Interview with NAS Blogger- Aly

Q. Hi Aly, how is the weather in Cornwall today? It looked lovely in your YouTube video.
A. It is Sunny, And the whole place is becoming alive.
Q. Cornwall’s a great place for tractor spotting! You say tractors are one of your special interests. Can you explain why?
A. It is the engineering, aesthetics, sound. The pace of tractors is a gentle, strong commitment to their function. They are so much easier to relate to than people.
Q. You were living independently in East Anglia but have recently moved back home to your parents. Why is that and how did you cope with such a big change?
A. I became more isolated and depressed - And I tried to hide it from my family to protect them. I realised that I needed to be near them. The change was crisis driven and so was hugely traumatic.
Q. The Autism Bill aims to tackle the terrible lack of support for adults with autism.
A. What kind of support are you missing out on that you would like to receive?
Professional Health and Social Care awareness of the disability and compulsory training especially in relationship to “Vulnerable Adult” issues.
Q. Awareness of autism was very low when you were growing up and you were only diagnosed in the past couple of years, how did that feel?
A. Relieved and sacred. Proud and chuffed that I had managed to verbalise a very abstract world. Hopeful for my future in terms of understanding my depression and thought processes.
Q. Which autism stereotypes annoy you the most?
A. I get confused about the ‘lack of empathy’ stereotype. We have social structures for demonstrating that we care. I worry that this stereotype gives people the impression that people on the spectrum are unable to feel or to love
Q. Do you think our understanding of autism has changed recently?
A. At the rate of a Ferrari and it has had to. The campaigns by the NAS have been crucial. The, sporadic, suffering I have felt at times of distress have put my life and dignity at risk.
Q. Not many people are aware of the sensory difficulties that people with autism experience {possible link through to info sheet}. Could you please explain your sensory issues and how they affect you?
A. I don’t have filters - I am hypersensitive. I feel like I am Neil Armstrong walking through a supermarket. Every day I desperately need some degree of quiet. I hide in church yards to recover from buying a pint of milk
Q. What would you like to say to people on World Autism Awareness Day?
A. Hello. I love to pose like James Dean. I have rocked and cried in police cells as they save my life. Sometimes you won’t see my autism, but it is there. I manage it and it gives me an unusual and profound experience of being wonderfully Human.
Q. If you were Prime Minister for the day what would you do?
A. I would ask him or her to be brave enough to, briefly, experience the howling distress and the slapping of face that comes after all other channels and attempts of communication are exhausted.