
It was 1991 and I was six years old, standing next to my mother in her favourite jewellery store in our small suburban town when a woman told her that I would struggle academically. “You will have to come to terms with it”, the woman told her. “She’s not smart. You will have to make plans for this. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to her.” My speech was delayed until I was eight years old. I have encountered numerous levels of stigma throughout my life – yet this comment, when I was six years old… never left me. Never underestimate the power of words.
I have only recently started discussing my synaesthesia. I work in diabetes and metabolic health – everything is graphs and numbers. My singular focus allowed me to achieve high marks in my post-graduation qualifications, start multiple businesses and run clinics across half of Australia. People living with autism or neurodivergence are more than their list of perceived deficits. When understood, we contribute greatly to the world around us.