January 20, 2025 • 20 mins
Join us as Aiden and Vicky explore the experiences of young autistic people, focusing on communication challenges and sensory processing differences. Understanding autistic individuals' need for clear, direct communication and the importance of autonomy in their lives.
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Discover Voices (c) 2024, a production by registered charity, disAbility Cornwall & Isles of Scilly
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Episode Transcript
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(00:07):
We arethe advocacy fellows who really think
well and empowering young adultswith learning disability.
So tell me what it was like
growing up with autism. it.
(00:32):
you don't know any different.
Because you've always been autistic.
That's the way you were born, isn't it?
So you don't know what it's liketo not be autistic.
I think that's a pretty tricky openended question, isn't it?
Which is
one of the difficulties
in communicationis that when questions are open ended,
there is so much informationthat could be answered
(00:54):
that it's hard to knowwhich bit to answer, isn't it?
So you find itmuch easier to have a closed question
or a very specific question,so that you know
which part you need to be answering.
Would that be right? Yeah.
So in terms
(01:16):
of what it's like to be autistic,that's again
it's a pretty that's a pretty hardquestion to answer isn't it.
we live in a in a worldthat is built for neurotypical people.
And so they don't other other peopledon't necessarily understand.
You don't understandwhat it's like to be neurotypical
and other people to understandwhat it's like to be autistic.
(01:37):
Is that fair? Yeah.
And so in terms of communication,
neurotypical peoplehave a particular way of communicating,
which is very different to an autistic wayof communicating.
in an autistic way, it, it's,it needs to be.
And you prefer it to be directand concise, don’t you?
(01:59):
Which to people that are not autistic
and they can often think thatthat comes across as rude.
or blunt, don’t they?
And so quite often people will thinkthat you are rude or blunt
when actually you are just being honest,
or you are just state of fact,or you are just telling the truth.
Would you say that's fair?
(02:19):
Yeah. Yeah. So,
and the other kind of differenceswithin non
autistic people and autistic peopleis that you experience the world
in a very different waywhen it comes to the environment.
And your senses
and so that you,
you feel things in a very different wayto non autistic people.
(02:43):
So things like lightsand lots of noise and
Kind of
just everything in your, in your dayto day world, if there's too much of that
stimuli coming in, that becomes a bitoverwhelming sometimes, doesn't it?
And so you need time away from people
(03:05):
and lightsand noise and time to regulate yourself.
Would you say that's true? Yeah.
And should we
go on and talk about, like the,the PDA profile that you've got?
Can do.
Should we first of all explainwhat that what that stands for.
(03:27):
So PDA stands
for pathological demand avoidance
which is probably not
the best wording I would say.
because that suggeststhat you avoid demands,
which you do avoid demands, but it's notthe demand that is being avoided as such.
(03:48):
It doesn't really matterwhat the demand is, it is
an anxiety responseto being asked to do anything.
So it doesn't matter
even if it's something that you
enjoy doing,that you like doing what you want to do.
It's your brain triggering
anxietyas soon as you’re asked to do anything.
Would you say? Yeah. And so
(04:12):
as a as a coping strategy,
you need to feel like you’re in controland that you have autonomy.
And because that keeps you safeall the time you know what's happening
and you can predict what's happeningand you are in control.
That means that you're safeand that keeps your anxiety low
doesn't it?
(04:32):
So there's a really nice phrase
instead of pathological demand avoidance,which sounds
not very helpful.
people oftensay it's a persistent drive for autonomy.
You always need to feel autonomousand you need control to feel safe.
And so even in this situation, measking you to answer questions.
(04:55):
You're finding really difficult,aren’t you?
And being sat here with a camerain front of you and you, it's
that expectationas soon as there's an expectation on you
or somebody elsewith PDA to do something that
instantly
triggers an anxiety response,a fight or flight or freeze.
(05:17):
And at the minute you're in freezebecause you can't really respond
and you will.
so when we first arrived in the room,you didn't want to come in the room,
and then you did come in the roomand you used your phone as a distraction.
