Meet Max True North

Meet Max Graham, an extraordinary 13-year-old boy.

He loves gaming, Scouts, trampolining,

hanging out with friends and all things silly on the internet.

Meet Chris. I've known him for five years.

He's a film-maker and taught me a lot about film-making

and brought up my knowledge.

He's more than a friend because he's going to be a family member soon.

He's my future brother-in-law.

When I first met Max, I was immediately struck

by his eccentric personality and his honesty.

I later found out that Max has Asperger's syndrome,

which is a mild form of autism.

This affected the development of his social skills.

Looking at Max you might not know he had Aperger's,

but that's because it all lies under the surface.

And it's not until you get to know him

that you begin to see the traits.

When I was younger I used to have problems fitting in.

I always felt like an outsider - I just didn't feel right.

Most of the time I felt really tense and nervous just going around school

and I couldn't concentrate on some of my work because of it.

I can be hypersensitive to touch.

Even a simple pat on the head can really annoy me.

Every day I like to have a routine or plan

to keep me calm and organised.

But if it isn't organised and there was loads of sudden changes

of plans in it, it wouldn't have been a good day for me.

People would mistake my anxiety for bad behaviour,

but I was actually stressed.

They didn't know I had Asperger's or anything like that.

This misunderstanding between myself

and other people made me want to explain it in my own way.

-I like sea urchins.

-Sea urchins?

Film-making is something that both me and Max are really passionate about

and Max has been doing it since he was just four years old.

It got me thinking, why haven't we made films together as a team?

E equals M C squared!

I didn't care how I looked or how I acted,

I just had fun pretending to be characters from films.

I felt an affinity with the character Terminator because like me

he was trying to fit in normal society.

What I loved about it was the practical effects.

I was getting my parents to buy me latex tax and face moulds and stuff.

I wanted to look like the Terminator

and have my skin peeling back to reveal the metal underneath.

Well, what does that mean, Professor?

I want to make films to connect to people with Asperger's syndrome,

to give out a positive message to everyone.

Social blindness?

I want people who have just had a diagnosis of autism

to watch and find out what it is like.

We will be talking about the artistic spectrum.

This does not require medication.

One of the films I came up with is about a boy who fights a robot.

The robot sees Asperger's syndrome as a bad thing

and is trying to wipe it out.

But the boy discovers the power of self belief

and learns to embrace his Asperger's and defeat the robot.

I want to keep making my films, tell my own stories

and get better at it.

Whilst making these films, I have noticed a big difference in Max.

He is much more comfortable with himself and he is no longer

concerned with being different or what's normal and what isn't.

My dream is to be successful

and Asperger's syndrome will not hold me back.

This has been such an exciting part of Max's life

and I am just glad to have been a part of it.

Asperger's syndrome is a part of me now

and I have learned to be more positive about it.