FINDINGYOURWAY IN A WORLD OF NEURODIVERSITY

SEAN Foley was first assessed when he was three-years-old after missing key milestones in his development. Even though all the markers for autism were evident, no diagnosis was made.

He grew up in Manchester where he attended primary school. It was during this phase of life when symptoms became more obvious and he was delayed in progressing to the next stage of his education. Despite this void in understanding around his autism, he was fortunate to meet a teacher who understood Sean’s behaviourism.

“In lessons, I would be focusing on things of my own interest that had nothing to do with the lesson. That was one of the ways my autism presented itself,” explained Sean.

Two years later he met another teacher who on this occasion approached matters by focusing exclusively on Sean’s strengths and interests – such as studying history.

“I learned that in terms of making a success of my time in education, I had to focus on what is strong, not what is wrong,” he said.

Sean admits the knowledge around autism today was slow in coming and it’s only in recent years that it has reached a point of understanding in broader society.

Learning to cope with symptoms, while at the same time facing the societal gulf that existed around his condition, was challenging for Sean growing up. It wasn’t until 2001 – at the age of 12 – that he was officially diagnosed.

“I suppose it was difficult for people to know as it was during the pre-internet age. I had another assessment at the age of six and again there were markers for autism that went undiagnosed. Before I was eventually diagnosed with autism, I was diagnosed with dyspraxia,” Sean said.

“My life is affected by autism in the sense I really need certainty. When something is on, I have to be certain that it is happening. I get affected by sudden change. That would be the main affect, currently. But a lot of the things that would have bothered me early on have since dissipated.”

Sean’s arrival in Kerry in his teens, and starting over a new life in Keel, Castlemaine, stemmed mainly from his difficulties in trying to navigate his way through secondary school. This is a traumatic time in the life of many teenagers. In Sean’s case, it was accentuated all the more by autism.

“I had a torrid time in secondary school, really. I only ended up doing two years because I was coming close to depression. Eight out of ten people do end up suffering from that feeling,” he said.

“My dad, who is a qualified teacher, moved me to Kerry where I have two Kerry grandfathers and loads of cousins. I started home education here. What dad did was teach the standard curriculum and focused on my interest in history. I was able to do my Junior Cert in history and I got a B. Two years later I got an A,” Sean added.

This interest in history would later lead Sean towards genealogy where he was able to build family trees for people while earning a small fee. It meant frequent trips to Dublin for research purposes that would help increase his confidence even more.

“This really helped to incorporate a lot of independent travel skills for me. It opened up a new world. Whenever I did hit a bad spot, I would always go back to my interests and passions. I like listening to Elvis and watching television. I find when I was at my most anxious I would be with these passions all the time. But when the anxiety decreased, I would lose interest. But I still come back to them from time to time, just as a visitor,” Sean said.

Lastly, Sean is looking forward to giving a public talk about his life with autism at the Keel Community Centre on April 23 (7:30pm). His motivation is to share his story in a way that positively impacts others.

“No one’s experience is the same with autism and everyone has their own individual story. Tony Attwood (psychologist)

Sean moved from Manchester to his ancestoral home of Kerry as a teenager to cope better with autism

said his greatest knowledge has come from people with autism. By doing my talk, I hope people can see something in their lives and cherry pick things that I’ve told them about my life,” he said.

“In terms of wider society, they should definitely continue to make more places autism friendly. There is some great work being done at the moment, especially by ‘As I Am’ (Ireland’s Autism Charity). By continuing the work on that front it would be a great help, both in terms of the person with autism and the person trying to understand it.”

For more information about autism, visit: www.asiam.ie