“If you could wave a magic wand that eliminated your autism, would you do it?”

The Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney may not be the first location that pops to mind when one thinks of an autism awareness event, but that was where close to 300 people from the autism community gathered ahead of Autism Awareness month.

AUStism, which kicked off in Sydney on March 30th, brought autistic people, their families, along with school and sector professionals together to share insights and stories - plus a few laughs and tears.

Organised by Autism Awareness Australia, the event takes place once a year in both Sydney and Melbourne, and predominantly features autistic people sharing their experiences, along with a few carers giving insights as to the parenting experience.

I was diagnosed with autism at a young age. I spent much of my childhood and teenage life feeling different to those around me. Having recently moved into the role of Corporate and Public Affairs Officer at Hireup has seen me engage in more advocacy work for the Hireup community, and given my lived experience, I jumped at the opportunity to attend the AUStism event for 2023.

I was expecting to hear people talking about how difficult it is to have autism or be a family member of someone with autism, and how we should feel sorry for autistic people. I was blown away to discover that the event was a celebration of the strengths of people with autism, while - at the same time - being boldly raw about the challenges they face in a neurotypical (as opposed to neurodivergent) world. 

These were real stories from real people, and the event was conducted in a manner that was informative but not patronising. 

One concept that particularly stood out to me was that autism was only considered a disability because neurotypical people are in the majority. As our world has been largely designed by and for people without autism, it places autistic people at a disadvantage. I was particularly struck when one of the speakers said if there were more neurodivergent people than neurotypical people, then those without autism would be the ones considered to have a disability. 

This resonated with me because I was bullied at school by neurotypical people who would call me all sorts of names because I was more interested in trains than the latest sporting craze. However, when I reached high school I found friends through the internet that were also into trains. If you put us all in the same room with one of my sporty peers then they would be considered the unusual one, talking about football players in a room of hardcore train enthusiasts! 

One of the speakers was Michael Theo, best known for his appearances on the ABC documentary Love on the Spectrum. Michael shared that he learnt of his autism diagnosis when he was 13 years old and that it’s better to be diagnosed young and learn about what autism is. I couldn’t have agreed more. I was diagnosed when I was around 3 years old, which meant that I was learning about what autism meant for me at the same time I was learning skills such as reading and writing. I am a huge advocate for telling children about their autism diagnosis as early  as possible. Teaching kids fundamental things about who they are - parallel to fundamental life skills, means we can set them up for success early.  Learning about what autism meant at a young age meant that I was able to best understand who I was and why I was behaving a certain way. It also gave me the insights I needed to develop strategies from a young age to manage these behaviours. 

I also found it particularly fascinating listening to what parents of children with autism felt when their children were diagnosed. A panel of parents shared three tips for other caregivers about what to do if their child is diagnosed with autism. Two tips that stood out to me where:

1. Don’t panic - you are just in an unfamiliar situation.
2. Get educated - learn about autism, become familiar with it

I found it particularly beneficial that the conference didn’t just include autistic speakers but also focused on their families as well, as it provided me another lens through which to consider things that had not originally occurred to me. 

Attending AUStism was empowering for me, as I heard stories of people who had gone through similar experiences to me. The ability to gather so many individuals from different backgrounds and experiences of autism enables us to band together as a community and learn from each other. 

Events such as this, spanning Sydney and Melbourne, are hugely important to promoting and normalising neurodiversity. I found myself leaving the event feeling proud to belong to a group that, despite being in the minority, has such a large pool of strengths. There’s no way I’d give it all up. I’ve regularly had people ask me:

“If you could wave a magic wand that eliminated your autism, would you do it?” 

AUStism reinforced to me why I would never do this. My autism is part of my identity and without it I would lose all the incredible quirks that make me, me!