What Five Words

What five words would I use to describe my conditions and in particular focusing on autism and hopefully removing more stigma away from it??This task might seem to be slightly easier than asking for three words. ?The ones we choose to describe ourselves can reveal a lot about our personality, outlook and self-awareness.?There is still so much stigma around autism?and it has to stop. Some autistics still feel?forced into hiding their true selves.?Being an autistic adult, I should not feel the need to hide anything.?Sometimes, I may look different or act different, but I still have feelings?like anybody else.?Consequently, at?times I have experienced stigma. Until there is full acceptance of differences in society, means at times that I may face ignorance, prejudice, microaggressions, and discrimination. Moving on from awareness to acceptance means a change in your behaviour based on what you have become aware of.?So my five words to describe my lived experience of autism are: lifelong, complex, messy, real, and advantageous:

LIFELONG

Autism, is not a disease. It is a neurological, developmental condition; it is considered a “disorder”, and at worse be disabling in many and varied ways. It is lifelong with various causes ranging from environmental, genetic, and unknown reasons. It does not harm or kill of its own accord. It is an edifying and meaningful component of a person’s identity, and it defines the ways in which an individual experiences and understands the world around us. It is all-pervasive. As said, there is no definite cause for the origins of autism range from birth complications, Rubella, Fragile X … genetics, pregnancies less than a year apart, untreated Phenylketonuria, drugs during pregnancy, Tuberous Sclerosis, Parental Age Encephalitis…Current global research and surveys indicate that 1 to 3% of the population (both males and females) are autistic to some degree and grouping is on the rise.?There is no cure exists for autism, and there is no one-size-fits-all treatment. Any goal of treatment or coping strategies / accommodations (reasonable adjustments) are to maximize our ability to function by reducing adverse symptoms and to support development and integration into society.

COMPLEX

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism."?It is complex because naturally we talk and describe ourselves in terms of parts. Each one of us are unique and we are not constructed in a unitary way, we are complex beings composed of many interlocking aspects.?Being autistic is no different, we are also more complex because change is difficult for me. One size does not fit all sizes and bespoke coping strategies are adopted by each one of us who are autistic. Being diagnosed with autism presents each one of us with unique strengths and difficulties and experience characteristics of our disability in different ways.?The interrelationships between my strengths and weakness are complex as I continue to discover more about myself and my interaction in a world and systems created by and for largely non-neurodivergent people. Navigating around poses potential barriers due to experiencing difficulty in communication including nonverbal communication skills, such as eye-to-eye gazing, facial expression, and body posture.?

Likewise, reciprocal social interaction, direct or explicit instructions, and learning behaviors can pose personal challenges.?These have often been seen as predictors for social outcomes like future friendship and happiness. Finally, autism is marked by repetitive (obsessive) behaviours saying or perhaps talking about the same things over and over again, poor at small talk, stimming (repetitive performance of certain physical movements or vocalizations). These challenges may be viewed as complexities trying to fit in.?They are different to another with autism but alongside my limitations are personal strengths include attention to detail, visual perception, mathematical and technical abilities, having interests or expertise in ‘niche’ areas with character strengths such as honesty and loyalty.?These strengths and weaknesses shape both my spikey profile and is unique to me.

REAL

Many portrayals of autism representation in the media share similar themes about autism that portray the autism community, and the condition itself, negatively. These media sources may be fictional, but they have very real-life effects on the way people perceive autism. They can introduce or reinforce harmful ideas about autistic people.?Why do we still see autistic people presented as white and male, inspirational, those who have exceptional abilities and with exaggerated autistic traits.

These images are a grossly unrepresentative of reality. The autism community has a spectrum of people of all shapes and sizes. Any person of any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other characteristic can be autistic. In reality, there are extremes of autism because we have a spikey profile of personal and work strengths and weaknesses belonging to a spectrum of behavisms and traits.?We need better representation of autistic people and increased role models are both required, we have to have to see it to be it,?We as people will autism deserve to see positive, affirming stories about themselves on TV, in the movies, and elsewhere.

MESSY

As a person who is on the autism spectrum, I often experience excessive sensory input and am often distracted by sensory overload. ?This is?when one of my five senses — sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste — take in more information than my brain can process. When my brain is overwhelmed by this input, it enters fight, flight, or freeze mode in response to what feels like a crisis, making me feel unsafe or even panicky.?

Yes, I have hypersensitivity?(occasionally coined oversensitivity by the few) to certain sounds, smells, textures and tastes that can also be overwhelming.?Sensory avoidance can look like pulling away from physical touch, and covering the ears to avoid loud or unpredictable sounds.?Too much unnecessary clutter and detail can derail my focus be it at work, travelling or at home. Even minor messes that may be easy for a non autistic person to ignore could cause attention issues for those of us on the spectrum.?In extreme circumstances, personally it can lead to anxiety in some people with autism, which may lead to unexpected behaviourisms.?The effects of which can be minimised by coping strategies such as fidget toys, noise reduction headphones or avoiding certain surroundings and situations.

ADVANTAGEOUS

These first four aspects described above form one side of the autism coin and are contrasted by my personal strengths to which I am to utilize to the full in the workplace. I have good attention to detail and focus on detail (designing and checking killer spreadsheets), coming up with creative and innovative solutions (sustainable geotechnical engineering) or detail-focus on specific tasks or topics (third-party review work). Furthermore, I have a strong sense of fairness and social justice at work and in society (and working in lay capacity as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion sector champion) and I have the ability to draw on personal experiences to help people (mentoring).?I often enjoy tasks that my neurotypical colleagues may prefer not to (archivist, librarian with an encloypedic knowledge) with a strong work ethic, loving my current job, thereby improving my performance. My autism has taught me resilience through good and hard times?and the ability to adapt to new life circumstances.

At present, I thankfully employed full-time by a niche international consultancy where I can use my skillset to the full and feel accepted for whom I am including my autism?dyslexia, dyspraxia and visual impairment.?At Knight Piésold, we focus in the mining industry, from concept to closure, and on exploring opportunities in the construction and energy industries in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and North Africa.?We also specialise in geotechnics, particularly related to mine waste management and open pit or underground mining. Our ?work includes auditing operating facilities as well as greenfield projects from conceptual, feasibility to detailed design, construction supervision and monitoring.?Finally, we provide mining-related due diligence services for London-based financial institutions and insurers.