Life with autism | DW Documentary

[Music] it runs for a long time doesn't it did you install it yourself yes I installed it myself it's really nice I don't want to be part of our German society I don't like what the healthy people do they're like sheep they do the same things they see everyone else do I don't want to do that I'd rather do what I like and what I enjoy without anyone saying aren't you too old for that I'm almost 35 and people often say to me you're an adult do you have to do this and I say yes of course such a boring lamp no what I'm going to turn it into something else at night I need these noises to be safe in my apartment and during the day to have fun if I hear anyone trying to break in then I'll come and then come in with a duck yeah now let's go to the kitchen it's almost amazed it's almost finished young person with autism is someone who lives in his own world who has a special skill in a specific area my world is the world of sound now comes the superglue this is what it sounds like when it's done unfortunately my parents aren't proud of me for example when my father comes here he always says one day at Marcus's place and you can put me in the asylum he can't imagine what it's like he doesn't understand why I need this and why it gives me pleasure I think is a shame my father wants me to adapt to these stupid social norms for me that's a good reason not to be put the back on oh it's lovely so let's take it to the bathroom that's where ducts belong Sagi quick house here too so where will this one go oh they're wonderful who says a bathroom is a restroom when you come here to go to the toilet you're not going to a restroom oh it's wonderful [Music] so we can go boys I live in do support in my own apartment my caseworker comes once a week my mother comes now and again and brings me my laundry in essence Ramona lives in the first floor she has Down syndrome I visit my parents a lot my mother wants to make sure I get a proper cooked meal at least once a week and not like at home where I just microwave everything that is I find taking the tram very unpleasant people can be unpleasant and every so often someone gives me a shove and pushes me aside that's an example that's an example of why I hate other people why I hate people who don't have a mental disability more than anything he just shoved me aside and had a really annoying reaction and now I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach again just a moment ago I was in a good mood so on bootlicker ice know it's tasty you go ahead ya know ya lekha alright I'll give you something else John she was sleeping the entire time and now she's raising such a fuss how often does Marcus visit you Oh twice a week at least when do you wish it one more no actually not twice a week is enough the problem is my husband when Marcus is here I take care of him and then my husband feels like I'm neglecting him then he gets annoyed HPD says he's superfluous when Marcus is here that's exactly what he says then when Marcus takes a shower here because his hair is greasy and my husband wants to take a bath then the arguments really take off the amok Marcus and my husband it's really tense always has been oblige where is Marcus anyway as any notice they diagnosed me with autism when I was 3 or 4 years old that's when they noticed that something was wrong I always played by myself and didn't really have any friends then I started getting therapy at the Counseling Center my mother took me there then I met people where I realized oh I like them that's what I realized it's much nicer to do things with other people instead of being alone all the time Markus there you are come with me into the living room and let's look at some photos I'll take my coffee with me yeah we should go dot that's I think this picture must be from 1982 no size goes by so quickly look at how funny I look well you just woken up there and I took a photo and look at this one crying on this one something was bothering you again this here is from daycare you had such a cute little voice I have that lovely girl's voice which was nice for singing I wanted to keep that voice and was annoyed when my voice broke everyone's voice changes well there I was playing with my wheelbarrow you're almost 35 and you still have it you still play with it sometimes but not as much as before yeah well of course you were a child now you're an adult and you have other interests well at the Counseling Center I made some new friends that I didn't have before now it's nicer to do things with other people before I didn't need anyone else things were simpler back then and I didn't have as many problems so meaning a pony my god oh yeah yeah well that's how life is if you have friends then you have to deal with disagreements if you're on your own you don't have any disagreements that's not what life is about chapters tonisha our school would Austin or two so of course I wanted to help you connect with other people and to have friends bees on foreign shopping streets and khuns not to teach at Lund I'm sure you have more problems as a result that's clear but there are nice aspects to aren't there yes I know that Poppa showed me what a vacuum cleaner looks like from the inside you took one look at it and you still know how to do it i letting sup my my husband always said we'll manage this on our own he didn't want us to have any help so then I had to get a divorce done Lord our shiny lesson yeah I'm sad but there was no other way no biological fathers they really struggle with it go in the stall there you go look here's a green frog we'll put the Frog in here too yes right now this is a zoo this is quite old already I think I built this in 1993 I used to play with my finger board here one finger board here and then a second one here and that's how I used to play in 1996 or 97 I got this table these here are musical dice that's what I call them they look like dice I got them out of radios and they make a lovely jingling sound they make music you can play with them too you can build towers with them and then you can take a shot at them from your fingerboard and they fly everywhere they're lovely as you can see here I love people with Down syndrome they're so sweet and so nice Ramona is one of my many downey's Ramona doesn't have any parents anymore which is also why she's like a member of my family my mother also helps her quite a bit Ramona is quite a bit different than the other ones here is she your best friend mm-hmm I don't really know well I maybe had a bit more fun with some of them but Ramona is the one who stuck