By Sophie O’Connor *(Sophie attends National Learning Network in Ennis and recently spent a week on work experience with The Clare Echo)
AS A young woman of 22-years-old, starting off on my love of writing to become a journalist, I’d like to talk about my own challenges of having a non-visible disability of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) or Asperger’s Syndrome.
My mum could see signs from when I was a toddler. Lining toys up in a straight line with nothing out of place, getting very upset.
In primary school, then it got worse. Some teachers put it down to behavioral problems, there might even have been judgement as my mum was a young mum. “Where did she come out of,” my mum was once asked. I kept asking myself, what was wrong with my mannerisms, my personality and how come I found it so difficult to make friends and fit in with my peers? I was being treated so differently to my peers.
Finally, in 2018 I was put on a waiting list and didn’t get seen until 2023 – that’s when I received my diagnosis. I was at the end of my secondary school journey. My first thought was, ‘I finally know what is wrong with me.’ Then it spiralled. I was told because of my age at the time, which was 19 years old, I wouldn’t be entitled to any help or support.
I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or angry but definitely felt both. I was glad I could finally live my life the way I knew how in my own way, and even when I did that I was called “The Weird One”.
Those who learned about my diagnosis started treating me like I was stupid – or at least this is how I saw it. I felt I wasn’t getting any help from the education system. I even remember my mum saying, “I can’t believe nobody would listen to our concerns from the first day which all start back at primary school.”
Then after secondary school, I went to the National Learning Network. I felt I could finally be myself without being judged, but I still feel like I need a lot of support mentally. I am proud of what I’ve achieved thus far, despite all the hardships myself and my parents went through. And even though I got very little support when I was young, I was very happy I had parents that never gave up on the fight to get answers and ways to help me to where I am today.
I will be very grateful to them and everyone else that has helped me grow to the woman I am today. The challenges at home extended beyond myself, as my 19-year old sister Chloe went through similar struggles. She received a diagnosis of epilepsy after a similarly long wait to get an assessment by a psychologist. Then there’s my sister, Aoibhín who is 8-years old, who was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome which is a congenital heart condition where it is made up of a collection of abnormalities on the left side of the heart.
Our brother Lincoln (15) stands out as our only sibling who doesn’t have a non-visible disability, but I think he is really great with the way he handles living in a house full of sisters that can take a lot of our mum’s time. He has also helped me in a way with finding myself and growing up he has always been the best brother and friend I had in my life.
I will soon be starting a Level 5 course this year and then moving onto college, so I will need all the support I can get but I know that my parents and everyone else who have helped me in the past will continue to provide the mental support needed. My family has always been there for me throughout my life.
