Couple living their life on the spectrum
VICKY Whiting cannot stand the sensation of eating crunchy food.
The feeling of a clothing label on her skin is enough to reduce her to tears. And just the thought of being in a busy, crowded, shopping centre can leave her distraught.
Growing up, Vicky couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t quite right.
By the time she was 17, she had started to suspect she might be autistic, but it would be another eight years before she had an official diagnosis.
Two years later, Vicky, 26, has chosen to speak out about her personal experience of autism, in a bid to help others understand what it can be like to live with.
“I don’t remember much from my childhood, but my mum remembers I had one friend in primary school and I thought that was normal. She also says I used to walk around the edge of the playground by myself a lot,” says Vicky.
“In primary school I was behind academically, which I didn’t put down to anything, I just thought I was bad at maths.
“Nothing stood out until I was about 17. My mum is a specialist teacher, she worked with kids with autism and she used to come home and say I was ticking all her boxes, and as I looked at it more, as I looked at what she was doing, I realised I fit some of those boxes.
“I like routine. If the routine is broken I get really stressed and angry and I can’t deal with that. “I take things very literally. “I don’t like crunchy food, so I don’t have cereal or anything like that, but I do like to eat ice cubes, which is quite strange since I don’t like things like cereal, but I find it really calming. Crisps I’m okay with. I usually get really angry and scream and shout. I can’t cope with it. If it’s clothes, I take them off straight away, or I’ll cry. I’ll cry a lot.
“I find that sometimes, my emotions are really intense.
“When I was younger I used to collect nailbrushes, Boots made loads of different ones in different colours and I used to line them up.
“There were about three or four of us in a little group at school and I fitted in with them, but I didn’t fit in with everyone else.
“I didn’t realise, I just thought ‘those are my friends’ it didn’t bother me.
“I was quiet and shy growing up. Now, having the diagnosis looking back, I can see things that stand out.”
The first time Vicky went to her GP as a teenager, she was told that nothing was wrong.
“They printed off a questionnaire and said ‘do you have friends, can you socialise?’ and I said yes.
“But she didn’t ask me how many friends I had, or what kind of things I go through. It was just ‘No. You’re fine.” Because on the surface, you appear fine.
“Then I saw a psychologist for something unrelated and I had a list of all the things that I didn’t like - crunchy food, socks, labels on clothes. I read it to him and he told me he thought I could be autistic and to go back to the doctor.
“At that moment, I realised that someone actually thought this was possible.”
Vicky who has launched her own blog, Aspling, Girl On The Spectrum, to raise awareness of autism, vividly remembers the feeling of relief she had when a different doctor finally confirmed her diagnosis. “It was strange, I’d thought for so long ‘I hope I am’ just so I’d know. “For someone to actually say it was such a relief. I knew it. But it’s nice to hear someone actually say it to you. Finally. I have all these problems and I know why. There’s a reason for it, the reason I am the way I am. It just made sense. “I felt at peace, because I’d gone through the process and been told ‘no, you’re fine there’s nothing wrong with you,’ but was still feeling there was something wrong. “But finally, you can deal with that and get on with that and that’s just it.” Despite finding many day-today situations overwhelming, Vicky has always been determined to achieve her goals. She is married to husband Liam, a games design graduate who himself has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. The couple, who live in Middleton, met through mutual friends when Vicky Whiting