Hi, I’m Paige
Age: 18
A bit about me
I moved to Zimbabwe before I was one. I lived there for a few years then moved to South Africa. I finally moved to England. Living abroad was very different from the UK. Not many people knew about autism and so it was quite difficult for me as a kid. I had to learn another language and try to fit in. There wasn’t really a lot of help or schools designed for autistic people where I was and so it wasn’t till I moved to the England that my parents could get a test and find out more about autism. Coming to a new school really make it easier to understand.
What do you love about being autistic?
I like the fact that I am blunt, some people just go on and on but I can just get to the point, some people find it hard that a lot of autistic people can be blunt. I have found this useful in things like work, places don’t want you to be all Fuddy-duddy they just want to get to work and it just helps to get things done quickly and efficiently.
What have been some challenges you have faced? How did you overcome them?
I have found it hard to socialise because I think differently. I see things in black and white and am blunt and some people can’t really handle that, so they just think I’m weird. It was easier when I was a little kid. Less people noticed me being different. As people got older they started getting cliquey and noticing that people are different. Some people either come from backgrounds where their parents haven’t taught them to understand or they just don’t want to understand and they can be quite cruel. You have to ignore those people and find things you have in common with the people you connect with.
If you could give one bit of advice to someone who just learnt they were autistic what would it be?
Your world doesn’t change when you get tested, just stay the same as you are. Do the same routines as normal. You don’t need to change because you find out you have autism, don’t let that stop you doing different things. Just be you.
You can find books that let you learn about autism and it’s really good to have because if someone doesn’t understand it is quite handy to explain. If they don’t understand then you can show them and they can try to understand a bit more clearly.
My extra activities
I volunteer at a farm and it is going really well, we created a video to help kids who have special needs and who come from different backgrounds and are struggling at school. We raised money for equipment and donating to the farm. The video was for the House of Lords and so we then got to go and speak there. It was a good experience, I got to meet lots of people from different backgrounds, there was someone with no arms or legs who had gone skydiving and It shows it doesn’t matter what you have got or who you are you can do anything.
