AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
Filmmaker Tamsin Parker
“As someone with Aspergers, I can’t be stereotyped by anyone.”
This is the opening message delivered by filmmaker and animator Tamsin Parker in her short film, Force of Habit.
Ms Parker is challenging the perceptions of women with autism in a production she hopes will make others on the spectrum more visible.
Force of Habit was shortlisted in the Student Category at the Autism Uncut film and media awards in April.
Ms Parker begins her film with an unequivocal message. “This is who I am.”
Why we need to lose the stereotypes around autism
The 24-year-old is anything but the stereotypes often ascribed to people who are on the autistic spectrum. “Most assume those with Aspergers to be quiet, unassuming and analytical,” she says.
“I, on the other hand, am boisterous, loud, impetuous, friendly, talkative and outspoken.”
Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder that affects a person’s social interaction, skills and communication with others. Some people with Aspergers may find it hard to understand other people’s emotions and feelings.
One in 100 people in the UK is thought to have an autism spectrum disorder.
Force of Habit explores why Ms Parker, from north-west London, identifies so strongly with Tuco Ramirez, a character in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and how she discovered herself through the fictional Mexican outlaw.
Ms Parker’s favourite film genre is the spaghetti western, not least because of how often characters are shown kicking in saloon doors.
“It’s a habit of mine, to kick in doors,” she told i. “I think I’ve been doing it since sixth form.”
It is an incident in a church involving a kicked door and an angry parent who would not accept Ms Parker’s apology which became the impetus for her film.
Force of Habit took one month to make, a period Ms Parker largely devoted to developing the animations and Photoshop paintings within it.
Ms Parker says she expresses herself through Tuco, a character she considers highly flawed and misunderstood – but ultimately a tower of strength. “When I first watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly I looked at him and I saw myself reflected in him. He was lively, he was goofy, he was charming – if dangerous. He made mistakes. He is a goofball and a clutz, but he is strong and determined.”
I’ve always found it easy to be myself
Ms Parker is proudly outspoken. “I’m very outgoing and I love talking to people even though I keep to myself a lot as well.”
At secondary school, she was often on her own. “But I wasn’t ashamed of being myself.”
“People gave me a hard time, at least in the first year at secondary school because I was one of the first autistic people there, but I’ve always found it easy to be myself.
“I’m very sociable in public situations and when I’m at parties and get-togethers – although I do occasionally get tired of other people. Sometimes there is nothing wrong with them, it’s just that I can’t bear the conversations or the laughing and shouting sometimes.”
Autism in women is underdiagnosed and many women are in their twenties and thirties before being diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum. A 2012 survey found only eight per cent of women had been diagnosed with Aspergers by the age of six. Ms Parker says she was lucky because she was diagnosed with Aspergers aged nine.
“As a child, I was often in my own world,” she says. “I couldn’t stand certain noises or certain sensations and I liked things a certain way. I had the usual echolalia in my early years. I would repeat other people’s words or sentences. It probably helped that I was a very early reader.
“I didn’t know for a long time about the lack of women, or the small amount of women, who are diagnosed with Aspergers. But I did have only one or two female friends on the autistic spectrum. My friends were mostly male.”
Ms Parker’s ambitions are now to make a full-length animated feature. She hopes that this film will give a much-needed platform to women who are on the autistic spectrum.
To have been shortlisted for the Autism Uncut award was “fantastic”, adds Ms Parker. “It was such a rewarding experience for me.”
Source: As a woman with Aspergers, I can’t be stereotyped by anyone
Filmmaker Tamsin Parker
“As someone with Aspergers, I can’t be stereotyped by anyone.”
This is the opening message delivered by filmmaker and animator Tamsin Parker in her short film, Force of Habit.
Ms Parker is challenging the perceptions of women with autism in a production she hopes will make others on the spectrum more visible.
Force of Habit was shortlisted in the Student Category at the Autism Uncut film and media awards in April.
Ms Parker begins her film with an unequivocal message. “This is who I am.”
Why we need to lose the stereotypes around autism
The 24-year-old is anything but the stereotypes often ascribed to people who are on the autistic spectrum. “Most assume those with Aspergers to be quiet, unassuming and analytical,” she says.
“I, on the other hand, am boisterous, loud, impetuous, friendly, talkative and outspoken.”
Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder that affects a person’s social interaction, skills and communication with others. Some people with Aspergers may find it hard to understand other people’s emotions and feelings.
One in 100 people in the UK is thought to have an autism spectrum disorder.
Force of Habit explores why Ms Parker, from north-west London, identifies so strongly with Tuco Ramirez, a character in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and how she discovered herself through the fictional Mexican outlaw.
Ms Parker’s favourite film genre is the spaghetti western, not least because of how often characters are shown kicking in saloon doors.
“It’s a habit of mine, to kick in doors,” she told i. “I think I’ve been doing it since sixth form.”
It is an incident in a church involving a kicked door and an angry parent who would not accept Ms Parker’s apology which became the impetus for her film.
Force of Habit took one month to make, a period Ms Parker largely devoted to developing the animations and Photoshop paintings within it.
Ms Parker says she expresses herself through Tuco, a character she considers highly flawed and misunderstood – but ultimately a tower of strength. “When I first watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly I looked at him and I saw myself reflected in him. He was lively, he was goofy, he was charming – if dangerous. He made mistakes. He is a goofball and a clutz, but he is strong and determined.”
I’ve always found it easy to be myself
Ms Parker is proudly outspoken. “I’m very outgoing and I love talking to people even though I keep to myself a lot as well.”
At secondary school, she was often on her own. “But I wasn’t ashamed of being myself.”
“People gave me a hard time, at least in the first year at secondary school because I was one of the first autistic people there, but I’ve always found it easy to be myself.
“I’m very sociable in public situations and when I’m at parties and get-togethers – although I do occasionally get tired of other people. Sometimes there is nothing wrong with them, it’s just that I can’t bear the conversations or the laughing and shouting sometimes.”
Autism in women is underdiagnosed and many women are in their twenties and thirties before being diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum. A 2012 survey found only eight per cent of women had been diagnosed with Aspergers by the age of six. Ms Parker says she was lucky because she was diagnosed with Aspergers aged nine.
“As a child, I was often in my own world,” she says. “I couldn’t stand certain noises or certain sensations and I liked things a certain way. I had the usual echolalia in my early years. I would repeat other people’s words or sentences. It probably helped that I was a very early reader.
“I didn’t know for a long time about the lack of women, or the small amount of women, who are diagnosed with Aspergers. But I did have only one or two female friends on the autistic spectrum. My friends were mostly male.”
Ms Parker’s ambitions are now to make a full-length animated feature. She hopes that this film will give a much-needed platform to women who are on the autistic spectrum.
To have been shortlisted for the Autism Uncut award was “fantastic”, adds Ms Parker. “It was such a rewarding experience for me.”
Source: As a woman with Aspergers, I can’t be stereotyped by anyone
