Kneejerk unkindness makes me really wild

Chris told us his teenage years were pure torture

There are thought to be 700,000 people in the UK with Asperger’s Syndrome or other forms of autism, a statistic that really shocked me.

Because I meet a lot of people in my job, and I wasn’t aware of ever having met any – until wildlife presenter Chris Packham came into the Loose Women studio this week to talk about how he copes with the condition.

And I discovered that one of the reasons it’s such a closed book to the rest of us is that people like Chris, who have Asperger’s, often do all they can to avoid the rest of humanity – because we make their lives a living hell.

The Really Wild Show star, who wasn’t diagnosed until he was in his 40s, told us that his teenage years were torture and by the time he was 20 his “world was black”.

By the time he got to university he had decided that to protect himself from the trauma of dealing with other people he would lock himself in his room and only leave to go to lectures.

Chris admitted: “My teens were so bad that I thought about killing myself. The level of depression and isolation I felt was unbearable.

“For nearly a year, the only thing I said was ‘20 pence please’ twice a day to the bus conductor.”

Even now, after a stellar TV career, Chris’s symptoms of Asperger’s are there to see, once you know what they are.

It’s defined by the National Autistic Society as a lifelong disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others.

And though he was baring his soul on telly, he struggled to make eye contact, and clung on to his beloved poodle Scratchy, who he brought with him, as if he was a canine comfort blanket.

But while it might be painful, Chris feels he can’t duck the debate.

“I have a small voice because of the work I’ve done on TV,” he told us, “so I have a duty to use that voice to make things better for other people.”

Asperger’s is the saddest of conditions, because the people who have it are often desperately lonely, but when they reach out their lack of social skills can drive others away.

And they have so much to offer, if only we’d listen.

As Chris pointed out, there are many useful positives to having Asperger’s.

Like him, people with this condition often have astonishing memories. He still has total recall of facts he read when he was six years old.

They also have an amazing ability to spot patterns and make connections – a real boon in science, medicine and computing.

“It shouldn’t be those with Asperger’s that need to change,” Chris pleads. “People just need to be more understanding.”

And we can all make a difference, one by one. Because you don’t need to read someone’s medical notes to realise they’re in trouble.

If we think about it, we all know people who struggle to connect – from that quiet kid in our child’s class who never gets a playdate to that awkward chap at work who can’t handle the banter.

What it boils down to really is less judgement and more kindness. A small price to pay to rescue someone in pain.

CAPTION: DYDYDYDY To every weary new mum who’s ever stumbled out of a maternity unit in pyjama bottoms and her gardening fleece, the Duchess of Cambridge is a goddess. All right, the hair and make-up were bought and paid for, perks of the job. But...