An interview with Jordan - Life with Asperger's

Jordan is 17 years old and runs the Life with Asperger’s website. He also works as a teaching assistant and volunteers for charity in his spare time. He won the Richard Hall Memorial Award in 2016 for his volunteering work. Here he tells us more about his website and achievements:

What made you want to start the Life with Asperger's website?

I originally wrote my first post back in 2014, as I was in a mainstream school, and a lot of the time people will make fun of autism spectrum disorders, so I wrote my initial post as a way of showing awareness with my peers of what life is like.

Then in the new year of 2016, I set myself a new year resolution which was to always be the best version of myself. I had a long and hard think about what I could do, and I thought I should dedicate more time to helping others, so I volunteered to work with ILEAP charity on their drama group for children with Asperger’s which I previously attended as a ‘pupil’. I then thought about what else I could do, and after a successful first blog post, I decided to make it more of a regular thing.

What is the Richard Hall Memorial Award and how did you get it?

The Richard Hall memorial award is named after someone who worked a lot with the Integrated Disability Services (IDS) autism team. He sadly passed away. The award is a way of remembering him and given out to people on the autism spectrum every year who make massive achievements.

What’s the best part about being a teaching assistant?

I suppose it’s being able to make a difference to people’s lives, and being able to give back some of the support I got when I was at school. It’s also nice as I see how every child differs in their needs, so although it can be a challenge it is a very rewarding job.

How did you start volunteering for charity?

As I had been with ILEAP as a ‘pupil’ for a few years, I decided to give back to what they gave me, and I contacted the charity organiser, and had an interview for the role and was successful. I then had to undergo the standard procedures of DBS checks, but once that was all completed everything was ready to go.

What's been a highlight for you so far, and why?

Passing my driving test has been a massive highlight for me, as having Asperger’s syndrome and dyspraxia made it a challenge. However, it has now given me so much more independence and freedom.

Working on the ‘Act for Autism’ project, which is a teacher training course all about autism. I enjoyed having a voice in how teachers should be trained to deal with autism in the classroom, as well as giving neurological people a more in depth understanding of what an autism spectrum disorder is like.

What are your goals for the future?

I hope to start to produce resources to be downloaded to help people with autism, such as social stories, and work booklets.

I am hoping to get to work further on the Act for Autism project and perhaps support the making of more workshops.

I also hope to expand my knowledge of other autism spectrum disorders, and write an article about how life is different for everybody.

Read Jordan’s blog and visit his website: http://lifewithaspergers.jimdo.com/