My Autism and Me Newsround Specials

My name is Rosie.

I live with my mum, my dad,

my brother and my sister.

And one day, I want to be a world-famous actress.

I also have autism, which means my brain works differently.

'I'm going to take you into my world.'

Imagination!

'Show you how autism affects kids in all sorts of different ways.'

-Out of here!

-I'm not a logical person, as you may know.

I want to be different, I asked to be different, I am different.

'But however it affects you, it doesn't have to hold you back.'

So stick with me and find out what it really means to be autistic.

The kind of autism I have is called Asperger's syndrome.

And sometimes it makes me see things a little bit differently.

I get very sensitive.

And...I can't control it.

Sometimes it's a bad thing because all the other kids are laughing

when I'm just crying and screaming at things that they're not.

Every single thing, even things that aren't living,

has a personality and a life.

If there's two pairs of shoes and I pick one,

I feel like the other pair would feel left out or something

I don't like saying certain words because

they just make me feel all tense and unhappy.

A lot of people with autism have that.

Sometimes it mixes your senses up a little bit.

I can feel words.

I used to describe a word as being slimy or prickly

because that's what it tasted or...

or felt when I said it.

Or when other people said it.

A lot of people don't have much understanding about it.

They don't mean to be mean,

but it does hurt my feelings because of my sensitivity.

So, what exactly is autism?

People with autism have problems relating to others

and making sense of the world around them.

Scientists know it affects the way the brain works,

but they don't know what causes it.

Boys are much more likely to be autistic than girls.

And it can run in families.

Autism isn't rare.

One in a hundred people is autistic

and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

I get very stressed in crowds.

Um, I have anxiety issues.

I'm sometimes easily distracted.

Easily annoyed.

It's a bit difficult for me, er,

with, er, conversation.

I need to try and think very hard about it.

If someone does touch me, I say,

"Can you please not do that again?"

I sort of feel sometimes like people try to hurt me.

It feels, er...

er...uncomfortable

when, er, when people is crowded.

I'm not really normal, but I...

It's kind of...

I can't describe it. Sorry, I can't really describe it.

Although it can be a problem,

I wouldn't swap my autism for anything.

It makes me who I am. I just wouldn't be the same without it.

For instance, I think it gives me my imagination.

FIREWORKS FIZZ

It gives me my incredible skill at remembering impressive facts.

The inventor of the waffle iron didn't like waffles.

Spain literally means, a land of rabbits.

Some people might call my obsession with facts boring.

I call it focus.

And I'm not the only autistic person who thinks like this.

Tony's autism expresses itself with major obsessions.

At the moment, it's a role-playing game called Warhammer,

with loads of complicated rules.

And having clear rules about everything makes Tony feel good.

Remember, I've got the objective so far.

Because I'm within three inches of the building.

Most people, when they do a hobby,

they normally do it for a period of maybe a year or two.

We do it for nearly a decade.

Lots of autistic people like to get interested in...

a hobby.

And that is what Tony is like with Warhammer.

He absolutely loves it.

Its a strategy board game including little plastic miniatures

you have to build and paint and then you get to play with them.

It's really epically fun!

Green for the skin!

He's really good at painting. He's really good at building.

That's all he likes to do.

I get four attacks each.

On the charge. Which is...awesome!

Some autistic people like to know

everything about a subject.

And Tony knows all of the rules about Warhammer.

Complicated and hard.

Basically, the troop moves six inches...

SPEECH OVERLAPS

If he doesn't know all the rules, he can't play.

And if he can't play, he gets really, well, really angry.

Normally, when I'm playing a game, I don't talk. I think. I plan.

I'm working, I'm plotting. It's really fun.

If you're organising stuff,

I organise stuff because otherwise,

everything will be out of order and hectic.

I colour-code all my models to make sure they're not mixed up.

I also keep special units separate from the core units.

They have to be in the same box, the same place.

I just want everything to be organised.

If you drop something and put it back where it could belong,

he'll know because he'll just measure it.

What are you doing putting it there? Don't put it there.

You put it next... No, you put it, you put it.... Yeah, here.

Tony finds it hard to make friends because...

he, he can't...

He doesn't really know how to say to people,

"Can you be my friend?"

22, 23, 24. Three.

Can I borrow...three dice?

The reason I don't have any friends is because

my friends are little plastic miniatures

and I'm just an anti-personnel magnet.

I feel like models, they can't talk, they can't move,

they can't do anything.

But they keep me company.

I just don't feel lonely with them around.

I am perfectly normal. Everyone else is weird.

The entire world's weird. I'm fine.

Like many children with autism,

Tony doesn't find it easy to socialise.

But his hobby has helped him to make friends.

There are lots of different types of autism.

Some people, like me, have a much milder type.

But others have a much more severe sort.

