About
Thirteen-year-old Max loves gardening, retro gaming, and his cat Dexter. He lives in Walsall with his big brother, Alfie, and his parents, Caroline and Shaun. When he grows-up he wants to be a postman because he ‘likes delivering things to people and enjoys walking’. Max is also autistic.
Discussing Max’s hobbies, his mom Caroline said: “Max’s special interests are retro gaming and gardening. He loves learning fact and figures about gaming and collecting consoles – he has a PlayStation 1 and 2, a Nintendo Gameboy advance and a Wii. We scour charity shops together to find old games to play.”
Hobbies
While gaming is a typical hobby for a teenager, Max’s passion for gardening developed a different way. After months in Covid lockdowns Max was struggling to go outside, his school recommended gardening to encourage him to go out just once a day to water his plants.
Caroline remembers: “It was the perfect solution and now he loves growing things. He spends hours in his greenhouse with his dad, learning about growing fruit and vegetables, which he loves to pick and eat when ripe.”
Diagnosis
Green-fingered Max was diagnosed autistic when he was three-years-old, in 2014. After being on the waiting list for eight-months, he underwent a six-week multidisciplinary assessment with a health visitor, clinical psychologist, paediatrician and a speech and language therapist.
“Looking back there were clear signs from around 18 months;” said Caroline, “He lost words, wasn’t making eye-contact and preferred to play alone. We never suspected autism though. Like many people, we had pre-conceived ideas of what autism looked like and that wasn’t Max.
“At the end of his assessments we were invited to a meeting where they confirmed his diagnosis. They handed us a letter and some leaflets and sent us on our way. That was 10 years ago, and we’ve had no support since. The lack of post-diagnosis support is a real challenge for parents and adults who are newly diagnosed.
“But we read everything we could about autism and joined a support group for parents who have autistic children, which I still go to 10 years on.”
School
Max also has sensory processing disorder (SPD), delay phase sleep disorder and severe learning delay. He goes to a SEN secondary school which Caroline describes is ‘perfect’ for him.
“Max loves school and always has done. Typically, he enjoys structured routine, and school gives him that. He now has transport to and from school, which is according to him is the best bit of his day. As well as making great progress in core subjects such as English and Maths; they also learn life-skills such as making a bed, a hot drink and hoovering. This all helps give Max independence and supports his journey into adulthood.”
Caroline and Shaun also work on essential life skills with Max outside of school, so he can have some level of independence. Most recently he’s been learning how to use his new travel pass on buses and trains.
Discussing life as the parent of an autistic child, Caroline said: “We are and always will be his support system and voice. We have fought every step of the way for him – from getting 1:1 support for him in his mainstream primary school, to securing his EHCP and his place at SEN school.
“We want him to have a positive future, with the same opportunities as his brother and other young adults. A successful education, a supportive employer, and a life that give his joy and fulfilment in his life. Most importantly we hope that he is loved and cared for by people that respect him.”
Autism Action
Max and his family are big supporters of Autism Action, particularly their commitment to showing the reality of being autistic. Caroline said: “For lots of autistic people life is far from idealistic, and many families struggle day to day to care for autistic loved ones.
“We want Max to feel positive and proud of who he is and what he has achieved so far, he deserves equality and a life like anyone else his age. We believe Autism Action will help to build that better future.”
Questions with Max
What is the best thing about being autistic?
I am very good a focusing on things and shutting the rest of the world out.
What about the world is hard when you’re autistic?
I don’t like loud noises or things I’m not expecting.
If you could teach people one thing about autism, what would it be?
Sometimes I need bit longer to understand the world and it would be nice if everyone knew this. People that have autism are not all the same and to treat us individually.
