Lewis Carty 30 'Yes, I know it's not been an easy road to travel down. There have been many obstacles that I have faced as well, and issues with certain people that I had with in the past, but I have learnt along the way...' Lewis is an exceptional man. I first met him when I was a teaching assistant and he a student at a secondary school. Writing that makes me feel very old, although for my own vanities sake, I was straight out of A-Levels myself! It has been such a privilege to have been even a small part of Lewis's journey, and to have kept in touch with him all these years. He is passionate about telling his story, and I was thrilled when he got in touch saying he wanted me to interview him. I hope you enjoy! How would you describe yourself? Well, how I describe myself, well, I often think that I am usually a very happy and cheerful chap, and sometimes quite funny and comical as well with some things. I often go through phases when something negative happens, like a couple of things happened this year that were pretty negative, but I have been finding ways to push through and keep being the better person that I am now. How would others describe you? There are many people who think of me as one of the kindest and most helpful people to anyone who ever needed it, and sometimes quite a happy and cheerful chap. Even though I know some people don't see me like that, but I am not here to talk about them, because I don't want this to be a negative thing. What is your job? I work 39 hours a week as a Waste Disposal Technical Operative in a Sandpaper Foam Block Factory. I have worked there for over seven years this year, and have been in two careers up to this point since leaving school at 17. I am happy to be somewhere I feel like I belong. What’s one of the most important things in the world to you? I am a huge music fan and I listen to a lot of different things. I can't live without it, and also being an Autistic person as well, I let music help me to get through certain things too. Being Autistic doesn't deprive me from what I have to do. Have you had any difficulties growing up with autism? The hardest things about being Autistic came mainly from when I was younger, when I was not fitting in with many other people at the time. Some people thought of me as a threat and said they didn't like me, when I hadn't done anything to them. It pushed me away. I felt exiled from those people and I hated the fact that I was addressed as a special needs child at school and all that. I am happy now that being an adult, I feel that I have broken away from that bubble of being addressed as a special needs person, and happy to continue to do things and get on with what I do now. How about the positives? Autism doesn't deprive me from what I do for my work, or going out with my friends or family. I am also a lot happier to open up about things than I used to be, and also I often help other parents with special needs children themselves. I volunteer with my local Scout Group. I think those are the best things about being Autistic. How was school life for you? Well, I want to try and talk about this without being so nasty, and I don't want to mention anyone's names. I had an amazing time at school with many people, but it was more towards the end of my final year, that I wasn't happy with a lot of things and I was becoming disillusioned with being with the others [students] everyday. It started to bother me hugely that I was getting trouble from some of the teachers there, and some of them started saying that, 'I wouldn't last five minutes in a job' and 'The employers would be too scared to employ me' and all that sort of stuff, and that really riled me, you know, it riled me a lot, and I just felt that I really wanted to go. That’s an awful thing for someone to say to you… When I left, I found sanctuary in what I wanted to do, and I feel happier with what I am doing now. I must say that there hasn't been a falling out or any animosity between me and the others [students] I have been with, and I am happy with what they are doing. think it was nice to be apart for a while and we did meet each other a couple of times, but I don't think we want to meet all the time. You often say you have succeeded at life ‘despite being autistic.’ Can you explain what you mean by that? Well, how I have succeeded at life, despite being Autistic is somewhat complicated. I personally think it’s because I have been in a working life since I was 17. It took me seven years to get a permanent role in the job I am doing now, and I have had two careers . In my view, it's a massive achievement to me. Also working voluntarily as a Beaver Scout Leader…it's fantastic to help the children and also know the other locals in my home village by doing that as well, it's fantastic. You didn’t let anyone hold you back.. Despite the comments that I was told when I was leaving school, I knew that they were all wrong, because I am happy to be where I am now. Yes, I know it's not been an easy road to travel down. There have been many obstacles that I have faced as well, and issues with certain people that I had with in the past, but I have learnt along the way. Were you inspired by anyone? I recently found out that former pop singer Daniel Bedingfield has been diagnosed with Autism and that shocked me as I was listening to an interview with him recently…when he mentioned that, I couldn't believe what I heard. It made me wonder why I connected to his song, 'Never Gonna Leave Your Side' so much when I was a kid. I have re-listened to the song lately after hearing that interview, and it clicked with me a lot. I don't claim to be like other autistic people, however, because I know they have their own ways of dealing with it and have done better with it, and I want to do the same with my own success, and help others with it as well and help others to understand it better. What ways can we try and understand autism better? Autism Awareness is a lot better than when I was a kid, but it's still got a long way to go. I am happy to have seen many TV Shows relating to Autistic people, especially in a fictional context like The A Word and After Thomas, which are worth watching. I have watched those Chris Packham Autism Documentaries, especially the Inside Autistic Minds documentary, where four Autistic individuals have made their own little Autism short films and that was brilliant. I enjoyed those. I know music is a huge passion of yours… I was introduced to Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Buddy Holly and all that from the age of four or five, and I used to play them constantly as a kid. My