This Friday and Saturday was the 7th edition of the international autism meetings. In the gymnasium of Hannah Arendt University in Avignon, around forty stands were present. We found, for example, autistic-friendly toysa company that offered to organize stays for people with autism or even noise-canceling headphones, which reduce the sound load when worn.
Among them, there is Apolline, a young woman of 26, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). She sells her works, paintings and photographs. She regrets that autistic women have so little visibility and relies on this event to discuss her experience. “When I was in elementary school, I liked to pinch people. It was a mark of affection. I like to explain it to the people I meet, so that they understand.”
The opportunity also to exchange advice
For Audrey, mother of an autistic child with spray, this show is also an opportunity to share her experience with other parents, to give advice and to receive it. She herself is regularly confronted with problematic situations with the teaching staff of her son’s college. “In fifth grade, he had an average of 17 but was denied congratulations. And when I asked for an explanation, I was told he was too absent, too withdrawn. I said to myself that they had really understood nothing, I had to remind them that he was autistic! “
This show is therefore an opportunity for her to give advice to parents of autistic children, through the Association Asperger Aide France, in which she is a volunteer.