And then if someone asks something
you felt like you couldn't answer.
So it comes acrossthat you're just ignoring people,
(05:39):
which to other people comes acrossas really rude But for you, it's
because you've got so much anxietythat's been triggered
and that you that you can't.
So it's not a won’t or a choice.
It's you.
You physically can't do thatbecause your body, your brain takes over.
It doesn't allow youto do the things that you want to do.
Do you think that explains that? Yeah.
(06:03):
in terms of,
when you're in that fightor flight situation
if you was in an emergencysituation, Aiden, how would you like
to be spoken to by the fire serviceif you was trapped in a car
or in a buildingand they need to support you?
(06:23):
How is the best way for them to do that,
do you reckon?
To speak to me.
Tell me everything that’s going on.
What else did we say?
That's so that's a really importantpoint isn't it.
So if you,
you need to know what they're
expecting of you and you need to know howthey're going to help you.
(06:46):
So they need to be able to verbalize thatand tell you exactly what they're doing
and why they're doing it.
And I think it's a really important factor
within anybody that's autistic,but especially somebody with PDA,
there has to be a reasonto why somebody is doing something.
And if there is no reason, or you seeno reason or you see no purpose,
(07:06):
that makes it even harder for you to to,
carry out that demand or request.
So it's really important that they explainto you everything that is happening,
and why it's happeningand what they're expecting you to do.
But do you remember the other partthat we talked about in terms of,
perhaps if they needed to
(07:28):
physically help you in some way,
like, like touching youor what would be important
if something needed to actually come upto you and physically move you.
To tell me what to do.
Because again,when we talked about the sensory system,
you find it really hard for peopleto be in a close proximity to you.
Yeah.
And so somebody was just going to come inand man-handle
(07:49):
you and move you outeven if they think they're helping you
or they think they're getting youout of a very dangerous situation,
that would instantly
make that flight fight freeze happen.
And in that instance, it would probablybe fight and you would probably lash out.
Yeah.
So they're coming in to help you,but you might
because you've been triggeredby somebody touching you.
(08:11):
You weren't expecting it.
You might suddenly lash out.
And that would obviously escalatea situation.
And you're not doing that to be unkind.
And you're doing that becausethat's a response that your body makes.
So that's a very important pointthat I would talk through
if you think really very clearly. Yeah.
and I think the other the other part of that
(08:32):
that we talked about in the car was about,
just an expectation to answer a question
is, is enough to trigger that flight,
fight freeze response because you can'tanswer a question in the moment.
So when a fireman is talking to you,they need to be able to talk
in a way that doesn't warrant an answer,
(08:56):
which is very different to how
perhaps that that general workwhich we had pointed out
right now about your name,and that's an instant demand,
and thatwill instantly actually need to shut down
because they're expecting youto say what your name is,
and they're trying to get informationout of you to see how if you were,
how you were, if you, in any way, knowthat they're doing their job,
(09:20):
that don't change that wrong,that that will trigger you to shut down.
Yeah.
So it's it's importantfor us to know that
if they can talk in a waythat doesn't need an answer,
but they can just be there to explainand reassure them.
That would be very helpful.
Yeah.
if I was asked to do somethingthat's instantly very difficult,
(09:40):
I Aiden has one speed, and that's.
And that isn't because heis being purposely slow or,
or, rude, or
trying to be a rebel,
which is what we often,you know, we joke about.
It's actually because agent is assessingthe whole situation.
(10:03):
There is a demand on him.
There's an expectation to leave which hastriggered that flight fright freeze.
And when you hold that to the very,very last minute
before you actually do something.
And I think, like I said,if it's an emergency situation
and everything is goingat a very fast pace,
that will be very, very difficult for youbecause there is no autonomy
(10:23):
that there is.
This is what you're going to doand you to do it.
and someone else is enforcingthat on, you know,
make sure instant responseis to hold back.
And yes, I'll do it,but I'll do it in my own time
when I assess the situation.
And there is reallyno other way out of here.
And so I think that's athat is important to know.
