Brighton

I went to see my autistic boy perform Shakespeare’s ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre’ with the Flute Theatre group last night. How they managed to keep 12 autistic young adults & an audience of family, friends & the wider community engaged is an astounding achievement. These beautiful young people with autism were simply wonderful, bringing so many emotions to all of us with their brilliant performances. We cried and we laughed so much that tears came rolling down our cheeks. Families with children on the autism spectrum rarely (never!) go to the theatre, certainly not to ‘highbrow’ theatre like the RSC for fear of how their young person will respond; (noisy, anxious) or more typically fear of other people’s response, I mean it’s hard enough just walking along the road never mind being in a theatre! The Flute Theatre are consciously and actively challenging this and supporting autism towards increased inclusion. I’m so pleased and proud of our boy, Luke, who is very profoundly autistic; non verbal and struggles to stay focussed. I’m so pleased that he wasn’t ‘left out’ as is usually the case, as the more able young people with autism, the more accessible ‘face of autism’ are included- yep there’s even a hierarchy in disability… even within accessing disability groups! I’m so pleased I fought hard for Luke’s place at his college so he gets to be included, celebrated and championed.