Laragh Smith is a member of the AsIAm Youth Leadership Team. Here Laragh explains through poetry what it is like to have autism, and what she would like you to understand.
Being Me
I have a thing called Autism
it lives inside my head
it follows me everywhere I go
even to my bed.
I know you don’t understand me
but it would be great if you could try
because when people don’t
it makes me want to cry.
I live with this condition
it’ll never go away
but I do have many talents
that you don’t find every day.
I worry far too much about things I shouldn’t fear
senses get overloaded by things I see, feel and hear
despite all of my anxieties, I have great potential too
with your help and understanding, I could really amaze you.
Sometimes I take things literally
it can make people laugh out loud
sometimes my little isms stand out in the crowd.
Life with Autism can be hard
at work, rest and play
social isolation and bullying school days.
I do get quite upset when there’s a lot of change in plan
the better things are organised, the happier I am
The world is full of compromise, that I had to learn
I have done all I can, now it is your turn.