(10:45):
Yeah. So if you were to
be in an emergency situation,
quite often other people perceivethat risk as very high.
Rightly so.
Aiden may not necessarily perceivethat as a high risk.
because oftenyou think you're invincible.
(11:07):
Would you say that's fair?
and often he perceives that other peoplewill move out the way, for instance. So,
if a car was coming down the roadand I was crossing the road,
Aiden's instant response would be morehe can see me, he's got eyes
and I'm in the road,so therefore he will stop.
(11:29):
So it's it's a different way of thinking
which other people wouldn'tnecessarily understand.
and could sometimes potentially,you know,
put you or other peopleinto that kind of dangerous situation and
a typical person's response
is to do things quickly and safely and,
(11:53):
in an organized manner. But
but that's very expectation and demands
heavy which you would be triggered by.
so that again is an important
thing for other people to understandwhy you might behave in that way, like
we may be holding back for not responding
(12:13):
instantly to somebody’s request.
Yeah.
what does it feel like when somebody
asks you to do something
like without giving a reason?
For not explainingwhy you have to do something.
(12:34):
I don’t know.
can you explain whatthat feels like inside you?
So when let's take itout of an emergency situation.
When granddad asked you todaywhen you came,
and can you move the pot for me
(12:54):
in the garden?
did you instantly jump to thatand go and do it?
Of course I can granddad.I'd love to help you.
Is that what you said?
not what what did you do?
whatever that.
You walked,you didn't answer him, and you walked.
Really,really, really slowly to the garden.
(13:16):
And you were hoping, I think, that
I would probably go and do it for you.
Do you think that would be right?
but that isn't because you didn'twant to do it.
That's because -it didn't need doing, more to the point.
Why did it not need doing?.
(13:36):
Because granddad doesn't need everythingdoing when everyone’s round there.
Things don’t have to be doneright at that minute.
Okay, so you would say you wouldhappily do it, but in your own time.
Yeah.
And I think that's the pointyou're making.
You would do it in your own time
because that puts you back in control.
(13:57):
And that gives you the autonomy to,
to be able to get through and stopthat anxiety being triggered.
Yeah.
So I think one of the biggest elementswithin, within autism.
But that it's highly,
indicative of a PDA profile
(14:18):
is the need for equality.
And in order to get that kind of equal,
equilibrium between people.
So in Aiden's world, everybody is equal.
There is no hierarchy.
There is,
you know, he couldn't care lesswhether you were talking
to the prime minister, to a policeofficer, to a four-year-old child.
(14:41):
Everybody is treatedequally in your in your view, aren't they?
That's how you see the world. And
and that iswhy trust becomes such a massive,
it has such a massive influence
on you being able to connectand build relationships with people
(15:03):
because it isn't
about where they are in a hierarchy of theour society.
It's about whether you trust somebody,and that's how you enable
relationships and connections to be built.
and so if you were in
an emergency situation in a typical,
in a typical world,
the majority of peoplewould trust the firemen
(15:24):
that come in through the doorto come and save you.
And you would not you wouldn't necessarily
automatically trustsomebody just because of their job title
or their position you would needthat relationship with them first.
Yeah.
And that's why communicationin those situations is so key
and that somebody is consistentand they are clear and concise
(15:46):
and direct,and they enable you to feel safe.
And that's a really important part of PDA.
Because
everything in your worldis completely equal
and you don't Feel that instant power push
(16:06):
and so somebody has to earn that, trust
and earn their respectto be able for you to trust them.
And that's a very big important partfor you.
As soon as somebody losesthat trust that you will,
they lose your respect that you can't havea relationship with them be.
Yeah.
And and they lose that respectby not being consistent,
(16:29):
not doing what they say,doing one thing, saying another.
People have to do what they say.
and always stick to that don’t they?
Yeah.
And so in, in an emergency situationthat's really important
that someone is able to kind of getthat rapport with you and to trust them
in order to be able to not be triggeredin an anxiety way to them.
(16:53):
Do the demands are asked of you.
