Latest / NDV Podcast: Neurodiverse Voices Connect / Raising Alex: Mandy Richardson’s Journey with Autism

Transcript

Raising Alex: Mandy Richardson’s Journey with Autism · NDV Podcast: Neurodiverse Voices Connect

0:14
Welcome back to the Neuro Diverse Voices podcast and hello
0:19
season 4. I'm your host, Andre Acosta, and
0:24
I'm so grateful to have you on that side.
0:27
Over the past three seasons we've shared honest, powerful,
0:31
real stories from neuro divergent people, their
0:34
families, educators and mental health researchers, and together
0:39
we've been part of a growing movement towards understanding,
0:44
acceptance and embracing difference.
0:49
This isn't we are going even deeper.
0:52
We will be exploring late diagnosis, masking, burnout,
0:57
menopause, mental health, and how neural divergent intersects
1:03
with identity, culture and lived experience.
1:08
You'll hear from creative minds, parents, and most importantly
1:14
from neurodivergent people themselves in all their
1:18
complexity and brilliance. So whether you've been with us
1:23
from the very beginning or this is your first time listening or
1:28
watching, welcome This space is for you.
1:33
Let's begin season 4 of the Neuro Diverse Voices podcast.
1:43
Hi everyone, I have someone very special who I admire very much
1:48
with me. We at this point, most of us are
1:51
still raising our children and young people.
1:55
And she has already raised two young men.
2:00
And yeah, he was one of them. One of her sons was my previous
2:06
guest on the Neuro Diverse Voices podcast.
2:08
And I would like to welcome Mandy Richardson.
2:11
Hi, Mandy. Hi.
2:12
Thank you for having. Me Thank you for accepting to be
2:15
interviewed. How are you feeling A?
2:17
Little bit nervous. Fine, we are all always a bit
2:21
nervous when we are being recorded, but yeah, let's make
2:24
this nice chats and yeah, most of a coffee between friends.
2:30
So, Mandy, can you start by sharing your journey?
2:35
You know what? So besides being a mum to Alex,
2:40
this inspired advocacy, you know, you've been fighting not
2:45
only for Alex but you are also professional at the school.
2:50
So what what what has brought you to to here?
2:54
OK, well I guess very early on I realise that and when Alex was
2:57
first diagnosed, the only person who could really speak up for
3:00
him was going to be me. And the more I learned about his
3:03
autism and the lack of services, the more I understood that I
3:07
would need to be his voice. So that's the start of the
3:11
journey really. Yeah, and now he's, he's 26,
3:14
right? I think I, I was saying he was
3:18
22 and then he was telling me and I am 26 for some reason I
3:23
had 22 in in my head. And he's become an inspiring
3:28
young man as well. So well done.
3:30
And that's one of the reasons I I really admire you.
3:33
And yeah, you've done a brilliant job with him.
3:37
You have a fantastic son, so so with when Alex was growing up,
3:42
what were some of the biggest challenges you you faced
3:46
supporting him in childhood? I guess the challenges were the
3:50
complete lack of understanding of autism and you know, what
3:54
life looked like for Alex in particular.
3:58
You know, he had lots of sensory issues.
4:00
There wasn't really lots of information at the time.
4:03
We're talking about 21 years ago around sensory issues and the
4:07
impact that had on children. You know, we had excellent, some
4:11
excellent primary school teachers who celebrated every
4:14
milestone that Alex made, you know, and they weren't
4:17
necessarily the same milestones as the other children in his
4:20
class. I think, you know, it's always
4:25
difficult in school, isn't it? There is always, you know, we
4:27
always want more for your child. And funding is an issue, you
4:31
know, lack of the appropriate adults to support your children.
4:37
And, you know, I experienced real ignorance around the
4:42
subject of neurodiversity. Fortunately, there is more
4:46
awareness of it now, but 21 years ago, we felt pretty much
4:51
on our own. We were dealing with it.
4:53
I remember Alex in his interview he mentioned that one of your, I
4:57
don't remember if he was a friend or an acquaintance, told
5:00
you is he going to be OK or something like.
5:02
That is he going to be normal is.
