The Power of Confidence
In the wake of World Autism Awareness Day 2016 and whether you have chosen to light it up blue, red, gold or support the National Autistic Society in the UK in pink and purple, I have been interestingly observing articles in the media and also programmes and documentaries being aired.
I have been mightily impressed by the BBC in the last couple of weeks. Not only has a new 6 part drama called The ‘A’ Word started on mainstream BBC1, a couple of dramas are featuring autistic adult characters (one is actually played by an autistic actor), a documentary called The Autistic Me has been re-aired and a fantastic new documentary series called Employable Me about finding jobs for people with neurological conditions also started in the week.
As I watched Employable Me, it struck me the importance that these programmes can make on societal attitudes as a whole, as well as simple interventions that can make a significant difference to the lives of others.
Looking for the strengths in others, nurturing capabilities rather than focusing on impairments and driving self confidence and self-worth in others has the potential to create a very different environment for those on the autistic spectrum as well as others with neurodiverse brains.
It begins with awareness, understanding and the attitudes in society….
Brett is a young man who has never worked. He is an extremely sensitive person who communicates beautifully as an improvisation pianist but struggles to communicate verbally. It particularly distresses me when parents describe their children as being in a ‘fog’ or ‘taken away from them’ when they don’t communicate verbally or appear in their own world. Most likely there is an overstimulation, maybe thought processing — possibly visual or pattern thinking, maybe overstimulation of the senses being experienced by the person. An inner vibrancy that cannot be put into words by the person and communicated verbally and that becomes overwhelming. Brett is autistic.
His prospective employer put it succinctly “His brain is processing on the inside but he’s struggling to get the words to the outside”
Paul Stevenson is a married man with children who has developed a severe case of Tourettes syndrome after a particularly traumatic emotional event 6 years earlier. It is now known Tourettes is a neurological disorder and Paul would have had this from being a child but previously had found ways to control/ adapt prior to this significant event. Paul has severe tics, physical involuntary movements and verbal outbursts. In public he becomes worse as people stare and judge and he has been arrested in the past. It was particularly obvious to me through listening to him, he was extremely troubled and fully understood and was able to articulate his distress and the severity of his situation. The tics did not define Paul but they overpowered the person he was to the judgemental outside world. Paul wanted to be able to work and provide for his family but couldn’t find a job.
What for me was most poignant was the transformation of these 2 men as the program progressed.
No one doubts the severity of their conditions, but as they worked towards identifying their strengths — Brett worked with the wonderful Simon Baron-Cohen and Paul with a Tourette’s expert and exceptional occupational psychologist, a transformation began. Self confidence, self worth and the entertainment of a possibility that they could add value began to emerge.
Paul was given really positive feedback from a photographic publishing house and is now publishing some of his own photos — see credit above. It is amazing that someone with such severe physical tics can work successfully behind a camera and produce the most beautiful work. Paul makes the point his anxiety reduces behind the camera.
Brett has a keen eye for detail, thinks systematically and is a visual problem solver and succeeded on a 2 week placement working for a company that designs and builds medical equipment working with visuals and patterns and testing for software bugs. At one point you see his boss/ line manager astounded at his level of accuracy and focus.
2 keys points for me stood out:
- By developing their strengths, their inner confidence grew and this led to improved self worth, less anxiety which (as a stimulant) may lead to better management of the condition.
- Most key was the attitudes of others towards both Paul and Brett as the significance of their skills became apparent and this became more important to people than the challenges from their condition.
I relate to this first hand — in my professional role, I communicate much better in work situations than I do socially. I have an inner belief in my work identity and skills and the value that I can add to a situation, so my anxiety is at a minimum.
The structure of my work environment, clear rules, roles and responsibility keep anxiety to a minimum and I work effectively without worrying what people think because I know I am adding value.
As admiration and appreciation of Brett from his co workers emerged, you could see some of his anxiety reduce. This program culminated with Brett being offered a full time job in the company and he read a speech out to everyone (his preferred communication style of writing it down first). This was visibly moving to his boss, his co-workers and audience. Please click below.
The question I have — does it really need a TV programme to make this difference? This is something we should be striving for — acceptance and respect of a person’s abilities and the desire to nurture from society as a whole. Professionals, Parents, Teachers and Employers — we can all make a difference!
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