I was born on the 27th of December 1996 at 1:30 am. My brother Tyler was born 15 minutes earlier. As far as my memory serves, Ty has always taken on the role as the “older brother”, be it only by 15 minutes he knew his place and would be the one to lead me on his adventures. He has always been the adventurous type, or as our mum more accurately puts it;

“an escape artist”

Tyler from a very young age wanted an esacape. He would find a place of refuge amidst nature and spend hours at a time simply exploring. For our parents this wasn’t normal behaviour to have your child run off like that. If he were to be contained to our room for his own safety, if he couldnt withdraw from a crowd and retreat to the solidarity of his thoughts in our wooded backyard, he would throw tantrums. This was not at all a phase that all boys go through, Tyler would run off not just at age two but at age three, four, five and beyond. As I grew older and started school, Tyler was held back a year, finally being diognosed as being on the autism spectrum. For my parents and many other parents it is a hard process to syphon the facts about Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many myths and misconceptions about people with autism.

“A lingering misconception”

I’ve always been asked; whats it like to have a brother with autism? is it hard? different? how do you deal with it? To me its funny, my relationship with my Tyler is not disimilar to any other brotherly relationships. We fight, we laugh, pick on each other even. There has always been a thought from those who interact with Ty that he is slow, arguably he is the smartest in the family. From his quirks like organisation, math and problem solving to his nitch of nature and anything that interests him. Autism is what is know as a hidden disability.It is not obvious to others there is something intellectually wrong, rather they are seen as naughty, disobedient or weird.

“It’s an ability”

Autism is an intellectual disability and is much more common than people think, almost 1 in 100 people have it. Its a life long disability with no known treatment or cure, affecting how we make sense of the world around us, including the surrounding enviroment and their interactions with others. Body language and facial expression can be difficult to comprehend and to respond accordingly is something we often take for granted. Autism is a spectrum disorder, a wide range of abilities and disabilities that fall under being autistic. My brother Tyler has Aspergers syndrome, with often above average intelligence, fewer speech problems however he still struggles with non speech communication (body language) and has sensory issues such as noise, light or crowds. Ty has trouble like many with ASD understanding sarcasm and jokes, or phrases like “break a leg”. Autism is what sets these individuals apart. They serve an important place in society. Yes, the downside is socialising and interaction, however they have a whole new wave of thinking regarding patterns and why things work. Our greatest scientist and mathematicians have autism. As Hans Asperger said, “It seems that for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential”.

There is a lack of understanding about autism not just in Australia but around the globe. With a large majority of the population (1 in 100) it seems it is one of those disorders that is hidden away. People with ASD serve a huge purpose in the world. The view of the disorder denies them many opportunities in life. For Ty, and many others, their autism is in their make up and is apart of who they are, something that should not to be put to the side for speculation. As twins ,my brother Tyler and I share a birthday, a room and our clothes. however admittedly there were things in life we couldn’t share as brothers, we didn’t go to the same school, have the same friends or give each other advice about girls. But we have a special bond that I want to share with the world.