7-year-old Jackson is autistic and lives in Queanbeyan with his family. They love going to Riverside Plaza on Thursdays for late night shopping because it’s nice and quiet.
‘We find it a really accessible time to go and we have dinner at the food court and everyone gets to choose what they want to eat,’ says Jackson’s mum Ciara.
Sometimes the McKillop family struggles with the community’s lack of awareness about reasonable adjustments for autistic people and meeting people where they’re at in terms of inclusion.
‘Everyone has a different understanding of inclusion and you have to meet people where they’re at and sometimes they’re not always up to date with the latest way of being inclusive and what it means to be inclusive and we have challenges with things like that,’ Ciara says.
‘But myself and Jackson’s dad Tim, we’re pretty strong advocates in saying ‘That’s not okay’ or things like that.’
For Jackson and his family, inclusion means feeling like they belong somewhere.
Feeling comfortable to ask for adjustments to an environment — like asking a restaurant to turn down loud music — is empowering for Ciara and her family.
‘We don’t want to cause a scene or make things a big deal or anything like that. Just to feel that our needs are heard and can be catered for is amazing.’
‘I think sometimes when businesses or events think about being more inclusive, they maybe think of it as being too hard or some people think that they're having things taken away from them by things changing or being different,’ Ciara says.
‘If we keep making things more inclusive it will just become standard practice and people won't feel so threatened by that change or that difference.’
One of the things Ciara and her husband Tim find helpful to support Jackson when they go to events is the communication pieces that come out beforehand.
Having accessible maps and knowing things like whether dogs will be at the event is really helpful for Jackson and his family.
Ciara says they can have a huge impact on how Jackson feels going into an event.
‘Those kind of things make a world of difference in building that preparation and making sure he can be as prepared and feel as in control as he can be because that gives him capacity on the day to deal with all of those things that are way out of our control.’
Even still, Ciara says the nature of autism being a dynamic disability means Jackson’s capacity to do things fluctuates from day to day.
‘One day we might go to an event and be able to absolutely smash it and handle everything that’s thrown at him and then another day, just walking through the gates of something might be way too much and overwhelming,’ she says.
We all have sensory needs — like being hungry or overwhelmed by loud noises — and those needs affect us all in different ways, whether we are neurodivergent like Jackson or not.
It’s important to remember that one autistic person’s needs are not the same as another autistic person’s needs.
Autism is described as a ‘spectrum’ because it affects how a person thinks, feels, and interacts with others and their environment — all in different ways.
Ciara says navigating people’s understanding of invisible disabilities like autism can be difficult but having conversations about it makes a more inclusive community.
‘I think the concept of invisible disability is only kind of now becoming more known. I think for a long time if people couldn't see that someone was disabled then they would just assume that there's no adjustments that need to be made,’ she says.
‘I think it's good that these things can be more widely spoken about, and that the wider community can learn more about these things.’