Thursday 7 December 2017

Autism and Writing

Hi, Blogettes,

A couple of children in my family are on the autism spectrum. They are not what some would call severely autistic- they have some learning difficulties and occasional challenging behaviour. They're lovely little boys with amazing personalities, and because of the wonderful support of their parents have enjoyable and fulfilling lives.

It got me thinking.

There must be writers in the Wordiverse who have autism, or perhaps children and adults on the autistic spectrum who would love to write, or who write and aren't sure how to get published. Recently I was offered an opportunity to speak at a writing convention. I'm a shy person and often have to have a word with myself about experiencing something where there will be others present who I don't know. What I do know is that some of those with autism would not have the confidence to take part on these occasions, so miss out on courses, get-togethers, and events for writers.

Perhaps some of the courses could be filmed and sent to applicants via computer so they can take part. The podcasts offered by lots of writers I'm sure are very helpful, but what about companies and organisations who arrange paid events? Shouldn't they be encouraged to make it as easy as possible for those with autism to be part of them?

I would be very interested in your take on this subject.

Lots of love

Valentina xxx


2 comments:

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

Sounds like a good idea. I suppose the owners of these events would need proof that the person getting the video or whatever for free (or would there be a charge?) has autism.

Valentina Hepburn said...

It's lovely to hear from you, Richard. Hope all is well. I think they would wish to pay for the event, to be part of it. Perhaps it could be streamed to their own devices. The autism spectrum is very wide - from high functioning to more extreme effects which can be devastating. As in life where no two people are exactly the same, it is the same for those who have autism. Our two little boys are different ages so their parents have yet to see what they can achieve, but I know they'll do their best to support them in whatever they want to do.

The Blogettes