Having a disability, physical or neurological, creates a number of additional complexities that impact not only the person with the disability, but also parents, friends, and other family members. It is difficult as a parent, knowing that something is not ‘quite right’ with your child and going through a long and painful process of assessments, even multiple assessments, before finally getting a diagnosis of autism. Then what? Reading every book that you can find; trying every technique that anyone suggests; explaining to teachers that your child will need additional help, but not being sure exactly what help they will need.I asked a group of autistic people, ranging from secondary school students to individuals who have recently retired, a series of questions in order to hear in their own words about their childhoods and their relationships with work colleagues, friends and partners. We hear what has changed in society in regard to autism and how society treats autistic people now. They tell us how they felt when they were told that they were autistic. Did their parents or carers have to struggle and fight with the health professionals to make them listen or was it a battle for themselves as an adult? How did it make them feel? Did they suspect they were autistic already or was it a complete surprise?This is a brutally honest account from a group of autistic people who refuse to let their disability own them or control them; refuse to be made to feel that they are only a +1 on an invite. Yes, they struggle with some things that others find simple. Yes, they cannot explain why, all of a sudden, a night out with friends turns into a major struggle and they cannot function without clapping their hands or playing an imaginary piano. Yes, they have to leave for their lunch at 11:30 and they go to the same shop, for the same lunch and drink, every working day. They have their routine and now they would like you to join them in order for you to understand.