Yeah.
And I think that's importantto kind of know
when even in our own family situation,
there are certain people that Aiden can,
cope with demandsfrom or expectations from
because he has got that relationshipwith them.
He trusts them.
There's a connection there
(17:13):
and there are other people that he can't.
And and that instantly triggersthat anxiety response, doesn't it?
And an anxiety responsedoesn't look like anxiety, does it?
An anxietyresponse can look like fighting, shouting,
swearing, disassociating, ignoring,
distracting yourself, being rude.
(17:35):
And it doesn't necessarily look likesomeone quivering and shaking in a corner.
Which is important to say
Aiden,
tell me about your achievements.
I've got loads.
I've done my level one surf coaching, I’ma qualified
surf coach, qualified beachlifeguard, coast serial instructor
(17:58):
set up my own business school
‘Aloha Kakou’ And I work for a company
called Coastal Crusaders.
What's one of the things that you dowith Coastal Crusaders
A project called Seated Surfing
for people who can’t surf,
and we're just for the disabled surfing
(18:21):
Why can't they surf?
Depends.
Give me some examples.
Paralysed, strokesAnd what about your Aloha Kakou surf club?
Do you want to talk about that?
Surf club for for learning disabilities.
And who set that up? Me.
(18:43):
What does Aloha Kakou mean?
Hello. Welcome.
And inclusive and inclusion.
It does, and why is it important to havea learning disability surf club, Aiden?
Because there aren’t any, there aren’t anylearning disability category in surfing.
So if you wanted to compete in surfing,
(19:07):
there isn't,
you can't compete at the momentbecause there wasn't a category
that anybodywith a learning disability, is there?
So you're hopingthat you can get some competitors, don’t
train them too well, they might beat you.
And then you can have surf competitionswith other people
that have a learning disability. Yeah.
And hopefully that will happenall around the world.
(19:28):
And then you can travel to. Yeah.
Where do you want to travel to? Hawaii.
Have a surf competition in Hawaii.
Or go back to Australia.
That's an awesome goal, isn’t it?
To aim for.
Yeah.
(19:50):
This video was produced by Discover
Voices, part of DisabilityCornwall and Isles of Scilly.
To check out all of our contentsimply search Discover Voices on YouTube.
We arethe advocacy fellows who really think
well and empowering young adultswith learning disability.
So tell me what it was like
growing up with autism. it.
(00:32):
you don't know any different.
Because you've always been autistic.
That's the way you were born, isn't it?
So you don't know what it's liketo not be autistic.
I think that's a pretty tricky openended question, isn't it?
Which is
one of the difficulties
in communicationis that when questions are open ended,
there is so much informationthat could be answered
(00:54):
that it's hard to knowwhich bit to answer, isn't it?
So you find itmuch easier to have a closed question
or a very specific question,so that you know
which part you need to be answering.
Would that be right? Yeah.
So in terms
(01:16):
of what it's like to be autistic,that's again
it's a pretty that's a pretty hardquestion to answer isn't it.
we live in a in a worldthat is built for neurotypical people.
And so they don't other other peopledon't necessarily understand.
You don't understandwhat it's like to be neurotypical
and other people to understandwhat it's like to be autistic.
(01:37):
Is that fair? Yeah.
And so in terms of communication,
neurotypical peoplehave a particular way of communicating,
which is very different to an autistic wayof communicating.
in an autistic way, it, it's,it needs to be.
And you prefer it to be directand concise, don’t you?
(01:59):
Which to people that are not autistic
and they can often think thatthat comes across as rude.
or blunt, don’t they?
And so quite often people will thinkthat you are rude or blunt
when actually you are just being honest,
or you are just state of fact,or you are just telling the truth.
Would you say that's fair?
(02:19):
Yeah. Yeah. So,
and the other kind of differenceswithin non
autistic people and autistic peopleis that you experience the world
in a very different waywhen it comes to the environment.
And your senses
and so that you,
you feel things in a very different wayto non autistic people.