5:03
He going to be normal or is he ever going to be normal?
5:06
You know, what does normal look like?
5:08
And obviously when your child's young, you don't know how that
5:11
would look. You know, I guess we all want
5:13
our children to be happy, to find a partner, to be able to
5:16
work, to be independent. You know, I'm very happy to say
5:19
all of those things have happened for Alex.
5:21
But 21 years ago, when you're at the start of the journey, you're
5:24
not sure what the future holds. Yeah, definitely.
5:28
And can you share a moment that made you feel especially proud
5:32
of his progress? Well, I guess you're proud of
5:34
him in general because he's achieved so much at the age of
5:38
26 already, but. I think Alex makes me proud
5:41
every day. I think you'll know he's the
5:43
happiest person I know with the sunniest disposition.
5:48
I think if we could all be a bit more like Alex, life would be
5:50
good. You know, I was when he first
5:53
wrote his name, I was proud of him when he learned to read, I
5:57
was proud of him. When he passed his SATS, I was
6:00
proud of him. His GCS, ES, his driving test,
6:04
when he became an ambassador for National Autistic Society, when
6:09
he went on radio to talk about his autism.
6:11
He's been on Sky Sports as well. TV.
6:14
There are so many things that he's done.
6:16
His short film, you know, it was really emotional for us and
6:21
really the start of him opening up and being able to talk about
6:25
his journey and how he felt about it.
6:29
Yeah, he's done a he went to an autism conference at Excel in
6:32
London, something I could have never have done even at this
6:36
parking point in my life. But Alex just said, yeah, I'm
6:40
going to do it and and did an amazing job.
6:42
So every day, Alex makes me proud.
6:45
He's very brave. Fearless.
6:49
Yeah, fearless. That's that's the exact words,
6:52
yeah. So while Alex was growing up,
6:55
what role did You mentioned this briefly already, but there might
6:59
be something else that you would like to add.
7:01
What was the role that schools and communities and external
7:04
organisations played in Alex's journey?
7:08
Well, we were very lucky. We managed to find a tutor for
7:11
Alex from the age of 8 and he had that tutor for eight years
7:14
until he left school. He was a wonderful man named
7:17
Peyton and he worked at a secondary school as a Senko and
7:21
retired and he truly was amazing.
7:24
And not only did he help Alex achieve his GCS ES, he gave him
7:29
life skills. You know, if they would talk
7:31
through friendship issues, anything he wanted to talk to
7:35
Ian about, he could and Ian would advise him and unpick
7:38
situations with him for Alex to understand them better and
7:41
understand how to deal with them going forward.
7:44
So whilst initially it was to help him, help him academically,
7:48
actually you know, it was so much more than that.
7:51
So he played a huge role in Alex's life.
7:56
I think also very early on I found an amazing lady in London
7:59
who was called Jessica Love and she dealt with behaviour and we
8:04
went to her on a regular basis and she actually helped us with
8:09
desensitising Alex around the smells, the sounds.
8:13
And I used to do massage therapy with it twice a day, which I did
8:16
for many years, and also music therapy, which would desensitize
8:21
into particular noises. And they all made a huge
8:24
difference. One of the main things that she
8:27
did for us is she's told us we had to stop giving Alex
8:29
chocolate. I remember him saying that.
8:32
And actually it was life changing.
8:34
So we went from my house where Alex craved chocolate the whole
8:37
time to get the don't have been here, I'm assuming, and then he
8:41
would have to come down and then I need chocolate.
8:43
And so it would continue. And as a family we made the
8:46
decision no more chocolate. And it really did change our
8:49
lives because Alex didn't have the meltdowns.
8:52
He was much calmer. He also understood himself that
8:55
if he had chocolate, he would feel, you know, hyped up and not
9:00
in a good place. And interestingly, we could
9:02
always tell if he'd had too much chocolate because his ears used
9:05
to go red. He was over stimulated and I
9:08
would say as he got older, I think I've had too much
9:10
chocolate today. You know, it was when he was
9:12
younger we could control it. As he got older, he had to take
9:14
responsibility himself, which he does.
