b'Imagine, in the morning, arriving in an alien planet. You step off your rocket and every smell, every noise, everyaround Autism into one place so people with Autism, their fami-texture,eventheatmospherefeelstotallyunfamiliar, lies and professional supporters would know they are not alone unpleasant and even scary. and could instead share the ultimate expertiseexperience. Imagine you meet your first alien and you are tryingHowever I also knew we could do much more than that, if we gave really hard to communicate with him, to befriend him, but youthe community a voice in shaping Autism advocacywe could cant read his facial expression or body language, you dont knowbring this direct to the Irish public. I often say that the problem if he wants to be taken literally or if he is joking, if he is angry orisnt Autism, it is Pontius Pilate Syndromethe attitude that if he is welcoming you. Yet, he makes no effort whatsoever to trythe government or medical researchers are the only groups withand communicate in a way in which you can understand. responsibility for Autism, but we know that no amount of money You are not necessarily less intelligent than anyone else,or research, by itself, will change the world for the betterwe but the way you learn and function is totally different to the alien must change hearts and minds.population around you. In the alien workplace you join, you We have been delighted with the response we havesimply cannot cope, and you dont receive much support, youreceived to date. We have done a huge amount of outreach work feel your colleagues exclude you, isolate you and sometimes arewith local, voluntary support groups, setting up a Liaison Officer even mean to you. Network which brings local concerns to us, which we can raise Nowunderstand,thisiswhatmanypeoplewith awareness of on our national platform. We are heavily supported AutisminIrelandfaceeveryday.PeoplewithAutismare by Lions Clubs International, who have bought into this vision born with a disability, people with Autism struggle with socialsince the time I began my work 3 years ago, and were recently communication, interaction and imagination and find sensoryawarded a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Elevate Award, which processing difficult. Autism is a huge spectrum, with a wide vari- will help us bring our work to the next level, which will require ety of traits, strengths and challenges. No two people with Autismfunding and scaling. I am also lucky to have a strong, supportive are the same, and many also have additional conditions. ThatBoard of Directors, all professionals with a wealth of experience said, people with Autism work very hard just to function in soci- in various fields and experience of Autism.ety every day, and yet society often plays a key factor in disablingAsIAmisnowrollingeducationandtraining people with the condition through not having enough knowledgeprogramsoutaroundIreland.WiththesupportofThe or showing enough understanding, through underestimatingIrelandFunds,wehavedevelopedaprogramforSec-people with the condition or not making allowances or showingondarySchoolstudentswhichwillreach100schools understanding for where a persons needs lie. To sum it up, theyin2015.Ourworkshophighlightsthatstudentswithsee a label not a person or ignoring the needs all together. Autism are students firstjust with differences. Students are This is why I set up AsIAm.ie, Irelands online onechallenged to take responsibility for the issue, and produce and stop shop for the Autism community which works to empowersign a charter for making their school more Autism-friendly. families affected by Autism and educate the general public toWe work in advance of the workshop, to gauge the knowledge understand Autism better. I established AsIAm.ie because, of students and also to find out any issues around Autism at the age of 5, I was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, a which already exist in the school. 50 speakers, all members of condition on the high-functioning end of the Autism Spectrum. Ithe Autism community, have now been trained to deliver this was fortunate to benefit from early intervention though and, afterprogram.Wewillworkwithschoolstoimplementthese3 years in Special Education, was integrated into mainstreampositive ideas in their schools. This program will develop further education, aged 8. By the time I was 16, I wanted to do somethingandover time be brought to both primary schools and to every to give back to the Autism community. I had just began to social- secondary school.ize myself and yet was taken aback by the attitude many peopleThis is only the beginning, in 2015 we will launch,had towards the invisible condition which is AutismmanyAsWeAre, a community program where we challenge towns people were well-intentioned but patronising, while othersand individual stakeholders to learn and adapt for Autism. simply saw a problem not a condition and had quite negativeOn our first birthday, in March, we will launch a program toattitudes. This perhaps explains why 50% of people with Autismeducate and train employers to see possible employees withare bullied in school, 80% will struggle to find work after schoolAutism, as assets instead of hassles, and to understand theirand there is a 4 times higher rate of self-harm in the community. customers with the condition.Adam Harris, Founder of AsIAmI set up AsIAm to bring all the knowledge and personal stories The road is long butwe are committed to working towards the next 100 years. We hope that with the help of The Ireland Funds, we will see a dynamic, inclusive society where people with Autism can make a positive contribution and play a full and active part. connect2015 | 37'