What does Superman, Big Bang Theory, John Williams, and Star Wars have in common?
They are all characters that join forces to create Charlotte’s unique personality.
If you ask 14-year-old Charlotte what it means to have autism, you may be surprised by her answer.
Seeing the world through her eyes is a lens not shared by many, not even those of her identical twin and her three older siblings.
Whether it’s her obsession with The Big Bang Theory, her adoration for Star Wars, or her utter disdain for Supergirl, for Charlotte small thought processes can quickly become all consuming.
A typical chatty Year 9 student on the surface, inside the mind of the Lake Macquarie teenager exists a maze of jumbled learnings.
Tasks like deciphering feelings and interpreting sarcasm is, for Charlotte, like reading a guidebook written in a foreign language.
Diagnosed with autism at a young age, she is refusing to let her uniqueness define her, and she wants others to do the same.
With the support of Samaritans, Charlotte is flourishing.
The social welfare arm of Newcastle Anglican coordinates Charlotte’s care plans, including physiotherapy, speech pathology and psychology.
In fact, Samaritans provide
s support to over 400 adults and children diagnosed with autism through Therapies and Behaviour Support, Support Coordination, Supported Independent Living (SIL) and Individual and Group Based Supports.
Autism forms just a part of Charlotte’s colourful existence.
“It doesn't make me stupid or dumb,” Charlotte says.
“It doesn't do any of that. It just makes me learn differently.”
Autism spectrum disorder, or autism, is a persistent developmental disorder.
It is often characterised by symptoms that include difficulty in social interaction, restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour, and impaired communication skills.
There are currently more than 295,000 people living with autism in Australia.
For Charlotte, the symptoms are as varied as the characters that fill her days.
“When I say obsession, I mean it. Autism rules everything in our lives,” Charlotte’s mother Robyn says.
“Every conversation will include a reference to Big Bang Theory, or Anakin, or the 1978 Superman, and don’t confuse Supergirl with Wonder Woman or there will be trouble.”
Keyboards are another of Charlotte’s obsessions.
“She collects computer keyboards, she loves them. She was planning on getting a job at Officeworks so she could play with the keyboards, but she doesn’t want to talk to people.”
"Info dumping" is her other quirky trait.
“That’s dumping information on people and not understanding when they can’t keep up, or don’t want to,” Robyn explains.
“It’s like: ‘Hi
, I'm Charlotte, have you seen the Big Bang Theory? I love the Big Bang Theory. Who's your favourite character? I really love Sheldon. Have you seen this episode? In this episode he does this and that but not with Penny and …”
“She'll do that for half an hour, then she quizzes people.
“We’re learning that others don't have brains like hers.”
It’s a journey that began well before Charlotte’s first birthday.
“This child is an identical twin, and this child is number four of six,” Charlotte’s mother Robyn explains.
“When the twins were tiny, I knew something was different with this one because I had carbon copies, I could see this one was not doing what the other one was.
“This one couldn’t self-feed, hold a bottle, milk used to just run down her. She couldn’t hold a toy, she never put a toy in her mouth, none of that.”
Robyn says Charlotte’s behaviours kickstarted what would be years of searching for support.
“It was a nightmare,” she explains.
“They said that this child had an oral aversion, and that was all that was going on, and that it was from being in the [premature] unit when they were born, because they were born early.
“The doctor just stroked her face and said everything would be okay.”
Meanwhile Charlotte was getting sicker, regularly vomiting and developing a resistance to food.
When Robyn reached out for professional help she was told Charlotte's behaviours likely stemmed from her pregnancy.
"I remember just sobbing.
“I said to my husband, I'm never going to ask for help again.”
Childcare only exacerbated Charlotte’s erratic behaviour, with staff urging Robyn to seek help for her.
“[Charlotte] was screaming when people came into the room,” Robyn says.
“The poor chef [at Childcare] got called an evil person and Charlotte refused to take food or water from anyone except for one person. The list [of concerning behaviours] was as long as your arm.”
Robyn knew then that she needed professional help, and that she'd have to persist until she got it.
"It was because Charlotte was well-mannered that they didn't think she was in desperate need of support.
“She's not violent enough, she's not aggressive enough.
"So she was just popped into the sensory corner and left most days."
In the meantime, Charlotte was attempting to verbalise what she was experiencing.
“When I was younger, I used to say there was people in my body. They lived in my stomach, and they controlled me.”
She was five years old at the time.
“Finally, they did an ADOS assessment on Charlotte and I was told that they didn't want to label her, so they marked the scores down, which meant she then didn't qualify for any sort of funding or support," Robyn says.
By the time she started formal education, it became the school system seeking advice on how best to support Charlotte.
“That’s when we finally got a proper psychological assessment,” Robyn says.
Watching from behind one-way glass, Charlotte was failing at basic tasks.
“It was as blatant as the nose on your face, and everyone sat there behind me saying ‘oh I’m so sorry, how did we miss this’?”
Charlotte has since also been diagnosed with ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, and separation anxiety.
“I knew there had to be better for my child," Robyn says.
"I'm so grateful to have found Ali and Samaritans."
If you or a family member need support please contact us via this link .