My life as a woman on the autism spectrum

This guest post is by Tamsin Parker. She is 23-years-old, and is half-American, half-English. She graduated from Arts University Bournemouth in the summer of 2016, and is trying to make it as an artist and animator. 

I consider myself to be very well adjusted, though it was not easy getting there.

As a child, I had no sense of social etiquette. I was crass without meaning to be. I said exactly what I was on my mind and it hurt people's feelings. I'm very glad I mostly grew out of that. I'm still opinionated and can be a bit rude sometimes, however. But that is just my autism, and I can't help it.

I had an active imagination, though, which helped my growth as an artist. And I was stubborn which led me to become more and more self-assured, even if it did mean that I still caused trouble a lot of the time.

I was bullied a lot in Primary School for my autism. All the girls in my classroom isolated me in Year Five and the teacher was no help at all. Secondary School was a bit better, even though at first I was picked on for my short temper.

However, since then, despite having autistic friends from Weekend Arts College, I was mistrustful of a lot of people my age. It didn't mean I was a bad person, though. It was that I was a loner and a staunch non-conformist, which meant I don't connect with people easily on their interests.

On a positive note, I became tougher after my third ever week away at an adventure camp. Then again, I've always been athletic and I sometimes take to new sports like tennis, badminton and snorkeling.

I do have sensitivity: I still hate certain sounds, smells, words and touches, and that still stays with me no matter how much I try to cope with it.

You know how autistic girls are generally known to mimic other people or mask their behavior? I kind of don't do that. I copy the way people talk sometimes which is a form of flattery and it helps me to learn new languages. I am also a brilliant actress, which means I have no problem using myself as live action reference for my animation. 

I am extremely expressive, though I try to communicate my passion through my art if I feel like people don't understand what I feel or aren't experiencing the same thing as me.

And sometimes they don't understand, no matter how hard I try. My mother doesn't even see how I recognized my own personality traits reflected in a bandido from a European Western. All they know is, I am getting to be a better artist with every new lesson I learn, which I do appreciate a lot.

Anyway, I, Tamsin Parker, am indeed autistic, and despite the occasional pitfalls I will become a successful animator one day.