In your blog posts, you write about different identities and people making assumptions about you. Could you tell us a bit more about that?

As someone in more than one minority, I find stereotypes and assumptions frustrating. I want people to talk to me and get to know me the same way they do anyone else, and only treat me differently when I ask them to. I’ve had strangers say “ni hao” (Chinese for hello) and “Konichiwa” (Japanese for hello), some well-meaningly, some mockingly. I’ve had people shout “Great wall of China!”. I frequently get asked “where are you from?”, then “where are you REALLY from?”. One time a woman approached me on the street and offered me Chinese literature.

When it comes to assumptions about autism, I’ve had people say “I bet you’re good at IT/Maths!” or assume I don’t understand emotions or jokes. I wish people wouldn’t tell me how autism works as if they know better than me!

If you could destroy one myth or stereotype about autism, what would it be?

I wish people wouldn’t think that autistic people can’t feel love or empathy. Although I’m not very outwardly expressive, I feel these things strongly, and have used this to help me learn how to be a good friend - it's superficial and/or practical communication I find harder.

You also talk about your experience of being an autistic Christian. Do you think being autistic influences your approach to faith?

I think being autistic means I analyse things a lot, and Christianity is no exception. It has caused doubt and confusion in some areas, but it also gives me a different perspective, without blindly following other people’s expectations.

Do you face any challenges as an autistic person in the Christian community?

I’ve had struggles in church before and I think that’s because a church is a community of people like any other. I’ve felt overwhelmed at church social events. I’ve fallen out with and grown apart from church friends and acquaintances. I’ve had people be impatient with me. But I’ve also found some really great church friends. In that way I’ve been very lucky.

Are you working on any creative projects at the moment?

My main project, along with my blog, is Aspie Cat, a series of graphic novel style drawings about a cat living among a lot of dogs and humans (including an autistic pre-teen girl), and experiencing struggles that parallel common issues autistic people have with neurotypicals. It was inspired by my love of cats, my own experiences, and my cat Bouncer, who my mum has described as being an “Aspie cat”. It’s based on an idea for a young adult novel that I worked on for my third year uni dissertation. I also have an unfinished draft for a non-fiction book based on my blog.