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Gursharan Speaks at National Autism Show
23 September 2022
Year 13 student Gursharan was delighted to be invited to speak at the national Autism Show. She shares her experiences with us.
The Autism Show is an annual national event held in London, Birmingham, and Manchester, and is held in association with the National Autistic Society. It is a welcoming environment for all, autistic or non-autistic, that accepts people of all backgrounds and invites them to explore autism.
After approaching the organiser of the show, I was forwarded to a colleague who had been assigned to delegating speakers to the various dates. A few months later, I received an email late one evening and I was incredibly (but pleasantly) surprised that they had asked me if I was free on the 25th and what topic I would like to speak about.
I chose to speak about autism in the BAME community, and the experiences that come with it. Parts of my speech caused laughter, whilst others left me with sympathetic faces. I talked about my beliefs in the importance of representation and brought in my passion for the field of Law and justice: ‘I have a huge, huge, huge passion for human rights and social change, and I care hugely about representation within the justice system. I am incredibly passionate about justice and the law, and I strive to represent people like me. I am passionate about making the unseen seen, the unheard heard, the unrepresented represented.’
I spent the day at the show and was able to speak with other autistic speakers, listen to their experiences and learn from them, as well as from professionals. I felt
comforted when hearing about the experiences of others, knowing that I wasn’t the only one to have felt this way.
The whole basis of my speech was focused on the fact that there is a lack of research on autism in the BAME community, and that through people like me, I hope this can change.
I hope that the stigma around autism in all communities can be broken down and that there is a wider acceptance for it.
I felt gratitude towards all the people that came to see me speak (although I have to admit the front row was mostly my family) and I was in disbelief at the number. I spoke for 15-20 minutes, but as I was speaking, I kept looking up at the number of people who turned out, and I could not stop saying thank you: ‘I have never spoken in a capacity like this before, in a place like this before, with people like me before, so for giving me the space to do that - thank you.’
After I had finished speaking, I was approached by a few people who had listened to my speech, and I can remember turning around after speaking with them and seeing a short
queue form along the bottom of the stage. I spoke to people from different backgrounds, some from the BAME community, some not; some who had other disabilities and were urging
me to ‘keep doing what you’re doing’; and some who worked for the NHS and were informing me of new projects investing in the research of autism in the BAME community.
This experience has helped me to gain a stronger sense of confidence in myself and has enabled me to connect with people of all ages whilst engaging in topics that I am
passionate about. No matter who you are, I feel that the Autism Show provides such an inclusive environment for all to ask questions and feel comfortable doing so. Through my
speech I found that by using small words, I was able to create big ideas; through my small words, I was able to create big feelings in those that were watching.
Gursharan Bhamra
