A day in the life of Daniel Sheehan

Written on 24th Nov 2015 by Alex Lowery

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Today we have a guest article by Daniel Sheehan. Like myself, Daniel is a Youth Patron with Ambitious about autism. He’s written an article about his life with autism. I hope you enjoy!

My name is Daniel and I am 19 years old. I was diagnosed with ASC when I was 3. I prefer to call it ASC and not ASD as I don’t see my Autism as a Disorder. But I do accept it is a condition which means other people may consider me different from them in some way. I am happy with who I am but life does have some challenges for me. As I get older I see that some challenges will be difficult for me to over come alone and that worries me sometimes.
I think other people see me as my diagnosis sometimes and don’t look beyond it. I am Daniel, I have blue eyes, brown hair, I like College, Cooking, Baking, talking to people, researching, learning about the world. I am not just Autistic Daniel full stop. I have certain things I enjoy chatting about but I only talk about them if the other person doesn’t initiate conversation. I think some people assume I only want to talk about certain things but that’s just not true. I wish people would discuss things that interest them with me, I find making friends a problem as I never know what to say and then I talk about what interests me to fill the gaps and if those things don’t interest the other person then often they don’t want to talk to me. Social Communication can be really confusing at times.
I would probably say Social Communication is my biggest barrier and always has been. When I was in Primary School it took me longer than my peers to learn the rules of the classroom, the expectations of the teachers and how to fit in. I couldn’t follow the rules in games, it just looked like everyone was running round aimlessly so that’s what I did too, but I would run in lines and stim. Stimming helped to keep me calm and I enjoyed flapping my arms and humming as I ran up and down. I don’t think the other children realised I was trying to join in as I never got asked to be part of any of their games.
I went to a Communications School as a High School though I went to a Mainstream Primary. My Mum was worried I would find the Social Communication in Mainstream High School too much. But I found the people in the Communication School struggled emotionally a lot and a few of them were very unpleasant at times as they struggled with handling their aggression. To be honest I was glad to leave there.
I find that I don’t fit into most of the boxes society puts people in. I don’t have learning difficulties, I have 7 GCSE’s, and NVQ in Catering and I am currently studying NVQ in Bakery at College. I work voluntarily in a café when I am not at College with people with learning difficulties but we have very little in common. The problem is I would struggle with the expectations of a large commercial kitchen also. Mum and I think once my studies are complete I can look for work in a small café. It’s very hard when you can’t find a place to fit.
In my spare time I do a lot of work for the POWAR Council in my area. We are a group of young people most of us have Autistic Spectrum Condition and we work on issues for the Local Authority, I also belong to a Research Group at UCLAN University working on issues facing young disabled people. I do work with Ambitious about Autism based in London as well and in my spare time I attend a youth group and I am also a Cub Leader. I find things Socially easier to deal with as its more obvious what is expected of me, the rules are very clear and the topic of conversation is usually guided. I also enjoy going to these meetings as I like to feel useful and contribute to Society. I have a lot of offer. I want to give people chances like I have had in life and it’s nice to give something back as well as having the chance to share my ideas and listen to other peoples, it all helps with making friends and communicating.
I’m not so different, I just want to be accepted for who I am and for people not to make assumptions about me once they find out I have a diagnosis of ASC.
It can feel hard some times to make decisions about my future and my career because I will be competing for jobs with people who can portray themselves well socially in an interview. I have a lot to offer and I love my work.
I am Daniel I am honest, kind and loyal…. I just want people to see me for who I am not what they think I am. Struggling socially has held me back in some ways but I try not to let it get me down though if I am honest it seriously does bother me at times. I try to get round it by just finding places where fitting in doesn’t matter so much, or where I can do what matters to me along side other people. I suppose life for me is about adapting and being who I am rather than being a round peg in a square hole.

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