seen from the outside. 
It will affect everyone differently.
Don't treat us differently or treat us like a child.
Don't treat one person one way and us another way.
No two autistic people will ever be or act the same.
Autism is measured on a scale, some are more severe that others.
There's no need to say 'awww' when you find out we have autism.

Reading this blog post back, I'm aware that I most likely make no sense, because when it comes to
topics like this I find it hard to express myself and how I'm feeling. However I still wanted to write
and post this because there might be 1 person out there who understands and is feeling the same
way I am, who maybe wants reassurance and to realise that they are not alone in this world.

Please remember that all things are hard, we struggle with tasks you may find really easy. Being out of our daily routine brings great difficulty and anxiety to us. Just like the jungle and doing trials is for Anne. We don’t need to be treated any differently from you or bubble wrapped, just being there is simply enough. It’s lovely to see all the love, support and attention that Anne is getting but just remember there are “regular” people who suffer from Aspergers too, not just celebrities. You can look good by showing support and attention to everyone, not just people who you might get noticed by and shared from on social media.
xoxo
Lea-Mai

2 comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this, it was a really informative read xxx

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