Adam Harris Talk

On the 19th of January, Adam Harris, a past student of St. David’s, came back to our school to give a talk to the second years. He spoke about neurodiversity and spoke about his organisation AsIAm.ie. He spoke about the differences between recognising autism and understanding it.

He used interactive activities to help everyone understand the frustrations and challenges of being autistic.

Adam Harris explained how autism does not have an image. That anyone can have autism and many wouldn’t be aware of it. He explained how if there are too many lights, smells and too much noise, autistic people can become very overwhelmed. So some situations can be very difficult.

His organisation and website, AsIAm, is Ireland’s National Autism Charity. Over 3 percent of Ireland’s population has autism. He explained how autism comes with strengths, not just weaknesses. How normal is not a general thing, but each person’s normal is different.

Finally he showed us how autism does not define who you are and that everyone is different.