(02:43):
So things like lightsand lots of noise and
Kind of
just everything in your, in your dayto day world, if there's too much of that
stimuli coming in, that becomes a bitoverwhelming sometimes, doesn't it?
And so you need time away from people
(03:05):
and lightsand noise and time to regulate yourself.
Would you say that's true? Yeah.
And should we
go on and talk about, like the,the PDA profile that you've got?
Can do.
Should we first of all explainwhat that what that stands for.
(03:27):
So PDA stands
for pathological demand avoidance
which is probably not
the best wording I would say.
because that suggeststhat you avoid demands,
which you do avoid demands, but it's notthe demand that is being avoided as such.
(03:48):
It doesn't really matterwhat the demand is, it is
an anxiety responseto being asked to do anything.
So it doesn't matter
even if it's something that you
enjoy doing,that you like doing what you want to do.
It's your brain triggering
anxietyas soon as you’re asked to do anything.
Would you say? Yeah. And so
(04:12):
as a as a coping strategy,
you need to feel like you’re in controland that you have autonomy.
And because that keeps you safeall the time you know what's happening
and you can predict what's happeningand you are in control.
That means that you're safeand that keeps your anxiety low
doesn't it?
(04:32):
So there's a really nice phrase
instead of pathological demand avoidance,which sounds
not very helpful.
people oftensay it's a persistent drive for autonomy.
You always need to feel autonomousand you need control to feel safe.
And so even in this situation, measking you to answer questions.
(04:55):
You're finding really difficult,aren’t you?
And being sat here with a camerain front of you and you, it's
that expectationas soon as there's an expectation on you
or somebody elsewith PDA to do something that
instantly
triggers an anxiety response,a fight or flight or freeze.
(05:17):
And at the minute you're in freezebecause you can't really respond
and you will.
so when we first arrived in the room,you didn't want to come in the room,
and then you did come in the roomand you used your phone as a distraction.
And then if someone asks something
you felt like you couldn't answer.
So it comes acrossthat you're just ignoring people,
(05:39):
which to other people comes acrossas really rude But for you, it's
because you've got so much anxietythat's been triggered
and that you that you can't.
So it's not a won’t or a choice.
It's you.
You physically can't do thatbecause your body, your brain takes over.
It doesn't allow youto do the things that you want to do.
Do you think that explains that? Yeah.
(06:03):
in terms of,
when you're in that fightor flight situation
if you was in an emergencysituation, Aiden, how would you like
to be spoken to by the fire serviceif you was trapped in a car
or in a buildingand they need to support you?
(06:23):
How is the best way for them to do that,
do you reckon?
To speak to me.
Tell me everything that’s going on.
What else did we say?
That's so that's a really importantpoint isn't it.
So if you,
you need to know what they're
expecting of you and you need to know howthey're going to help you.
(06:46):
So they need to be able to verbalize thatand tell you exactly what they're doing
and why they're doing it.
And I think it's a really important factor
within anybody that's autistic,but especially somebody with PDA,
there has to be a reasonto why somebody is doing something.
And if there is no reason, or you seeno reason or you see no purpose,
(07:06):
that makes it even harder for you to to,
carry out that demand or request.
So it's really important that they explainto you everything that is happening,
and why it's happeningand what they're expecting you to do.
But do you remember the other partthat we talked about in terms of,
perhaps if they needed to
(07:28):
physically help you in some way,
like, like touching youor what would be important
if something needed to actually come upto you and physically move you.
To tell me what to do.
Because again,when we talked about the sensory system,
you find it really hard for peopleto be in a close proximity to you.
Yeah.
And so somebody was just going to come inand man-handle
(07:49):
you and move you outeven if they think they're helping you
or they think they're getting youout of a very dangerous situation,
that would instantly
make that flight fight freeze happen.
And in that instance, it would probablybe fight and you would probably lash out.
Yeah.
So they're coming in to help you,but you might
because you've been triggeredby somebody touching you.
(08:11):
You weren't expecting it.
You might suddenly lash out.
And that would obviously escalatea situation.
And you're not doing that to be unkind.
