Kerrie and Aimee's Story

As Aimee’s Mum, I see it all too often that autistic kids and adults are expected to bend and adjust to what we perceive as mainstream, and this reinforces the outdated notions that there is something wrong with them.  That is simply not the case.  Society needs to adjust to the fact that there is not one "normal".  Aimee spends much of her day masking autistic traits to simply fit in, and the undue stress this causes is noticeable. To have people stop and consider and be accepting makes her daily life considerably easier. Autistic kids just want accepted for who they are, every bit as much as neurotypical kids do. Everyone craves acceptance, and for people to accept her for who she is means so much.  Aimee had a very stressful start to year 8 and has subsequently moved schools, but thankfully she has found The Avenue Arts Academy (AAA), thanks to Autism NI’s Autism Stars Talent Show. At AAA she easily made friends, was accepted for who she is, and was treated with respect and patience.  At the beginning she became overwhelmed easily and needed to do short days, but now Aimee doesn't think twice about going. She has realised it is a safe, accepting and diverse environment where all children are encouraged and accepted to be the best version of themselves whatever path that takes them on. Her confidence has soared! Amy adds “It means so much if everyone could embrace people who are different and accept everyone for who they are. It matters to me if people can understand how much stress it causes me in certain situations, and if they could just adjust a little and try and understand how overwhelmed I can get, it would make social situations a lot easier for me.  I would feel less anxious meeting new people.It would be nice to think sometimes others were making the effort to adjust for me instead of me always feeling like I have to change to fit in. Speak to me first and ask me about autism and how it affects me. Don't assume that all autistic people are the same or behave a certain way.”

Kerrie, Parent