Who is Charlie?

This is a personal account of what it is like to have Asperger syndrome , from the viewpoint of Charlie Edwards.

Please note that it is a personal view and does not necessarily represent the views of Research Autism.

Charlie Edwards

Charlie is a very complex character.

Trying to find out “who is Charlie”, has taken many years of deep thinking, after which, Charlie has usually ended up worrying over his state of confusion!

Listed below are some examples of how Aspergers affects Charlie:

He can only understand 24 hour clocks, he does not understand the time in a 12 hour clock
Collects item’s (note books, plastic bottles and other items
Likes having Gadgets
He is Honest and caring
He is brilliant with numbers
He always wears a mask to cover up his true feelings
A young man who has found life hard and confusing
He does not remember important things (eg: Doctors appointments, food)
He finds the world scary as well as hard to understand
Charlie needs time on his own
Likes relaxing music
Uses his own phrases and expressions (his own language)
Can take things literally –
Routines (needs to know whats happening on a daily basis)
Lacks in creativity.
Finds it hard to make decisions
Does not understand much about life
Does not know how to socialise properly without help or support
Always goes to another planet (when he is bored and also to escape reality)
Views things in numbers (everything is viewed in numbers rather than how things appears to other people, and those numbers are always more than 4 digits)
Prefers coin’s rather than paper notes (Charlie likes to know how much he has on him and coins are easier to understand)!
Finds it hard to understand body language (facial expressions, emotions, feelings etc)
Instructions (they do not work for Charlie, but if you ask Charlie to do some thing he might do if you have explained why he needs to do it)
Charlie finds it hard to understand situations (crimes, fights, arguments, friendships, relationships etc)
Always wants to learn new things but finds it hard (with the right help and support, Charlie can bring out his hidden talents)
Charlie can be contradictive if he feels that someone is wrong. (he’ll argue his point of view across- this can be annoying to others)
“World” (does not like to watch the news much about other parts of the world, but only some stories fascinates him)
Bullying (Charlie has been bullied through out his school life because no one understood him or his disability, so he may find it hard to define having a laugh and being bullied)
Finds it hard to “process” information

Here are some good points about Charlie:

Good sense of humour-when he understands a joke!! but can also make others laugh
Punctual
Smart Appearance (this is with help from his carer)
Works Hard (if given a task Charlie will try his best to complete it)
Helpful (Charlie likes to kept busy )

Here are some bad points about Charlie:

Charlie can be contradictive if he thinks that he is right and other people are wrong. (there is no middle ground)
Shakes often, this is because Charlie gets really anxious especially if he feels he has done something wrong.
Charlie tends to let things build up before he decides to talk to people but he has recently began to tell people how he is feeling.
Charlie can be distracted easily. If there is someone to support him to concentrate then he will be able to get a job completed.

Here are some important notes about Charlie.

He likes to be on his own (he also needs to know that someone is there for him)
People may speak to Charlie, but he may not understand what they are saying.
To learn new things, they need to be explained in detail.
Charlie is excellent with bus routes, where they start from and finish at, however if there is a diversion, * Charlie gets really anxious and worried.
Charlie is good with explaining things based on crime solving, numbers and scientific things.

Here are somethings that Charlie needs help with:

How to dress (what is appropriate to wear when he goes to different place’s)
Pairing socks
How to do his hair
Charlie needs to be reminded when to have a shave and not to keep blowing up the microwave oven!!!

Personal accounts

Last Updated : 31/10/2008 Back to Top

Enter a search term