April is Autism Acceptance Month and includes observances to highlight the increasing number of individuals identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the impacts on families and support services. It is also an opportunity to “celebrate the unique perspectives of those living with ASD.” The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes ASD as a “developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behaviour challenges.” Estimates from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, according to 2016 data, indicate that 1 in 54 children has been identified ASD. Source US Government.
In accordance with these stated objectives, I want to share my experience of having the privilege of working with the autistic artist, David Downes for the past 14 years.
I hope that by sharing my experience, I can bring to light, a unique perspective, one which includes the challenges and advantages of accepting and then working with rather than around autism.
It is a 3-minute read, and I hope, by the end of it have gleaned something new about accepting and then working autism.
- I will share with you how working with David has changed my own perception of autism.
- I will share with you insights that I hope will be useful to you as you and your organisations accept and then experience the very real benefits of working with people on the autistic spectrum.
- And share with you what I have learned about what works when working with autism.
I met David in 2009, at his studio apartment in North London. It was immediately obvious to me, or so I thought, looking around at the canvases and paints the pencils, and the single mattress on the floor, that David’s entire life was his art. Everything else around it was chaotic, and disorganised. The broken cups, the mattress on the floor. The art, however, was extraordinary.
I wanted to work with him. I knew that, to do so, we needed some kind of structure, some order to the way we worked. Some kind of sense in all the ‘mess’.
Our initial conversations were odd. I would try to stay focused on what David was saying, and he would go off on tangents. One minute he was talking about sport, next it was dating, next he would be talking about someone as if I knew them. His thinking was scattered, his anxiety palpable. I struggled to keep up, to remain focused.
I noticed, though, that whilst painting, he was totally focused.
I knew David was autistic; it was one of the first things he told me. But I knew nothing about autism.
There were times, if I’m honest, when I found it difficult, to be in conversation with David, which felt like a stream of unconnected, irrational, thoughts, and ruminations.
The work was, however, and remains quite brilliant. In the beginning and for a few years, when selling David’s work, I would say David’s autistic, it means he can draw from memory. I have come to realise though, that that is not the entire picture.
Have defined roles
Over time, it became clear that we had two distinctive and overlapping roles.
David’s role is to imagine and create unique, extraordinary paintings.
My role is to identify opportunities, manage clients, the admin, and business side of things. Our working relationship is different from a typical talent/agent relationship. With autism in the mix, I have realised, that a set of shared values is the essential ingredient:
Identify common values
Underpinning our working relationship today is trust based on the values we share:
Creativity, brilliance, ideas, relationships, learning, challenge, frameworks, and solutions, and we champion accessibility, difference and individuality.
Identifying this commonality and our respective roles has been key to a successful working partnership.
Building a productive working relationship has required effort from both sides; effort that has been rewarded with unique, profitable and impactful projects.
From my experience, this is what works when accepting and working with autism:
- Taking the time to build a trusted relationship.
- Identifying causes of anxiety and finding ways to work around them. It might be something simple, like downloading a Teams app or having a chat before and after a meeting.
- Allowing time for calming behaviours, such as rumination
- Identifying goals, structuring a plan by agreement, and keeping focus.
- Creating the space, mentally, and physically, to enable the use of abilities and strengths.
- The last point is self-awareness
Listen to Unique Insight
David and I had been working together for three or four years when one of my children, who had been doing well at school, was popular, the fastest runner and the best footballer, started to experience major difficulties and could no longer remain in mainstream education. Things became very challenging. My child, we discovered, has a complex neurological profile. Friends and even family had started to tell me that they needed in the ‘right environment’.
Not David. David told me my child is bright and just needed to find their way. They’re smart and have a good heart and are just rejecting ‘the system’ which does not work for them. He told me my child would be fine, accept them for how they are; just different that’s all.
I listened, and it gave me hope. My child is fine today, in college and in work. David saw that was possible. David knew.
Concluding thoughts
Autism is difference. Not less than, not Rainman, not a superhero. Not everyone can be a great artist, mathematician or logistician. It’s been said that when you meet an autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person; every person on the autistic spectrum is unique. Each has something to offer. Each has something he or she wants to bring. Imagine what we lose if we do not make the time to find out?
Over the years David and I have worked together on many unique projects with clients including ITV, Savoy and Chelsea Football Club Foundation. I am so glad that I did not let my own initial judgements get in the way of working with David.
How do you judge autistic people?