And you're doing that becausethat's a response that your body makes.
So that's a very important pointthat I would talk through
if you think really very clearly. Yeah.
and I think the other the other part of that
(08:32):
that we talked about in the car was about,
just an expectation to answer a question
is, is enough to trigger that flight,
fight freeze response because you can'tanswer a question in the moment.
So when a fireman is talking to you,they need to be able to talk
in a way that doesn't warrant an answer,
(08:56):
which is very different to how
perhaps that that general workwhich we had pointed out
right now about your name,and that's an instant demand,
and thatwill instantly actually need to shut down
because they're expecting youto say what your name is,
and they're trying to get informationout of you to see how if you were,
how you were, if you, in any way, knowthat they're doing their job,
(09:20):
that don't change that wrong,that that will trigger you to shut down.
Yeah.
So it's it's importantfor us to know that
if they can talk in a waythat doesn't need an answer,
but they can just be there to explainand reassure them.
That would be very helpful.
Yeah.
if I was asked to do somethingthat's instantly very difficult,
(09:40):
I Aiden has one speed, and that's.
And that isn't because heis being purposely slow or,
or, rude, or
trying to be a rebel,
which is what we often,you know, we joke about.
It's actually because agent is assessingthe whole situation.
(10:03):
There is a demand on him.
There's an expectation to leave which hastriggered that flight fright freeze.
And when you hold that to the very,very last minute
before you actually do something.
And I think, like I said,if it's an emergency situation
and everything is goingat a very fast pace,
that will be very, very difficult for youbecause there is no autonomy
(10:23):
that there is.
This is what you're going to doand you to do it.
and someone else is enforcingthat on, you know,
make sure instant responseis to hold back.
And yes, I'll do it,but I'll do it in my own time
when I assess the situation.
And there is reallyno other way out of here.
And so I think that's athat is important to know.
(10:45):
Yeah. So if you were to
be in an emergency situation,
quite often other people perceivethat risk as very high.
Rightly so.
Aiden may not necessarily perceivethat as a high risk.
because oftenyou think you're invincible.
(11:07):
Would you say that's fair?
and often he perceives that other peoplewill move out the way, for instance. So,
if a car was coming down the roadand I was crossing the road,
Aiden's instant response would be morehe can see me, he's got eyes
and I'm in the road,so therefore he will stop.
(11:29):
So it's it's a different way of thinking
which other people wouldn'tnecessarily understand.
and could sometimes potentially,you know,
put you or other peopleinto that kind of dangerous situation and
a typical person's response
is to do things quickly and safely and,
(11:53):
in an organized manner. But
but that's very expectation and demands
heavy which you would be triggered by.
so that again is an important
thing for other people to understandwhy you might behave in that way, like
we may be holding back for not responding
(12:13):
instantly to somebody’s request.
Yeah.
what does it feel like when somebody
asks you to do something
like without giving a reason?
For not explainingwhy you have to do something.
(12:34):
I don’t know.
can you explain whatthat feels like inside you?
So when let's take itout of an emergency situation.
When granddad asked you todaywhen you came,
and can you move the pot for me
(12:54):
in the garden?
did you instantly jump to thatand go and do it?
Of course I can granddad.I'd love to help you.
Is that what you said?
not what what did you do?
whatever that.
You walked,you didn't answer him, and you walked.
Really,really, really slowly to the garden.
(13:16):
And you were hoping, I think, that
I would probably go and do it for you.
Do you think that would be right?
but that isn't because you didn'twant to do it.
That's because -it didn't need doing, more to the point.
Why did it not need doing?.
(13:36):
Because granddad doesn't need everythingdoing when everyone’s round there.
Things don’t have to be doneright at that minute.
Okay, so you would say you wouldhappily do it, but in your own time.
Yeah.
And I think that's the pointyou're making.
You would do it in your own time
because that puts you back in control.
(13:57):
And that gives you the autonomy to,
to be able to get through and stopthat anxiety being triggered.
Yeah.
So I think one of the biggest elementswithin, within autism.
