I think I’ve seen all the episodes of Radio Hell. Even today, I remember the aplomb of Maria Lopez, the financial manager of the student radio station. She was proud, beautiful and rebellious. What I didn’t know was that her interpreter was suffering in silence…
Rachel Fontaine posted seven short videos on social media this week. In this series, she reveals to be on the autism spectrum, thanks to the good advice of the character she played from 1995 to 2001, Maria Lopez. A step which one guesses difficult.
“When I was diagnosed, we were talking about high-functioning autism or level 1 autism (asperger’s),” Rachel Fontaine explained to me. Today, the term “spray” divides and tends to disappear, as it derives from the name of a psychiatrist who probably had Nazi allegiances. Rachel Fontaine therefore speaks rather of invisible autism. She also says to herself, top gun chameleon”.
“High-functioning autistic people have an easier time adapting and hiding their difficulties,” she explains. It doesn’t show. We are invisible! »
It doesn’t seem so much that Rachel wondered for a long time what made her suffer… The doctors suspected bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. At 40, when the mother of the family was plunged into a major depression, it was an astonishing coincidence that finally saved her.
What kept me on this planet was my boy. I couldn’t give up… But I was exhausted and my senses were heightened. I felt and heard everything to the power of a thousand! I told myself that I was crazy, that I was finished and that there was no longer any solution for me.
Rachel Fontaine
Then, one evening, she stumbled across a man’s high-functioning autism testimonial online. She immediately recognized herself… Which shook her up a lot: “I didn’t understand, I found that I didn’t correspond to the image I had of autism! »
If she had to pursue this lead, she would do so with an established expert in screening women. After research, she turned to the DD Isabelle Henault. “I didn’t believe it so much that I wanted a diagnosis beyond any doubt. »
She received it.
Then the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. Rachel Fontaine has learned that even the best “chameleons” exhibit certain traits when they are children. Think in particular of anxiety that leads to meltdowns, obsessive-compulsive disorders or a routine that is very difficult to deviate from.
Little Rachel, she had to count to 10 before entering a room, never walked a line and was so passionate about dogs that she was convinced she was one.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Rachel Fontaine
I felt that I was out of step. I didn’t understand how people worked… They often lied, they were in gray areas, they were nice, but didn’t necessarily like me!
Rachel Fontaine
“It was hard to follow, she explains, but I was sure that if I could look people in the eye, I could understand more things about them. Since it was intimidating, I practiced a lot by staring into the eyes of the animals. »
Not only did Rachel learn to look others in the eye, but she quickly managed to imitate them well. Basically, she was playing a character long before she played Maria Lopez in Radio Hell. Borrowing the behaviors, expressions and postures of the majority was his only recourse to avoid rejection…
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE PRODUCTION
Rachel Fontaine with Michel Charette, who played Jean-Lou Duval in Radio Hell and who participates in one of the capsules for Autism Month.
The game was therefore natural for Rachel Fontaine when, at 18, she landed the role of the beautiful Maria in the youth series of Canal Famille. Radio Hell, it was six seasons of pure happiness for the actress: “Maria does not look like me at all! She overflows, she doesn’t care about anything, she is centered on herself. My God, that personality tasted good! She taught me to have guts and to communicate. She gave me a lot of courage. »
So it was Maria that Rachel thought of when she decided to speak out publicly this Autism Month. It was because she was terrified of talking about herself… “The only one who would give me the guts to do that, it was Maria. »
In the series of capsules broadcast on various social networks, this week, we can therefore hear the character encouraging Rachel Fontaine to reveal her diagnosis to raise awareness of both the public and the medical profession…
Because high-functioning autism is more difficult to detect – particularly in female “chameleons” – Rachel would like GPs to be more likely to consider it when encountering patients with traits reminiscent of the disorder. borderline personality or bipolar disorder.
She also wants there to be more tools in the public system to support people who, like them, suffer for years before gaining access to the keys that allow them to understand themselves: “You often have to turn to the private, but I have friends who can’t afford it. We must make appropriate resources available… For example, I would like to create workshops or self-help groups. »
Passionate, she adds that she wonders how to pique the interest of university students. Those who will soon be able to screen for autism spectrum disorder and guide the Rachel Fontaines of tomorrow towards a certain peace of mind…
Or better, a celebration of who they are.
“The most beautiful trait with us is honesty,” says Rachel Fontaine. When you connect with an autistic person, it’s extraordinary! It’s pure. We don’t do lace, so it’s sometimes very “crap in the teeth”… But it’s pure! »
Tell me about a childhood idol who knows how to keep the admiration for him full.