TOPSHAM

“I have autism,” Mt. Ararat High School senior Ben York told a group of professional and district staff attending a School Administrative District 75 staff development day last Friday at the school. “Hi.”

Accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation called “Sharing my Autism,” York talked about his challenges having autism in a school environment — part of his Capstone Project and a graduation requirement. His was one of five presentations offered Friday, along with topics on student bullying, student health issues and positive behavior support.

York was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age 4. The information he presented was based on his own experiences and those of other autistic people he knows, and research he’s done on others with autism.

“However, no single presentation can have a complete wide-reaching effect for all autistic individuals, so there will be some individuals that present very differently from how I do,” York said.

He explained that he has a “cornucopia” of sensory issues, including difficulty reading body language, tone and facial expressions.

“Everything you say and do can and will be used against you, because I will take it literally,” he said. “I promise.”

He also explained his tactile issues. He doesn’t want people in his space and particularly touching him from behind where he can’t see them. It is tougher at a young age when kids are more “touchy” and “grabby” at school. Loud noises and echoing spaces and jumbled voices are very difficult, too.

Autism is the result of over stimulation of the senses, and, York said, “We have far too many synapses in the brain than there really should be, so that which we feel is at a greater level and to a greater degree than what a lot of other people feel.”

York also has the inability to tolerate certain foods. Most of us wouldn’t want to eat a live moth “because it will feel weird and it will be in your mouth and it’s bothering you. For me that was a cucumber filled with salad dressing.”

These challenges illustrate why it was so difficult to eat in the cafeteria in elementary school.

“There are helpful solutions, of course,” he said. He used to have “lunch bunch” and would invite a different friend every day to eat with him and an education technician in a quiet space.

Home schooled between grades two and eight, a friend helped reintroduce him to the cafeteria, which has become enjoyable. He’s learned how to block out most of the noise.

In the classroom, sometimes teaching methods must be adapted for autistic students and York said parents’ input should be heard. Even at the elementary level he was expected to self-advocate but, “when you’re just learning how to tie your shoes” this is not something you are capable of doing.

He also wanted to dispel the misconception that people with autism have difficulty empathizing and lack emotion.

“It’s merely an inability to naturally understand social cues to say, ‘You’re sad right now, you’re happy right now,’” York said, but autistic individuals can learn social cues.

York grew emotional as he stressed, “Autism is not a disease. It cannot be caught, it cannot be transferred. It is not something that is wrong with us and it is not something that needs be cured.”

He dislikes organizations that view autism this way: “That parents must deal with this child that has been robbed from them and replaced with this little monster that is incapable of interacting like a normal human being.

“And that’s not the case because autism is part of my identity, and it’s a very central part of my identity,” York continued. It’s part of his identity but not his identifier. Though the senior will go on to study mathematics at Bowdoin College, he wants to stay active in the autistic community and advocate for someone else like him.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with being autistic and I think that’s a concept that bothers me and that I’m trying to sort of break down with these presentations,” he said.

As a young child there was no one like him. It was many years before York met another person with autism. A major issue he sees is that there are very few examples of autistic individuals in the media.

“I am often likened to Sheldon Cooper from ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ I understand that likening because I’m very good at math and science,” he said. “Sometimes I sound rather incoherent … and sometimes I may have difficulties with social interaction. But Sheldon is a jerk.”

While perhaps a funny character for a sitcom, York said, “Sheldon is really a stereotype version of what Asperger’s is.”

York can now share his experiences because “this is who I am and I’m proud of who I am and so sharing it in any capacity, it’s very rewarding for me.”

April has been National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s.

dmoore@timesrecord.com