Dad was a rock fan, he played Meat Loaf, Mike And The Mechanics and all that stuff, and my Mum was into 80s music and country music such as Bellamy Brothers, Culture Club and all that Who were your early influences? My first favourite band as a kid, as most others were, was Busted, and they still are to this day. I listened to Westlife, Robbie Williams and those pop artists at the time at Primary School. Enrique Iglesias was another favourite artist of mine, at that time. How about when you got a bit older? I went to secondary school and discovered Green Day, Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis, Kings Of Leon, Foo Fighters, Nickelback, Stereophonics, Take That and all the big bands at the time. I got into Bon Jovi as well. When I left school and became a young adult, I started listening to heavier rock and metal music such as Disturbed, Guns N Roses and Metallica and all that as well, and I could list a lot of different artists from that genre of music, and now I listen to a lot of different things too. It's nice to have a good mix of music, especially with female artists I listen to, such as First Aid Kit, Birdy, The Last Dinner Party, Ward Thomas, Catherine McGrath. Birdy's music has helped me with a lot of things that happened this year. I could list many of my favourite artists, but it could take me all day. What would be your dream festival line-up? Well, on Friday Night, my headliner would be Nickelback, supported by Kings Of Leon, Halestorm, Green Day and Hoobastank. Saturday Night Headliner would be First Aid Kit, supported by Birdy, The Staves, Kodaline and Niall Horan. Sunday Night Headliner would be Foo Fighters, supported by Stereophonics, Busted, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and The Big Moon. That would be the Dream Festival Line Up. How about your ideal weekend? Well, my ideal weekend would be a night out with some friends at a music concert or live show somewhere on a Saturday night and I could name many artists that me and my friends would like to see, and I could list as many artists I love to see live, but I would love to see Birdy live with some friends, I really would. What is your favourite season? I am a Summer person. I just love to be out in the summer. I am a very active person, so I love a bit of outdoor exercise, with running and walking, etc, and I also do like to be out and have a drink with some friends as well, so I love the summer the most. Do you enjoy reading? Yeah, I do love a bit of reading, but I like to read mostly horror, but I love drama based stories as well. My favourite authors are James Herbert, Shaun Hutson, Richard Laymon and most famously Stephen King, but I have read many Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and all those kinds of books in my time.I also have read The Wind In The Willows a lot more than any other novel. I read all the Harry Potter books when I was growing up too. How about TV and films? Well, I love mostly drama, and I am a massive Doctor Who fan, as well, but I love most horror films too, including a film called Cabin Fever which features an actress I love called Cerina Vincent, who used to play a girl called Maya, in a TV Series called Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy that I used to love as a kid and I think you can still love that show as an adult. You're braver than me- I can't watch any kind of horror! I love The Expendables film series too, with Jason Statham, who is one of my favourite actors and I love Carrie, the original with Sissy Spacek in the main role, but I like the Chloe Grace Moretz version too, but not as much as the original. I also love Stig Of The Dump. I am loving Blackadder again as I just bought the DVD Box set today and want to re-watch it properly. I also love Emmerdale and Coronation Street too, but I don't like to talk about them a lot, but living where I live feels a bit like Emmerdale sometimes... I know you are an excellent runner… Yeah. I have been into running since I was 23, and I have been out running to keep myself physically fit, and also it has helped me not feel so distressed with anything. I also have been to the Gym for a while as well, that has also helped to get me physically fit and strong too, it's made me feel like I can get stronger and stronger. I do a bit of boxing in the Gym as well, that's something that has really helped me as well, because as I said earlier of getting distressed as an Autistic person, having some exercise has really helped me as much as listening to music has as well. But I don’t intend to use my boxing skills to be violent to anyone. What advice would you give to anybody who is struggling? My advice would be for anyone who is Autistic or has an Autistic Child, or anyone who suffers from any mental health issues, is to know that we are not alone in this world. I lost one of my best friends in 2018, and that drove me towards my worst point. My friend and her family helped me to open up. In return, I have helped her and her two children after she split up from her ex-husband, especially her daughter who suffers from similar things to me. Are people as understanding towards you? I still get some people who collar me and say some really nasty and unfair things. I admit that I have done the same to some people in the past,, but that was because of how much they provoked me, but I also think that there is a lot of help out there... How do you spread awareness? I have done some charity work with my running in the past for Mind and the National Autistic Society, who are great charities. I also want to give out as much advice as possible, because I normally try to avoid any hateful and discriminatory people against Autistic beings and I see a lot of that online and stuff. There are Autistic communities I follow closely, especially from a guy called Paul Micallef who runs Autism From The Inside on YouTube. He is from Australia and I watch his videos every week, mostly at weekends due to my work and everything, and he is a very interesting guy. I do recommend him. Also, in my view, don't always take advice from some experts, because a lot of them don't know what they are doing. I think that it's not necessary to be addressed with having special needs or a mental health issue. I never liked to be addressed like that. I am happy to be where I am now, and I am happy to help others in need too. Book: Slugs by Shaun Hutson Film: Carrie TV Series: Doctor Who Song: Keeping Your Head Up by Birdy Theatre Show: The War Of The Worlds Word: Unprecedented
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorEllie Fearn Categories
All
Archives |