9:16
Yeah. Yeah, it's about learning your
9:19
triggers and what are the things that are good for you and are
9:23
not good for you. I also we had some really good
9:26
teachers at primary school. In particular, we had a teacher,
9:29
I think she was in Alex's Year 2 called Miss Moles.
9:33
She's now a head teacher at school outside of this county
9:36
and contacted Alex recently to ask him if he would go in and
9:40
talk to her children at her school about his autism.
9:43
But she was fantastic and really one of the ones who always
9:47
celebrated all of the small milestones and, you know, really
9:51
put me at ease and said, don't worry, if he's not reading and
9:53
writing like everyone else, we will get there.
9:55
And of course we did. It just takes a bit longer.
9:58
It does, yeah. And I think, you know, we also
10:01
had, you know, really great support from family and friends
10:06
in particular. We had some friends, Sharon and
10:09
Dave, in fact, Sharon's, Alex's godmother.
10:11
They've always been fabulous with him and understood all his
10:15
needs and taken time. And you know, as well as our
10:20
very, we had some very close neighbors.
10:22
Amanda and Tony lived across the road, who had a little girl and
10:26
their little girl, Nivan and Alex were best of friends and
10:29
they really embraced him and understood him and, you know,
10:34
accommodated all of his needs as he was growing up.
10:37
And I think that helped, really. So we have support in lots of
10:41
different ways. It wasn't just school, it wasn't
10:43
just family. I think it was a combined effort
10:45
really. It's so important that we have
10:49
people around us who, who have that attitude, you know, of
10:53
embracing and and adjusting. So yeah, it's it's all part of
10:57
Alex's progress and, and development until he's become
11:02
what the young adults that he has, he has become today.
11:10
So were there any gaps in support and how did you navigate
11:15
them? Yeah, I mean, I think we all
11:17
know there are always gaps at school, don't have an endless
11:21
pot of money, and as parents we want the best, but we have to
11:25
accept that isn't always as much as the school can give.
11:29
You know, I was very lucky. I paid for the tutor, as I said.
11:34
I also paid for private speech and language therapist to come
11:37
into school because, again, the services weren't there and Alex
11:41
struggled with his speech. You know, there were lots of
11:45
additional things that we did for him.
11:49
I guess what helped all of that was we were able to claim
11:53
disability living allowance. So all of that money was able to
11:55
use to support Alex. You know, if he wanted extra
11:59
books, I would buy him extra books.
12:00
Once he decided he did like to read, I paid for a one to one
12:04
swimming tutor because she could take him up quieter times and
12:09
not be part of a big group. So all the things, those things,
12:12
you know, that's how we we supported him.
12:16
Really. Yeah.
12:17
Yeah, it's, that's one of the things that worries me actually,
12:23
is that, you know, we can afford that.
12:26
But there might be other families who, you know, might
12:30
not even be aware of DLA because I encounter some parents still
12:34
at this point not knowing that they can claim that.
12:38
So yeah, we, we are getting there.
12:42
I, I feel like we are getting there, but there's still a lot
12:44
more work to do to avoid these gaps and, and this lack of
12:48
support that that happens throughout our journeys.
12:53
So how has being Alex's mum shaped your views on parenting
12:59
and on your Divergent? So I guess being Alex mum has
13:03
shaped my views on parenting and it's been a very steep learning
13:06
curve. You know, Alex obviously wasn't
13:10
my first child and my oldest son Matt really didn't struggle with
13:15
anything at school. He was academically, school was
13:18
very easy for him. So whilst I've never compared
13:22
them, it was a very different scenario raising Alex.
13:27
You know, I had to learn to be more patient.
13:30
I did become much more passionate about the 'cause I
13:34
think that does happen when you're a parent and a child who
13:38
is finding life more challenging.
13:40
You do have to speak up. That doesn't always make you
13:42
very popular. And I know, you know, at times I
13:46
probably felt people felt I was maybe being unreasonable.
13:49
But I think we do feel passionately about our children.
13:52
And so I understand when I find parents who I work with who are,
13:56
you know, passionate, I do get that.
13:58
And equally, you know, you were saying about the DNA.
