by David Culley
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02 Apr, 2020
You’re preparing for an important job interview but there’s a problem. The interview will be conducted in a language you barely understand. The interviewer and every other candidate, even the receptionist you’ll meet when you arrive, are all fluent in this language. It’s just you that isn’t. What do you do? Do you even bother going to the interview? Perhaps you try to learn this language from scratch or prepare a few standard phrases to be ready for the questions you think you’re going to be asked. Imagine how nervous you'll be when you arrive. The initial pleasantries, designed to put you at ease, have the exact opposite effect because they contain phrases you don’t understand. It takes so much concentration that you’re exhausted and overwhelmed before the interview has even begun. The chances of you getting this job are virtually nil, even if you have the skills to do it. My teenage son, Brendan, is autistic. He’s keen to engage with those around him but finds social interaction confusing – like a foreign language . Basic interactions that neuro-typical people take for granted can be utterly exhausting for him. When he’s overwhelmed, Brendan goes into a ‘daydream’ state and stims (repetitive hand / rocking movements). He knows that other people think this is strange but it’s not something he can control. To celebrate World Autism Awareness Day, Brendan would like to share with you his thoughts about autism: Hi, my name is Brendan, and I have Autism. A lot of you might be wondering what Autism is. Autism is where other people find it hard to understand a lot of things, especially the meanings of words. People with Autism might find it hard to talk to other people and make friends with other people. I think Autism is something that effects someone’s brain, and makes them think, act, and behave differently from others. For example, sometimes I like to go to my bedroom and daydream. I know anyone can daydream, but when I do it, I like to shake my hands while I daydream. This is what some people like to call stimming. Sometimes people with Autism will talk about something they like, but they will be very specific about it. For example, if someone were to get Minecraft on their computer, they would say, “I just got Minecraft on my computer.” But if someone with Autism were to get Minecraft on their computer, they would probably say, “I got the new Minecraft Windows 10 Master Collection, which came with the game itself, 1,000 Minecoins, the Plastic Texture Pack, the Villains Skin Pack, the Greek Mythology Mash-Up Pack, the-” You get the idea. Sometimes people might think you’re weird because of your Autism, and sometimes people might tell you to act normal for once, but of course, autistic people can’t help it. Sometimes I can’t help but daydream all the time. I’m glad I typed all of this out, because I want other people with autism to read this as well so they can hopefully be inspired. I hope all of you can be inspired by this. I just want to say one more thing. Everyone who has autism, be yourself. Every person with autism is unique. There’s a popular saying, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Nevertheless, on World Autism Awareness Day, I hope that Brendan’s experiences will encourage you to reflect on the challenges being faced by the 700,000 people in the United Kingdom with autism. Back to that job interview. There’s no getting over the fact that the interviewer speaks a different language but imagine how much it would mean to you if, just occasionally, he or she made an effort to say something in your language? For further information about supporting people with autism, visit the National Autistic Society ( www.autism.org.uk ).