Autism is a genetic disorder. Most of society associates them with withdrawal, developmental delay, aggression. It turns out that people with autism live among us and are doing quite well. Bartek Jakubowski, the protagonist of the next episode of the series "I live with …" proves that he has nothing to do with the stereotype created by society.
How do you rate the level of Polish awareness of autism?
Unfortunately, people usually don't understand what it is. My behavior is such that, for example, I speak too loudly and not because I am deaf. I have this reflex, I'm afraid I won't hear. I automatically shout over the noises. The bus is the worst when I want to talk to my mother for a moment on the phone and I start screaming involuntarily. Suddenly I hear a random man wanting me to be quiet. I remember having this kind of situation and trying to explain myself, saying, "I'm sorry, I have Asperger's Syndrome." Now I would say - I have autism. Over time, I had to pretend to be hearing poorer, even though that was not true. It was sad. I wish I could say "I'm sorry but it's because I have autism" and people would say, "Oh, I get it."
And in some other areas of your life do you see gaps in knowledge?
Adjudication committees are my nightmare. I do not have a permanent decision, and in my opinion I should. I have to go to the commission every 5 years to prove that I have autism, which is not a disease, it is not treated and I will have it for the rest of my life. I cannot apply for a life sentence.
What is problematic with adjudicating people with autism is that you don't see it. I expect specialists to decide about autism. If something is not done about it, so to speak, then those who are invisible to the system - in this case people with autism - are at risk of "healing".
Since it's hard now, it was even worse at school …
I remember the school warmly - surprisingly. But I am what I am - so to speak, but I had colleagues, even friends. From the 5th grade I had individual teaching. It was then that I established a greater bond with teachers and teachers - mostly teachers. I really liked some of them and still like them today, with some evenkeeps in touch. It's not that it was always perfect. Of course there were more difficult situations at school related to who I am. Then I did not know what was wrong with me - so to speak. In high school, I had almost no relations with my peers also because of individual teaching. I remember having a friend with whom I used to hang out on breaks before she finished school and we actually talked and it was nice. I remember her well, it was fun talking to her.
I remember one very unpleasant situation with one of the teachers - and here I have to mention that I still have OCD, colloquially the OCD syndrome. The teacher said that I allegedly do unsightly activities in her presence, which in my case resulted from the OCD syndrome. I was uncomfortable THERE and I had to improve. It looked like that when I was adjusting the wardrobe in a given place it looked ambiguous and she thought that I was doing THIS. She could ask me humanely, "I'm sorry, what's the matter with you?" and I would explain it. But no, she didn't give me a chance.
Are you going to see a psychologist or psychiatrist about autism?
I am under the care of a psychiatrist who prescribes drugs for me - I note, not to cure me of autism, but to improve my functioning. As I mentioned, I also have OCD which, in my case, lives in symbiosis with Asperger's Syndrome. Thanks to this, I do not have those obsessions that were my nightmare in my teenage years. I had to improve constantly, I stayed in the bathroom for too long, changed my clothes for too long, there was a very big problem with that. I don't have it today thanks to pharmacological treatment. I would like to add that I still have this obsessive syndrome, but it is so relaxed that I can function as it is. I finally have it under control, which I could dream about then - before I started to heal myself.
About the author
Dominika StanisławskaShe graduated from Polish Studies and Philosophy at the University of Warsaw. She worked on film sets as a script and assistant director. Her interests focus primarily on new technologies used in medicine, which may revolutionize the treatment of many diseases. She is interested in film and learning foreign languages. He spends his free time by the water.