14:00
That's one of the things I've noticed.
14:02
And I can, in my role now, I support families with DNA
14:05
paperwork. I was fortunate enough that
14:08
there was a carers group in Didcot and they helped me.
14:12
And I've never really forgotten that.
14:13
And that impact of filling out the forms.
14:16
And it's, it's quite a daunting task.
14:17
So that's one of the things I make to support now with.
14:21
Yeah, that's, yeah, I remember when I filled ours as well, I
14:27
was, I didn't have any help filling it out, but yeah, I had
14:31
some guidance from the earlier support team at the time.
14:34
But yes, it's a massive printed form and you, you, there's so
14:40
much that you need to put onto there and then you have to
14:42
collect different documents. So, yeah, but it's so fantastic
14:48
to see, you know, all these carers and parents group groups
14:53
that we, we kind of create ourselves and we are there for
14:58
each other and we support each other with these kind of things
15:01
that otherwise if you're sometimes waiting for the
15:04
support of of a local organization, it might be more,
15:08
more challenging. So that's great to see.
15:12
And you work at a school and it's it's it's your professional
15:20
pathway. So how is your working in the
15:22
education system influenced you on on on how you supported Alex?
15:29
I guess I mean, I only started working in education when Alex
15:32
was actually in year 10. Oh right, OK, sorry my bad, I
15:36
thought. Actually much later on in in
15:38
Alex's journey and initially I worked as a student support
15:42
manager at secondary school. However, I did become a governor
15:47
at primary and secondary school for Alex.
15:49
So that, you know, and I'm primarily that was because I
15:55
wanted to be able to influence policies.
15:57
And I realised early on that as a parent, when you go in and try
16:00
to change things, you're just seen as a complaining parent.
16:03
However, as a governor you are able to influence or put a point
16:07
forward to try and change policies.
16:09
And whilst Alex would have been fine because I would have
16:12
always, you know, had my say for him, yeah, I realised there were
16:16
lots of families who didn't have the capacity to do that for
16:19
their children and that seemed very unfair.
16:21
So I wanted to be able to be a voice for those children.
16:25
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's what you're saying.
16:30
There's many of us who realise how all of this passion and we
16:35
just want to fight for everyone and then do it together.
16:40
So in terms of systems, are there any changes you would like
16:46
to see for Neuro Divergent young people and students?
16:50
So, speaking about the education context.
16:53
Yeah, I still think we need better education of staff and
16:57
pupils. However, we have come a long way
17:00
in 21 years since, you know, Alex was first diagnosed.
17:03
But I think there's always room to improve people's
17:07
understanding of how every child is different.
17:10
And I think Alex said on his podcast, when you've met one
17:13
person with autism, you've only met one person with autism.
17:16
So it's understanding that, you know, the differences are vast
17:20
between them actually. And it it still strikes me
17:25
actually that, you know, we are talking about 20 years ago or
17:30
yeah, between 15 and 20 years ago.
17:33
And there's been progress, but you would expect that in 15 or
17:39
20 years that the progress would have been better and, and
17:43
bigger, right? So it's, yeah, it's it's quite
17:49
frustrating to be honest, that's we are still in in this
17:52
situation and we have so many families, yeah, having to fight
17:56
so much for, for support. So what advice would you give to
18:01
parents who are at the beginning of their journey?
18:05
I would say celebrate every small achievement and be the
18:08
voice that your child doesn't have.
18:11
You know, stand up, have your say and speak out.
18:17
I think never give up hope or listen to what people say.
18:21
You know, particularly negative comments.
18:23
And I think you mentioned earlier, a friend once asked me
18:26
if Alex would ever be normal. Well, give me a young man like
18:29
Alex in the day of the week. It truly is the kindest, most
18:45
caring and most amazing man. And I shared with you earlier a
18:51
poem which is called. It's not really a poem, I guess
18:55
it's an analogy. It's by the lady called Emily
18:57
Pearl Kingsley, and it's by my having a child with a
19:00
disability. Now you've looked forward to
19:03
going to, for example, Italy and actually you end up in Holland
19:09
and it isn't what you planned, but it's just as beautiful.