around Ramona also has her own apartment neither one of us goes to the workshop anymore it wasn't right for us now I don't have so much money and neither does Ramona but it's enough to buy a bit of food man go away with your kisses come here I'll tape your mouth shut you talk too much I'll tape your mouth shut yeah look we're dressed as Devils mm-hmm the store you in love with Marcos yes they are DeMarcus is in love with you yes we're a couple yeah we've been together for 11 years if he ever was oh so she's a freak oh this is what he looks like as a girl math game interests yeah he likes this stuff six yeah he looks sexy [Music] isn't we're not a couple I've said it a thousand times and now I'll say it for the thousand and first time we're not a couple you're my sister I'm your sister I think it's much nicer that we're not a couple we're more like brother and sister but you should still love me but I do love you and that way you know we'll never split up because you're practically my sister so if I were to hook up with a sweet boy a sweet guy with Down syndrome who's maybe 40 years old and if we were to become a couple then you'd still be part of things yeah I mean once a month I go to the radio group I call the radio group the cuddle group because this group does a lot of cuddling and that's really fantastic we have a rapper from Duisburg here today on our radio show I'm really proud that we have a show on the radio you're a rapper when you start the interview introduce him with his first and last name Martin Lucas shouldn't we use his rapper name the one he goes by online in ten you can give my full name because I only do rap maybe we'll talk about that too is boss of the radio group and we get along super well radio for you that is our dish finish yeah fair radio for you yeah hello dear listeners this is radio for you and I'm sitting here in our media forum with a rapper you might have heard of he's from Deus borg justic hello yeah hello thanks for inviting me how long have you been rapping I started when I was fifteen and now I'm thirty first and foremost I make music for myself music always helped me no matter how sad I was feeling that's how it is for me too some days I feel sad because people were mean to me or whatever and on other days I feel good I wonder if you might have met markers before how many schools did you go to fifteen fifteen I went to 40 right 15 schools because I wasn't always as nice as I am now I used to pull girls hair when they had braids thank you for the interview thank you for coming it was cool any time that should you have to hold the phone the other way it'll turn out better okay today's my birthday I'm 35 years old even if I feel more like 10 or 11 I'm looking forward to the party lots of people are coming and I'm looking forward to it I like it when they're long then I look almost like a little princess are you a little princess I don't know maybe a cheeky little princess if I were a real woman things would be much much better for me but I have no idea what I'd have to do because no one wants to tell me my mother always tells me I'm a boy not a girl whenever I want to paint my fingernails I wait until she goes on holiday for a week or two because normally I visit my parents a lot then my mother tells me to take it off right then and there and if I don't take it off she does it with the nail polish remover yes and then this stupid beard which I have to get rid of every day sometimes I put on a woman's dress well my mother doesn't know that I sometimes go out that way she thinks I stay here in the apartment Mako's is this the most important day of the year for you yes and the only day that it's really super here in the apartment and unfortunately the only day where I can invite lots of people at once I started tidying up about a week ago now I'll do the last bit these three guys are helping me and I'm looking forward to it can you do that Andreea blow it up whichever thank you oh you can't come it's too far that's too bad is Maxie sad when just a few people come sometimes but I can help him feel better right there I have it finally after you give Maxie his presents yes how many were there lots of them Oh oops let's blow up the monkeys here's monkey number one will turn five flat ones into four fat ones it's as though they just came from the funfair it's much more fun to play with him now to the present a tropic yummy Coco thank you [Music] you don't have that one I don't have one you're right if he's not in German look there's Matthias hello the door was open this is Matthias our DJ the blue eyes are here with bells [Music] with cooking the funny thing is I don't really know how it works I'm not much of a cook watch this no just one all of them gotta cook either but my dear Maxie they have to be washed I'm happy to help cook but first I have a question for you Maxie I'm not just here for no reason or to make music I want something then you'll have to tell me what you'd like or what you need it's big and long and music comes out of the sides and you can carry it like this you mean a boombox right that's what I was thinking right you want me to buy you one I thought he was doing this because it's fun but oh well doing a great job with that do the rest like that - so time-consuming [Music] you [Music] [Music] if kids Inc I like going to the flea market my parents aren't so happy about it they always say I buy more than I sell that's true sometimes where should we go we're selling and we don't know where to go five Senta should I show you that'll be faster oh I could just buy a few things right now what lovely things they have I wish I could just go exploring Oh looks that's a lovely train there's your name you can set up your table or whatever you have we have a blanket that's fine [Applause] thank you for me this is like I'm sitting by the water and I'm about to go fishing that's what a flea market is like for me you sit down and relax and wait for the fish bluetooth box the battery charged that's the expensive one it costs 8 euros the rubber ducks and two little ones yeah we have stuffed animals this is great how much do you want for it how about 3 euros 3 euros who gets the money this side here is yours that's right there that's your sister close enough how much is this - euros all right 2 euros he goes [Music] I saw its rain from fisher-price I want to go look at it so the bear can sit here yeah I've had my eye on this train for a while it's not in the shops anymore that's why we come to the flea market because you can find them here exactly it's 10 euros you know what why