But that it's highly,
indicative of a PDA profile
(14:18):
is the need for equality.
And in order to get that kind of equal,
equilibrium between people.
So in Aiden's world, everybody is equal.
There is no hierarchy.
There is,
you know, he couldn't care lesswhether you were talking
to the prime minister, to a policeofficer, to a four-year-old child.
(14:41):
Everybody is treatedequally in your in your view, aren't they?
That's how you see the world. And
and that iswhy trust becomes such a massive,
it has such a massive influence
on you being able to connectand build relationships with people
(15:03):
because it isn't
about where they are in a hierarchy of theour society.
It's about whether you trust somebody,and that's how you enable
relationships and connections to be built.
and so if you were in
an emergency situation in a typical,
in a typical world,
the majority of peoplewould trust the firemen
(15:24):
that come in through the doorto come and save you.
And you would not you wouldn't necessarily
automatically trustsomebody just because of their job title
or their position you would needthat relationship with them first.
Yeah.
And that's why communicationin those situations is so key
and that somebody is consistentand they are clear and concise
(15:46):
and direct,and they enable you to feel safe.
And that's a really important part of PDA.
Because
everything in your worldis completely equal
and you don't Feel that instant power push
(16:06):
and so somebody has to earn that, trust
and earn their respectto be able for you to trust them.
And that's a very big important partfor you.
As soon as somebody losesthat trust that you will,
they lose your respect that you can't havea relationship with them be.
Yeah.
And and they lose that respectby not being consistent,
(16:29):
not doing what they say,doing one thing, saying another.
People have to do what they say.
and always stick to that don’t they?
Yeah.
And so in, in an emergency situationthat's really important
that someone is able to kind of getthat rapport with you and to trust them
in order to be able to not be triggeredin an anxiety way to them.
(16:53):
Do the demands are asked of you.
Yeah.
And I think that's importantto kind of know
when even in our own family situation,
there are certain people that Aiden can,
cope with demandsfrom or expectations from
because he has got that relationshipwith them.
He trusts them.
There's a connection there
(17:13):
and there are other people that he can't.
And and that instantly triggersthat anxiety response, doesn't it?
And an anxiety responsedoesn't look like anxiety, does it?
An anxietyresponse can look like fighting, shouting,
swearing, disassociating, ignoring,
distracting yourself, being rude.
(17:35):
And it doesn't necessarily look likesomeone quivering and shaking in a corner.
Which is important to say
Aiden,
tell me about your achievements.
I've got loads.
I've done my level one surf coaching, I’ma qualified
surf coach, qualified beachlifeguard, coast serial instructor
(17:58):
set up my own business school
‘Aloha Kakou’ And I work for a company
called Coastal Crusaders.
What's one of the things that you dowith Coastal Crusaders
A project called Seated Surfing
for people who can’t surf,
and we're just for the disabled surfing
(18:21):
Why can't they surf?
Depends.
Give me some examples.
Paralysed, strokesAnd what about your Aloha Kakou surf club?
Do you want to talk about that?
Surf club for for learning disabilities.
And who set that up? Me.
(18:43):
What does Aloha Kakou mean?
Hello. Welcome.
And inclusive and inclusion.
It does, and why is it important to havea learning disability surf club, Aiden?
Because there aren’t any, there aren’t anylearning disability category in surfing.
So if you wanted to compete in surfing,
(19:07):
there isn't,
you can't compete at the momentbecause there wasn't a category
that anybodywith a learning disability, is there?
So you're hopingthat you can get some competitors, don’t
train them too well, they might beat you.
And then you can have surf competitionswith other people
that have a learning disability. Yeah.
And hopefully that will happenall around the world.
(19:28):
And then you can travel to. Yeah.
Where do you want to travel to? Hawaii.
Have a surf competition in Hawaii.
Or go back to Australia.
That's an awesome goal, isn’t it?
To aim for.
Yeah.
(19:50):
This video was produced by Discover
Voices, part of DisabilityCornwall and Isles of Scilly.
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