An advertisement being shown in cinemas before the film 'Iris', about writer Iris Murdoch succumbing to Alzheimer's disease, and on television after the 9pm watershed, shows a child actor portraying a boy at the low-performing end of the autistic spectrum who is rhythmically banging his head against a wall. It ends, 'Now you know what it's like trying to understand autism.' Fiona Farrell, a former presenter for 'London News' and 'Sky News', whose five-year-old son is autistic, described the advertisement as heartbreaking. 'It reminded me of the day it dawned on me that there was something wrong with my son,' she said. She praised the National Autistic Society for being 'a lifeline' to her when she discovered her son was autistic and said it had helped her to meet similarly affected mothers.
The Society is also running a series of newspaper advertisements, including the one shown here, with the strapline, 'Autism. The problem is understanding'. Autism is characterised by a triad of impairments that involve difficulties forming social relationships, problems with imagination and problems with verbal and non-verbal communication.
The National Autistic Society's helpline is on 0870 600 8585, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. Its website is at www.nas.org.uk.
