BBC 2 now - Chris Packham: Asperger's and Me

[MyBrilliantDisguise]

Anyone watching?

Wow - what a fantastic piece of TV. His description of how he taught himself to 'appear normal' was so moving.

Great program. He came across as amazingly open and honest, so unusual to see this in a "celebrity".

We missed the first 15 mins but I have to applaud a fantastic ìnsite.

My DP has ASD, and was nodding along in agreement throughout. It was great for me to see his girlfriend's take on the condition. We both laughed at times as they had the exact same conversations we have had. It almost felt like validation for me that how I felt as a partner wasn't unique.

Understandably (and this is not a criticism) we often hear about ASD through parental experiences, so to hear straight from the horses mouth so to speak about the condition was fantastic for us.

Another fan of chris

I think we can learn a lot from people in thier 50/60s who were diagnosed very late in life. In our family we have FIL who was diagnosed around 60years old. He was unemployed for most of his life but I hope that when DS1 grows up the employment world will be more accepting and it was heartening to see that some companies are amending interview processes etc and gives me hope that when he starts a career he will be able to compete on a Mort level playing field.

I think it’s very important for people to see that people on the spectrum are normal and just because someone has learnt to act ‘normal’ doesn’t mean they don’t struggle

Because so much of people’s perception of autism is the non-verbal hand flapping end of the spectrum that they don’t think someone can have autism and still be a functioning member of society’s

What a wonderful program! I have a DS and DH with an ASC and although they are different in their ways to Chris P lots rang true for me and I loved the end part about employment etc. DS always says to me he will move to Silicon Valley when he is grown. That's if the current education system doesn't fail him like it is now :(

Wow. I think I love him even more than I did before. I don't want autistic people cured: I want the world shaped better to fit them.

Excellent programme, my dd isn't ASD but I could still relate to lots of the issues he described. She struggles with lots of sensory issues and also with strong feelings of loss, in fact all emotions can be heightened at times.

Will def watch it again with her, she loves Chris Packam so will be encouraging for her to see that adults still struggle with these things.

It was an amazing programme. I really admire Chris Packham for making it.

I think CP is fantastic. But the difference between his Aspergers and those like my son and others in special schools is light years.

It was a massively unfair portrayal of ABA too, with very brief and highly edited footage of the school. In the UK, ABA aims to do nothing more than teach skills and enable communication through reward and reinforcement. There is zero punishment aspect, and no talk of ‘normalising’ kids. Showing footage from the 60s was pretty outrageous too - imagine someone coming to the UK from abroad now and on the plane over here being shown footage of mainstream schools from the 60s, with corporal punishment and teachers shouting at and humiliating children!

Christmas on desert island discs is well worth a listen you can download it.

His sister jenny packham is obviously massively successful fashion designer I wonder how both kids ended up so successful.
He talks more about the kestrel and his childhood obsession with animals on desert island discs, he filled the house with all sorts if creatures. His parents sound incredibly tolerant.

His cottage in the woods was gorgeous!

yes i wonder whose fame came first? Chris or Jenny?

A quite quick wiki says he started on the Really Wild Show in 1986 and she launched her brand in 1988, though I'm sure there would have been a lot of hard work getting to those points. Perhaps they just had very supportive, encouraging parents.

Yes I think their par really allowed them to follow their own interests. It can't gave been easy having a house full of bugs and creatures

Hats off to their parents indeed

Just watching it, it's got me going from tears to laughing. He's always been one of my heroes and now so even more. Incredibly revealing too seeing the side of him that's off camera, he's in such the right job where he can share his obsession. And it's useful understanding how much of an impact those crucial points in his life have been, things that happen to our kids at school really can really stick with them.

I found this absolutely fascinating. What an extraordinary person he is. I really admire his honesty and his remarkable self-awareness. A really fascinating insight into Aspergers, how it's shaped him and how he relates to the world.

Just coming in this thread to address some comments that ABA seems 'brutal' and 'hideous'. My own experience of ABA is not like how they showed in the US school. ABA for my son has involved lots of play, positive personal relationships and bonds, fun and a lot of learning. It has made the difference between DS being able to leave the house and not. For us, if is not trying to make DS more 'normal' as Chris said. It is about teaching him the skills and opportunities he craves to socialise, play and experience less anxiety. DS will always have classic autism. He will never be neuro typical. But he enjoys life enormously since we have done ABA.

I've just seen your post Vera. I hadn't seen it before I posted. Yes, I completely agree.

I was interested to see this after hearing him on Desert Island Discs.

Very open and - well, poignant.
Sad he has lost one of his poodles and the second is in failing health.
His sister noted for all his difficulties interacting with people he is very good at manipulating them.
I think the prospect of attending a graduation or wedding is too distressing for him to contemplate.

Can anyone tell me when the Desert Island Discs episode featuring Chris was on?

It is not coming up on my podcast feed. Thanks.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03cd94y

@2014newme

Thank you so much. I thought it was a recent episode.

Missed it at the time....obv!