Uncle Rob

Autism is a disorder that can not easily be described. It can be reflected in different ways and to varying degrees. Everything that people with autism see, hear, smell, feel is processed in a different way. And that brings strengths and weaknesses along with it. People with autism often have a good eye for detail, they are honest, straightforward, analytical and hardworking, but they have trouble making contact, are often afraid of changes, have a need for rituals and are often hypersensitive to stimuli. More than 1% of the Dutch population - about 190,000 people - has a form of autism. It is not clearly visually apparent, and no person with autism is the same. Autism is often confronted with prejudices, misperceptions and stigma. Thus, autistic people encounter misunderstanding, exclusion and discrimination, which makes it more difficult to function in society and it can exacerbate the impact of the mental disorder. With this project I hope to shine a different light on autism, so that people are able to view the beauty of autism and that autistic people can also be interesting, funny and sweet. Since autism exists in many varying forms, more stories of autistic people will be following in this project, starting with the story about my uncle Rob. He suffers from autism, but to me he is just uncle Rob. He is kind, well organized and a bit peculiar. I find it sweet how he lives his life in his own way, in a small town in the Netherlands. And I want others to see that too.