Chris White - Best Real Life Feature - Vision

16 FEATURES

YORK VISION

Tuesday November 11, 2008

A NEW PERSPECTIVE Christopher White on living with Asperger's at university

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sperger's syndrome is a relatively new addition to the spectrum of autism disorders. A standard method of diagnosis appeared only in the mid-90s. Since it is mainly spotted between the ages of 4 and 11, the first generation to be diagnosed with the condition is only just starting its university career. I was diagnosed with Asperger's when I was 10. Asperger's syndrome is an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. It’s not the same as full-blown autism, but it’s closely linked to it. Children with Asperger's have poor social skills and often experience ‘stereotypes’ (for example hand flapping, body rocking or running on the spot). The most important feature of Asperger's is that sufferers find it difficult to understand nonverbal communication like facial expressions. The failure to pick up on the signs that someone is bored, aggressive or even flirting mean that Asperger's sufferers struggle to empathise with other people. So what is it like being a child with aspergers syndrome? Well the answer is lonely. By the age of three, children already need basic social skills to engage with their peers. I don’t have many memories from when I was three but most of them are of playing alone. Most people with Asperger's do not reject social interaction as frequently as people with autism but without the necessary social skills, forming friendships is difficult, if not impossible. I had a tendency, like most people with Asperger's, to jump into longwinded speeches about a topic of my interest. At the age of eight I could give lengthy explanations of tornadoes and hurricanes (one of several aspergers type obsessions that I had) to my classmates. As you might expect eight year olds don’t like listening to long speeches. However, I would fail to spot the common signs of boredom that would prompt a different person to move onto another subject. Without Albert Einstein the ability to empathise with others I was never under the illusion at primary school that I was liked or wanted. The ‘stereotypes’ are the stranger side of the condition. My stereotypy was a short burst of hand flapping that’s waving my arms up and down very quickly. It was normally associated with emotions like excitement. However, they aren’t the tics that are linked with conditions like Tourettes. They were more like a habit than an uncontrollable spasm. Diagnosis wasn’t an easy process. My teachers were already well trained to look out for signs of learning disabilities like Dyslexia and even ADHD. They would certainly have been aware that I didn’t have any friends but as far as they were concerned they were doing the job they were paid to do perfectly well. Like many children with Aspergers I was getting good grades. I was lucky because one of my teachers was researching a differ-

ent condition called Dyspraxia and had spotted (inaccurately) signs of the conditions in me. An appointment was made with a psychiatrist where within the space of an hour I was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. Still, it is important to remember that many children were not so fortunate. I can say with a high degree of confidence that there will be more than one student reading this article with an undiagnosed autistic spectrum disorder like Asperger's. There’s no cure for Aspergers. It is permanent. I was never prescribed any drugs but I was treated with some behavioural therapies. They were one-to-one discussions with a psychiatrist folGeorge Orwell lowed by a series of group therapies with other recently diagnosed children of my age. It would be nice to think that these sessions had a lasting effect on me but if I’m honest, I doubt that they ever did. However, there is a school of thought that trying to treat conditions like Aspergers is a fallacy in itself. The last few years have seen the genesis of the autistic pride movement. Autistic pride models itself on gay pride and operates on the philosophy “that those identified as autistic are not suffering from a pathological disease any more than those with dark skin are suffering from a form of skin disease”. The movement teaches that autistic tendencies should be nurtured and people with autism should instead be given the skills to live in the ‘neurotypical world’. The concept of autistic pride isn’t quite as absurd as it might sound at first. Albert Einstein, George Orwell, Isaac Newton, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Jefferson and Ludwig Wittgenstein are all amongst famous historical figures that scientists have suggested had some form of autism. There is a growing scientific theory that conditions like Asperger's and ADHD are not an accident of genetic variation but have evolved through natural selection. This is still a controversial idea. Many fear that the networks being built around autistic pride will shield autism sufferers from the experiences and treatments that could help them to overcome the difficulties that the condition poses. I can’t say that I would attend an autism pride march, but I have recently grown to accept my Asperger's. Before I came to York I could count on my fingers how many people knew about my condition. By the end of my first year most of my friends knew about it. It’s a situation I couldn’t have imagined 13 months ago. Telling people about my aspergers was a daunting task. There are a lot of comparisons that could be made with coming out as being gay. Asperger's is not a condition that presents itself as a physical disabil-

ity. Only two people have been able to tell my seminars). I hold conversations with me that I have Asperger's from meeting people just like any other person would. I me and they were the psychiatrists that even tell the odd anecdote and I relish opdiagnosed me. There is a lot of ignorance portunities for unscripted public speakabout aspergers and I could never be ing in front of large numbers of people. sure how people would react when I told Coming to York has been a turning them. I often worried that telling peo- point in my life. I now have a group of good ple would devalue their opinions of me. friends like I have never had before in my However, the reaction of people I have life. I have started a student society, run told has been wholly posi- around the university as a pirate on far tive and my confidence has too many occasions and even done the odd only grown because of it. bit of public speaking to fairly large audiMy experiences of liv- ences. It’s all been very extroverted coming with aspergers are not pared to my life just a couple of years ago. that typical. That’s because Still I cannot deny that there’s a lot there isn’t really a ‘typical’ that I missed in my teenage years. I can experience. Asperger's is count on one hand the number of times part of the spectrum of dis- that I was invited round to other kids houses before I got to orders related sixth form. I was never to autism, and introduced to music or that’s a very playing computer games good way to in the same way that understand the most people are by their diversity of the friends. Up until my first condition. Eveweek of university I had ry person with never been drunk, I had Asperger's will certainly never been to have a differa house party or a club. ent mix from Having never had a stable any other person with the friendship with anyone, condition. There is a huge it won’t surprise you that variety in the severity of I’ve never been in a relathe condition and Asperger's expresses itself differtionship with anyone. It is fair to say that I’ve had ently at separate stages in some catching up to do. each sufferer’s life. A recent Lewis Carroll When I came to study estimates that one in university I anticipated five children with aspergers spending extended periwill essentially ‘grow out of it’ before they reach adulthood. The con- ods of time on my own waiting for my dition doesn’t disappear as such but social next lecture to come along. I wouldn’t skills can improve to allow someone with have been unhappy if that was what had aspergers to lead a relatively normal life. happened. But I have integrated into camI have come to the conclusion over the pus life more so than I possibly could have last year that I am probably amongst the imagined. I have of course been helped one in five people that ‘grows out of it’. I along the way by some people with whom accept that I will always suffer from some I have shared some brilliant experiences. features of the condition like the stereo- To those of you that I shared those extypies. However, I have gradually learned periences with, and you know who you consciously the skills that non-sufferers are, I would like to say a big thank you. have the innate ability to learn. I no longer give long, boring speeches (except in