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Name: | Alex Lowery |
Age: | 20 |
Year of the Fix: | 2014 |
Location: | Holywell, Flintshire |
Campaign: | To raise awareness of stimming within autism |
I have autism, which means that every so often, I start stimming.
Short for self-stimulatory behaviour, stimming involves making a series of repetitive movements such as hand flapping, spinning around and rocking back and forth.
It helps me to concentrate and is also a way for people with autism to process their thoughts and cope with stress and anxiety, but I realise that it can unnerve people if they don’t understand it.
With Fixers, I want to show others that stimming isn’t a bad thing and it’s nothing to be afraid of.
Here is a list of Fixers helping me with my Fix:
Abbie James | Andrew Urqhart |
Caitlen Williams | Dannielle Smith |
Ella Davies | Hannah Davies |
Jade Shaw | Karl Lambert |
Kimberley Gibbons | Mark Jones |
Matas Baikavskas | Mille Hansen |
Natalie Gaffney | Robun Foster |
Maggie Bowen, Additional Learning Needs Trainer
Maggie Bowen has supported my Fix. She agreed to be interviewed to appear in my broadcast piece.
September 2014
The National Autistic Society shared a link to my broadcast story on their Facebook. With over 163,000 likes on their page, my story was being shared across the country within just twenty minutes! To visit their Facebook and see what other work they're doing, click the image below.
I've had such great feedback about my campaign and you can read some of these comments below!
Kathleen: 'Thanks for making this video. My son stims a lot. I've always felt it is a coping mechanism for him and I wouldn't dream of trying to stop him.'
Andrea: 'This is great, my son does the hand shaking that was demonstrated in this video. He has only been doing it for about a year - usually when he is very excited. This has helped me to understand it more and for that I am grateful Alex. Thank you.'
Wendy: 'Well done Alex Lowery for creating awareness and for being you!'
Carole: 'This is so good to see. I hate therapies which try and stop a child from stimming so they "fit in" with society. It is not about fitting in with society it is about society becoming more aware and accepting of others who are different than them. It is so lovely to see such a pro-autism message.'
Michelle: 'Well done to you for raising awareness! Keep stimming!'
Alison: 'This is a great video and project, thank you Alex. My 20-year-old autistic son has very poor communication and verbal skills so to hear this from a peer is brilliant. To an outsider, even family, stimming often looks like the person is distressed and it is that that causes misunderstanding. It is good to hear that this is not always the case.'
Maria: 'An excellent explanation from Alex. It really helps us to understand those with autism who are non-verbal and cannot explain how it helps them.'
Edith: 'Really helpful Alex! Everyone should see this.'
Christine: 'Well done. People can be really ignorant of anyone or anything different. The more aware the public are the easier it will be for integration and acceptance.'
Mary-Anne White and Lucy Wills
Becky Thorn
Jade Kingdom
Macauley Collinson
Hannah Baker
Chelsie Brown
Sam Womack
Jo Quinn
Ben Simms
Fern Lulham
'Ben'
Meghann
Becky
Olivia G
Fixers
Ethan Mcinally
Hannah Carter
Liam Thomas
Shano
Alexandra Garrick
Timothy Cranfield