HAVING AUTISM ISN’T SOMETHING TO FEAR

Chris Packham has hit out at experts trying to ‘cure’ autism, saying he owes his success to his Asperger’s – Dr C agrees

Recently, R documentary makers followed naturalist Chris Packham as he described his experience of having Asperger’s, and travelled to the US where clinics and educational programmes claim they can “cure” the condition. He shared how troubled he was to see how negatively autism is regarded, and rather than recognising any positive aspects, their goal appeared to be to stamp it out.

I agree; autism is almost always talked about in a negative way, it’s precisely why millions of parents feared the MMR vaccine, although that autism link has since been 100 per cent refuted. It’s important to acknowledge that autism can be very difficult. A good friend of mine is a special needs teacher in a school for children with autism and Asperger’s, where he teaches 16 year olds who can’t feed themselves. The truth is autism isn’t one thing or the other, there are many different experiences.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Recently I watched Atypical on Netflix, a comedy drama about an autistic teenage boy who is entering the dating world. I Tweeted that it was sweet, well-meant and enjoyable, and I faced a huge backlash. People said that the show had stereotyped autism. I disagree. The general public don’t know much about autism, so I felt it demonstrated the types of problems people with autism can face in terms of communication, reading emotion, intimacy and a need for routines to feel safe.

NORMAL LIVES

Autism cannot be cured, and anyone promoting that is being dishonest. We don’t even fully understand the condition yet, but there are ways of coping and managing it with the right support. Many people can live perfectly normal lives, meet partners and hold interesting careers, others need a lot of specialist support. Also, girls present differently and are often diagnosed much later.

GREATER AWARENESS

Every person on the autistic spectrum is unique, so there isn’t a one size fits all approach. Some people may feel they want to celebrate their autism because it’s made them who they are, like Chris Packham, but others may feel autism makes their lives very difficult. Shows like Atypical, The A Word and The Undateables are all raising awareness about autism and Asperger’s and that’s a good thing. Any portrayal of anything that is little understood is, by its nature, beneficial.