19:13
So that's what I would say to parents, celebrate everything
19:17
that they achieve and be proud of them.
19:21
The fact that it's different doesn't mean that it's bad or
19:26
less good. It's just a question of adapting
19:29
and, and adjusting to what you have in your in your hands.
19:32
And yeah, thank you for sharing the poem.
19:34
I had the chance to read it before the interview.
19:37
And yeah, I love it. And it's one of the things that
19:40
I would like to share with with everyone.
19:42
So if you don't mind, I will actually link on the episode's
19:46
release for for the audience to to read and to have access to.
19:51
So Alex is thriving as a young adults.
19:54
What do you think has been key to his success?
19:58
Well, I would like to claim all of the credit, but that wouldn't
20:01
be fair. I mean, there are so many people
20:03
have played a role in Alex thriving.
20:05
Really. I mean Jeff, Alex's dad, my
20:08
husband. Matt, my other son, I think they
20:10
say it takes a village to raise a child and I would have to
20:13
agree. Our village is all of our
20:15
friends and families. We have always encouraged Alex
20:18
and told him he could do whatever he puts his mind to and
20:22
he has fully embraced that. That's it.
20:28
It's it's a loving village when I I always say, and I truly
20:34
believe that when there's love, you know, anything can can be
20:39
achievable. How did you balance, you know,
20:45
your advocacy for Alex with your own personal and and
20:49
professional needs? I mean, I was very fortunate and
20:53
I only work part time in order that I could take Alex to school
20:56
everyday and pick him up. That was really important for
20:58
him. He didn't want to go to after
21:00
school clubs, he didn't want to go to holiday clubs.
21:04
I was always very upfront with any employers and I said that I
21:07
couldn't work the holidays. I obviously didn't want to be
21:10
paid for the holidays because the time was more important to
21:12
me. But you know, I made it quite
21:15
clear that actually Alex was my priority.
21:18
I was very fortunate and never really was out of work.
21:21
So you know, it was perfect. I could work during the school
21:24
time and have the holidays off to maintain continuity at home
21:29
for him. Yeah, which is something that's
21:34
you might not encounter in all workplaces.
21:37
I think things are changing slightly, you know, with
21:41
employers and all the awareness and even regardless of you know,
21:47
or out out of the the neuro divergent topic, you know,
21:50
there's a lot more flexibility these days.
21:53
But when you have a child with additional needs, it definitely
21:56
makes it more important that you have that that time for for
22:01
everything, including your yourself.
22:05
I guess for me, you know, the job always had to fit around
22:07
Alex, and he was my priority. So, you know, it wasn't so
22:12
important what the job was, more that it would fit in and would
22:15
give me, you know, some kind of employment.
22:18
But ultimately, he came first, yeah.
22:22
That's it. And what has Alex taught you
22:26
about life resilience or advocacy that you might not have
22:31
learned otherwise? My goodness, where do I start?
22:35
Alex has taught me so much about everything and you know, even
22:39
today this is not really my thing.
22:40
I, I find this very difficult coming to talk and despite my
22:45
friends would tell you that I do love to talk, but doing it on
22:48
camera or recording is really, really difficult and repeatedly
22:52
outside of my comfort zone. However, I've always told Alex
22:55
that he can do anything he puts his mind to.
22:58
He's done this, he's been on radio, he's been on television.
23:00
So it's now really difficult for me to say I'm not going to, I'm
23:04
not going to do it. You know, Alex has also shown me
23:08
that no matter what happens, you just need to keep smiling and to
23:11
be positive, to look for the good and everything.
23:14
Yeah, and he's a great. Small milestones.
23:17
You know, he's, yeah, he's been a real inspiration.
23:20
Yeah, he's the real proof of that because he always has a
23:22
smile on his face, which is amazing.
23:26
And what are your hopes for his future and what's next in your
23:31
advocacy or professional journey?
23:35
For Alex, I just want Alex to be happy.
23:37
I hope that he will be independent enough to leave home
23:42
at some point, maybe in the next couple of years.
23:45
He has a wonderful girlfriend, Jess, who we absolutely adore.