And one of them is my little brother.

HE JABBERS

This is Lenny.

He has classic autism.

Even though he's nine years old, he can't really talk,

and we think that, um, he won't have much independence

and he'll be looked after all his life.

At the moment, Lenny is nesting on the TV.

He grabs the throws from the sofa,

stuffs them down there and then sits on them,

eating "gogurts", which is yoghurts.

He likes things in certain places.

He puts all the throws behind the TV, he turns the sofas over.

He fills the bathroom with bubbles. He likes it that way.

But we don't, and we don't see why he likes it that way.

-Hiya, Lenny.

-HE MUMBLES

He feels really stressed if the doors aren't shut.

He got up out of the bath!

He can sense the doors being open!

Right, back to the bath now.

A lack of understanding can be a real difficulty

because Lenny looks completely normal.

And there's only his behaviour that gives a clue

to the fact that he has a disability.

It can often seem like a child's being naughty or throwing a tantrum,

when, in fact, they're reacting to some kind of stimulus

or they're unhappy and they're unable to express their needs.

The best thing about my little brother is absolutely everything.

Look at him! He's absolutely brilliant!

Because it's not always obvious that people have autism,

some people think we're mad or being naughty.

This lack of understanding is one of the worse things

about being autistic.

My name is Ben.

I was bullied because people didn't understand I had autism.

Autism, to me, enlarges all of your emotions.

It makes them a lot more potent.

For me, it made my anger a lot bigger.

When I completely lost it, I would sort of lose my vision.

I'd be able to hear, but I wouldn't see.

I'd be seeing red, you might say.

The next thing I knew, I'd be informed by somebody

that I attacked somebody or done some damage.

Have you heard of Viking Berserkers? I'm twice the trouble of them.

People figured I had an anger problem.

They continuously taunted me, going at me,

most of them called me a bear.

I was feared, I was hated.

It wasn't fun. It wasn't fun at all.

Imagine going to school everyday and not having a single friend.

I was depressed. I didn't enjoy life.

I'd realised it wasn't going to get better.

I was very desperate for help.

I didn't want to live. I actually did not want to live.

When I started at this school, I didn't go to many lessons.

I was too afraid. After a while, I started to get more confidence

and I came down with support from the LSU.

LSU stands for Learning Support Unit and it has really helped my life.

If you are worried or panicked or something bad happens,

I can always go straight up there

and attack a pillow or something to get my anger out.

Amongst all the chaos,

you'll find sanctuary in the unit if you're autistic.

Just having some support has helped with everything else.

It's made me more confident, made me calmer,

and now, I am able to go down

to nearly any lesson given without any support.

I've become more sociable. I've learnt more about the outside world

than just looking out of the window.

I've got more to talk about. I can relate to more.

I used to think that every time I got near somebody,

they would call the cops on me.

I've got friends now.

Ben, I find, an interesting person, in fact.

And quite entertaining.

He sees things differently, so he brings different points of view

that you wouldn't necessarily think of.

I'd probably say funny,

quite serious, as well, sometimes.

I think they think I'm fairly OK.

Someone to watch out for,

but still...fairly OK.

Clever, occasionally funny and a bit mad.

But I'm quite happy to be called that.

I'm just happy to have friends.

Ben is one of half-a-million people with autism in the UK.

And like him, many of them have a difficult time.

Nearly three is every four children with autism

feel unhappy and anxious about things.

It's not because they're autistic,

it's because they're not getting the support they need.

Things don't get much better when we get older.

In fact, only one in every six people with autism

end up with a full-time paid job.

When I grow up, I want to be a famous actress,

hairdresser, Dalek.

And I don't see why my autism should stop me.

Just because I'm autistic doesn't mean I can't succeed.

Last year, my drawings were published in a book my mum wrote.

I did nearly 20 illustrations, and this one's my favourite.

Lots of people wanted to know about the book and my drawings.

I even appeared on The One Show to talk about it.

I sat next to Robson Green and chatted with the presenters.

-And great illustrations.

-Yeah. You drew the pictures.

-Thanks.

I made this film because I wanted to tell the world

about how many autistic kids get bullied at school

and can have a really tough time getting jobs when they're older.

I wanted everyone to see close up what it's like to live with autism.

And I hope you've enjoyed meeting Tony, Ben, Lenny and me.

Autistic kids can come across as a bit different.

But it's well worth getting to know us.

Living with autism can be hard sometimes, but it makes me who I am.

Autism makes me different, but it also makes me unique and special.

# I'm beautiful in my way

# Cos God makes no mistakes

# I'm on the right track, baby I was born this way

# Don't hide yourself in regret

# Just love yourself and you're set

# I'm on the right track, baby I was born this way

# I was born this way, hey

# I was born this way, hey...#

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd