We Need More Representation Of Autistic People!

‘Yes, I do get sensory overload. It feels like you have too many tabs open on your browser and when it gets too much you close them all and you end up feeling nothing’ said Emily.

Q1. Tell us something about yourself and about how the?Autistic Student Community?(ASC) came to be.

I was diagnosed at 12 years old. Since I was young, I always had this obsession with dates, times, historical figures, and archaeology. To this day I still annoy other people I’m speaking to with random facts about history. It’s one of my most endearing traits. Earlier than that, I used to line up my toys and I was often alone during break times at school. I used to lash out in primary school. A teacher pointed out to my parents that I might be autistic. A couple of years later I went to a psychologist, and I got my diagnosis.?

It started with my friend Naomi Schranz. They started doing their advocacy on TikTok and I watched their videos quite often. We then met at university and found that our experiences are quite similar. Some more talking later, Naomi had the idea of establishing a student organisation for autistic students like us. Both of us knew other autistics, some mutual and some not, who would be interested in forming part of the organisation. We got to talking, I created the logo of the ASC, we managed to get a stand at?Freshers Week?and that is how we started.?

Q2. Mention one thing that always brightens up your day.

Listening to my favourite song and stim to it. I feel good doing that. Stimming allows me to cope with sensory input.?

Q3. What do you like and dislike?

I like music, cooking, reading, studying, crocheting, tabletop roleplaying games, and writing.?What I don’t like are loud noises, certain noises, crowds, bright lights, prolonged conversation, or any kind of social interaction that I’m forced into. I also don’t like it when multiple talking to me at the same time. I need time to process what one person is saying let alone more.?

Q4. Does having autism help you when studying at UM?

Sometimes it does. When I need it most is when I need to dedicate time to study. I can hyper-focus and get into a state where I feel productive and made the most of my day. When it doesn’t is when I burn myself out or go into a meltdown to the point where I can’t do anything else. It doesn’t help that there isn’t a quiet place on campus. If there is, it shortly becomes noisy and I need to evacuate the area. It’s like UM needs to be constantly stimulating with constant activity in every bit of the campus to keep it interesting. There’s nothing wrong with silence!

Q5. Do you get sensory overload? If so can you explain to people who don’t have autism what it feels like?

Yes, I do get sensory overload. It feels like you have too many tabs open on your browser and when it gets too much you close them all and you end up feeling nothing. It’s an awful feeling. When I’m overloaded, I get anxious, irritable, and fatigued. When it gets bad, I go through a shutdown, to which I don’t want to talk to anybody or be talked to. What I would want at that moment is to shut myself away in my room and try and recuperate. I do that by sleeping it off.?

Q6. What was your reaction when you learned that you have Autism?

I remember feeling relieved and seeing that everything I did make sense as autism explained my daily behaviour and why I did things that other people didn’t do. I think I cried when my mother told me.

Q8. What would have helped you to better understand what Autism is?

It would have helped if there was more representation of autistic people. Or even better representation. When I have diagnosed the autistic representation, I knew of was from Rainman and The Big Bang Theory. Both feature male representation and present an almost superhuman ability with numbers as if they are a human calculator. It gives the idea that autism is only occurring in males, and being autistic means being super intelligent with no friends.?

Q7. How did your perspective change over time?

The downside of finding out that I was autistic was that I now knew that I was different from everyone else. But that was back then. Nowadays, I’m ok with being autistic. I watched different autistic people’s experiences on YouTube and TikTok and it gave me more of a positive outlook on being autistic.?

Q8. What annoying questions do people ask you about autism?

‘You don’t look autistic’, ‘can you do maths?’?etc. There are many questions and statements that people make towards me when I say that I’m autistic. It’s like it’s inconceivable that a woman could be autistic.?

Q9. If there is just one thing that you would like people to know about you, what would that be??

I’m a massive nerd, but I’m a bit shy to talk about my interests in things that are considered nerdy. I’m also quite blunt when I talk to people because I often speak before thinking.?

Q10. What advice would you give someone who has recently been diagnosed with Autism?

I know this may sound a bit cliche, but things do get better even if it’s worrying at first. Take one day at a time and know that you are not broken for feeling things differently than others. It’s not wrong and you’re not wrong for it.?