23:48
I hope he'll get married and have a family sometime in the
23:51
future. I mean, As for Alex and work, I
23:56
think finally he's found his tribe.
23:58
He's found a group of people who understand him, who accept him,
24:01
who help him and support him. And in fact, they've actually
24:05
asked him to be an autism champion, which is, you know,
24:09
phenomenal, really. This is a boy that when he was
24:13
at primary school, couldn't stand up and speak in front of
24:16
the assembly or even join in the assembly.
24:19
Here he is now speaking out and being an advocate for autism.
24:26
I guess, you know, he's, he's very passionate about autism so
24:31
he can advocate for himself going forward, which I think is
24:35
a good place for us to be. I'm sure there'll always be
24:38
times when he needs support and those change.
24:41
You know, you get to a place and you think it hasn't needed any
24:44
support for a while, then there'll be a situation will
24:47
occur and you do need to support, even if it's only to
24:50
give him the advice for him to then go and challenge.
24:53
But he, you know, he will always come and ask us.
24:57
Unfortunately, you know his brother knows him very well too,
25:01
so if he doesn't come to us, he would go to his brother or even
25:04
to his girlfriend and I'll ask her.
25:07
Yeah, you always have that safe space and the safe people to go
25:13
to and and ask for help if he needs to.
25:16
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I, I've done a few
25:20
collaborations with, with Alex the, the live on Facebook, which
25:24
was I think the first time for both of us as well.
25:27
I think it was being braver than than myself.
25:30
And eventually we managed and he also came to, to school with me
25:34
to speak to the children. And it was really good to, to
25:37
see the curiosity of children and the way he was naturally,
25:40
you know, just being himself and, and telling them what it's
25:43
like to be, to be autistic. So yeah, again, Alex, we are I'm
25:49
your #1 fan and. I think he really enjoyed going
25:54
to school. He said that one of the
25:55
questions somebody had asked was, do you wish you didn't have
25:58
autism? And he said no, I like it.
26:01
I like who I am, which is great. He embraces it.
26:04
And I think part of that is when he was growing up, we talked
26:07
about it being a difficulty or a different, different ability,
26:11
not a disability. And I think Alex fully embraces
26:14
it. He's not embarrassed to talk
26:15
about it. He's proud.
26:17
Yeah, he's very proud. Proud of it, which is is a good
26:20
place to be. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
26:25
And I'll let's focus a bit more on on you as as a person because
26:28
you are a parent. But there's a lot more.
26:31
I think we we tend to let our children die for they define us
26:37
quite, quite a lot when we are in this position.
26:39
So who is your biggest support on your journey?
26:43
Oh, my husband. Really Jeff, you know, Alex's
26:47
dad, he's put and, and you know, he has supported Alex in, you
26:52
know, so much over the years. He really has understood him.
26:56
Alex, Jeff has always said that we need to play to Alex's
26:59
strengths. So, you know, and that's
27:01
absolutely true. Alex doesn't like being late.
27:04
So, you know, we've had to make sure Jeff is very punctual, but
27:07
I've had to adjust and make myself better organised.
27:11
You know, I've had I've had great support from friends, my
27:15
my two sisters, my dad when he was alive was incredible.
27:18
He really understood Alex and he would.
27:21
Alex never wanted to get into trouble, so he was always good
27:25
at school. We never had any problems with
27:26
his behaviour. But his idea of being naughty
27:29
would be to have a food fight with Granddad in the garden or
27:32
to have an egg fight, whether he'd smash eggs on my dad's
27:34
head. So my dad would indulge him and
27:36
let him do those things. And to Alex that was his way of
27:39
being naughty when he was little.
27:40
So I think we've had lots of support.
27:42
But yeah, most importantly, I think, you know, great friends,
27:46
great family, and, you know, I've definitely shared laughter
27:49
and a lot of tears over the years about Alex.
27:52
Yeah, it's. It's a roller coaster, isn't it?
27:55
It's a. Roller coaster.
27:56
Yeah, and how do you treat yourself with regards to your
28:01
well-being? So the things I like to do is
28:04
for a long time I played netball.
