SEND Tutoring chats to Pete Wharmby author of Untypical and What I want to talk About

Today on SEND Tutoring’s Podcast we have Pete Wharmby a late diagnosed autistic and author of two wonderful books Untypical and What I Want to Talk About. Welcome Pete

After being diagnosed as autistic at the age of 34 in 2017, I have immersed myself in working to improve autistic awareness, and acceptance and make the world a more suitable place for the neurodivergent community. I am most active on Twitter, where I go by the handle ‘@Commaficionado’, and on YouTube, where my channel is approaching 3000 subscribers. My first book, What I Want to Talk About, was published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in September 2022, and my second book, Untypical, was published by HarperCollins in March 2023. I have also written a number of articles, interviews, and book chapters, and appeared on BBC Radio 2. I am a former secondary English teacher and a father-of-one.

Pronouns: he/him

Promotion:

Twitter: @commaficionado

Instagram: @PeteWharmby

YouTube: youtube.com/PeterWharmby

These are the questions that were sent ahead of our recording:

1. You were diagnosed with autism in adulthood, did you seek that diagnosis yourself, and why?

2. You wrote a great article about how Autism Awareness Week is not enough, what would you like to change?

3. What top three things could change to make the world a more inclusive place for autistic people?

Pete spoke about doing the Autism Spectrum Quotient test that gives an idea of scores and the relation to where an individual might be. He was expecting a score of 30 but received a result in the 70s, way higher than the threshold and it was this that served as the push to get a diagnosis that he received in 6 months.

He spoke about his initial feelings that receiving a diagnosis of Autism meant that he hadn’t wasted anyone’s time, particularly the psychiatrist, and then later a sense of relief.

The issue with Autism Awareness Week is it is just a week and then the world reverts to the norm.

His last answer to Q3 encompassed believing autistic people when they give their opinion and for people to stop being so dismissive and disbelieving. He stated that many autistics give up as they fight to be believed and mask their discomfort which leads to burnout and meltdowns.

He also mentioned the importance of dedicated training in schools which should be led by autistic people in order for it to be valuable and take effect.

Lastly, he spoke about how we must remain curious and follow up on autistic communities in different demographics in order to give them a voice. Particularly, nonverbal persons to have light shone on their plight.

Thank you so much for coming on to SEND Tutoring’s Podcast!

If you have any questions on the topics discussed in this podcast, or are looking for help finding a specialist one-to-one tutor for your child, book a free consultation with us today, we’ll be happy to help.