don't we wait and see what happens when the days over you can still decide then either it's gone or it's still here what do you think yeah maxi the polar bear the polar bear is 2 euros no super the polar bear ice two more euros back to the Train volition I put the locomotive aside so it doesn't get sold how much is it it's not in the shops anymore so it's 10 euros what about 7 yes that's all right how's the 2 from at home the 3 that I got before and the 2 for the polar bear Ramona this is our so let's put it away that's lovely ok let's see what the others have this is our second airplane and our fourth caterpillar and a new star and a helicopter all packed up I thought I saw my mother over there I thought oh no my mother but I guess it wasn't her a woman with long blond hair I thought oh no they went to the campsite right today is Sunday but they could have left by 1 p.m. and be here already rumble at me my father always says this is all rubbish anyhow and my mother says it's much too much oh well because I'm so good with electrical stuff Tarek from our radio show had an idea this is a repair cafe you bring your broken appliances here Tarek said this might be right up my alley let's see this was just an ordinary speaker from a surround sound system here a little one like this and I turned it into a big one [Music] she was so taken with the things I built that she said come on let's go to the people who are doing repairs and give it a try oh the lid won't stay down do we have any contact spray in the box over there I've seen this problem a lot [Music] you can leave it like this so that it opens like this maybe we should glue an arrow on it so is there another radio here the problem is the dial keeps moving off the station so do you think you might come back next month yes yes I'm looking forward to it I'm looking forward to it meanwhile I've been back two more times yeah I mean fist we have our own camping spot here on the Rhine River this is where I learned how to swim and how to ride a bike today's my father's birthday my mother and father were divorced but then they got back together and married again now we're a real family again here on the camp side I need a place to get away from it all where I have my toys and my music but my father doesn't understand that who really wants to be told that their child is disabled of course I wish that Marcus were more grown up but that's not going to happen I'm the framer Vodun first obey your motor gun I don't know if he'll ever be able to manage entirely on his own language yet he gets a certain amount of money that he manages himself with the rest we make sure that everything's taken care of he doesn't really think about things like the phone much for telephone to town was just takes it for granted as long as the phone works even to the Forester set to Fulton yen Orange Desmond are more nuts and they're not having enough money to get to the end of the month isn't something that would occur to him when something is broken when the sink is leaking or when I need to have a shade put up on the window then I need my father do you ever need him as a person that's the only way I know him so for the other things I have my friends Chevonne I spent weeks thinking about what I could give my father for his birthday and then I built something nice so happy birthday look here when the water container is full you can put the two clamps inside the pipe and when the water is full then exactly I thought you might like it that's pretty special you put some thought into this so no water won't spill over if I fill it up Marcus does have a special talent do you appreciate it sometimes yes sometimes no one gets it probably means when you go into Marcus's apartment the noise just hits you it can get to you all handmade that's what he's able to do now he wouldn't have managed it without my wife being him fine with the emotional side he probably means I handled the technical side and she's better at the human emotional side [Music] the matter your husband says he lets you handle most of it so then you end up having to deal with everything on your own that's true he leaves the house at 8:00 in the morning that comes home at 7:00 in the evening when I call Marcus every day to find out what he's been doing otherwise I can't go to sleep and then there's Ramona - who lives there as well what's it like knowing you'll never be able to stop taking care of Marcus this past week it was very hard I didn't feel very well I could barely talk I just started to cry I'm never like that usually but now yesterday today I'm fine again so you're the one who has to be strong absolutely I know much by danger even if he sometimes thinks that I don't like him that's not really true I just don't like some of the things he does doesn't mean I don't like him let's maybe you don't show it too often so not everyone is good at that so now I'm going to play oh I'm looking forward to it I hope there aren't any children of course I want to play on my own [Applause] maybe our problem is that we have those just the way we are both of us he says he can't really imagine what others are feeling sometimes people say that about me too I'm better at it than he is maybe but not as good as my wife so now I'm near the river oh man it might be that fun people keep telling me to grow up they say I should just throw all my choice in the trash good but I say I want to stay the way I am he's Mastan I don't want to grow up I want to keep playing like a child yeah doesn't that makes me happy [Applause] [Applause]

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 315,638

Keywords: autistic, autism, Autistic, spectrum, autism documentary, Autism Spectrum Disorder, autism spectrum disorder, autism symptoms, autism spectrum, explaining autism, diagnosed with autism, neuroscience, documentary, DW, Deutsche Welle, down syndrom, living with autism, what is autism, dw documentary, down syndrom and autismus, life with autism, people with disabilities, what are symptoms of autism, signs of autism, living with an autistic child, child with autism

Id: 7bxEU5Jb9vI

Length: 42min 26sec (2546 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 11 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/I12break3]

The importance of punctuation in this sentence can not be overstated.

[u/somegenerichandle]

Man, i thought i was in denial. Ramona, you can do better! Seriously, tho, i hope the best for both of them.

[u/Dire-Dog]

So he only has autism for one year?

[u/AndDontCallMePammy]

Take his toys and his tendies

[u/[deleted]]

Kinda of depressing.