28:06
I played netball for 32 years, and that was something that I
28:08
always went to every week. And, you know, Jeff babysat so
28:12
that I could go out. So that was really important.
28:14
And then when I retired from netball, I took up Zumba.
28:17
And more recently I've taken up yoga and I do yoga on a Friday,
28:22
so that's great. That's my.
28:25
My 1. Thing I like to do?
28:26
Yes, absolutely. And yoga is amazing.
28:30
It's, it's, you know, it's so beneficial in many aspects for
28:35
you. And who would you say is your
28:38
biggest inspiration? Oh, Alex.
28:41
It's easy. Every day to be a better mum and
28:45
to see the joy in all things in the world.
28:47
Yeah, even in when everything might feel or sound very dark,
28:53
there's always a light. And yeah, Alex is definitely a
28:57
light, a superhero, or had a superpower.
29:00
What would that be and how would you use it to make the world a
29:03
better place? So I've thought about this one
29:05
long. And hard.
29:06
And I don't think I'd want the responsibility of being a
29:08
superhero as you would. Also you'd disappoint so many
29:11
people that you couldn't help. However, I know Alex said that
29:15
Superman would be super superhero, but I would be
29:19
Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in the original film,
29:23
as having watched a programme about him.
29:25
He was much more of a superhero in real life, having severed
29:29
paralysis from the neck down after a horse riding accident.
29:33
He went on to set up the Christopher Reed Foundation and
29:36
that worked in areas to improve research into spinal cord and
29:40
brain injury and to enhance and improve rehabilitation and the
29:43
quality of life for people who are living with disability and
29:48
paralysis. That, in my mind, is more of a
29:52
superhero Superman because he inspired people and gave them
29:56
great hope. So that's who I would like to
29:59
be. Yeah.
30:00
Yeah. I I love.
30:01
It I love it. You know my superpower well.
30:03
Of course, it would be spreading the word about autism and, you
30:07
know, raising awareness raising. Awareness everyday.
30:09
Yeah, of course. Yeah, that's beautiful.
30:14
And what are your hopes for the future in general?
30:17
So you shared Alex's what, what do you hope for Alex?
30:21
But in general, in all this neuro divergent realm of ours, I
30:28
guess for a better. Understanding of any disability,
30:30
be it in education and obviously now that Alex is employed, you
30:35
know, in employment, there's still a real lack of
30:37
understanding within industry of how, you know, they can make
30:43
reasonable adjustments enabling more people with disabilities to
30:47
work. Yeah.
30:48
And it's not that. Difficult.
30:50
I keep saying this, sometimes it's all about the the small
30:52
things, but if the lack of understanding is there, nothing
30:56
is ever going to change. So we need to go back to basics.
31:02
And finally, if your heart had a voice, what would it tell us?
31:06
It would tell you to enjoy Holland.
31:10
As it is, for all it has, the rewards are greater than Italy
31:14
could ever offer. And if you read the analogy,
31:17
you'll understand that comment. Yeah, that's.
31:20
That's funny because when I, as I asked the question and I, that
31:24
was what I thought go to Holland.
31:26
So we had the same thought. Great, Mandy.
31:31
Thank. You so much It has been an
31:33
absolute pleasure to to have you on the podcast and yeah, we'll
31:37
stay in touch. Thank you and yeah, thank you
31:41
again. Thanks.
31:43
It's. Been a great pleasure to take
31:44
part. Yeah, great.
31:46
Thank you. Thank you so much.
32:03
For listening or watching this episode of the Neuro Diverse
32:08
Voices Podcast. Also, a huge thank you to
32:11
today's guest for sharing their story with such honesty and
32:16
insight. If you found this episode
32:19
valuable, please share it with someone who might need to hear
32:24
it. And don't forget to subscribe,
32:27
leave a comment, or follow us on social media.
32:31
It really helps others finding the podcast.
32:34
You can find all links to everything we talked about today
32:38
in the episode description. This podcast is about
32:43
connection, community, and change, so let's keep the
32:47
conversation going. Until next time, take care, be
32:52
kind to yourself, and keep embracing difference.