When I started posting as an autism advocate it was the most challenging thing I have done. I thought I knew very little about autism, about everything really. I was under the impression that I had no discernible talents. In fact I had been under the impression that all I brought to others lives was chaos and pain.
I had separated myself so much that so far this year I’ve learned about Air Jordans. As well as i-Phone origins and why BlackBerry stopped making phones, oh, and MySpace. So it’s safe to say I am still playing catch up in many places.
I wanted to represent the community because I wanted to help inspire, help unite our community, and change perceptions about autism. I was thrown in the deep end because the #NewLifeAutistic campaign was much more successful than I had ever thought. In fact what I remember most about the first year is panic attacks and meltdowns. However, I reminded myself that there had to be a reason other advocates encouraged me to go public. To be seen after a lifetime of hiding.
The last two years have been a rollercoaster, but it’s had some incredible highs along the way.
It also highlighted areas of my life that I do need to focus on. Next year (as of January 1st) mylifeautistic will identify as an “Autism Collective”. I will also stop being a social media influencer at that time. This change simply means that l (we) will be community focused, but we won’t be speaking for anyone but ourselves . This applies to Jeni, myself and anyone else involved in mylifeautistic.
This just takes a bit of the self imposed pressure off. I have always tried to be respectful of speaking for the community, and also felt the weight of that. I am honestly not sure I could have done it without the encouragement of the community and caregivers. We just wanted to take one day, to make this announcement, and give a heartfelt thanks to all our supporters.
All our best and love
Ross Fraser and Jeni Dern
Words – Ross Fraser
Graphic Design App – Canva
In association with Service Graphics and Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool.
