Dear friends of Repubblica, have you ever wondered how an autistic person experiences Christmas? Now I’ll tell you about my experience and even if autistic people are all different from each other, it is possible that some of my sensations and evaluations can also be shared by autistic people you know.
Diary of an autistic boy, Federico: “What I like about you non-autistics and who I feel most empathetic with” by Federico De Rosa 24 July 2023
I’ll start by saying that for me the city I live in has far too many sensory stimuli for me. In December, as Christmas approaches, the situation gets much worse because the traffic goes crazy and many very aggressive and, in my opinion, useless lights appear. I assure you that being a hypersensory autistic person in a city exploding with pre-Christmas celebrations is truly burdensome. It makes you want to run away into the woods and never come back.
Things get better when Christmas arrives and my family stops, stops working, and it’s nice to be able to all stay at home together, rest, share free time and eat at nice tables sharing particularly tasty foods.
Diary of an autistic boy: “I’ll tell you what a train journey is for us” by Federico De Rosa 25 October 2023
I usually spend Christmas Eve with my uncles Fabrizio and Giulia and Christmas with my uncles Lucio and Lia and then I meet a large number of cousins and some cousins. It may perhaps seem a little childish to you but I really love family celebrations. I also like gifts and this year I was happy to receive beautiful and useful gifts.
On December 26th the world stops and I experience the magic of a suspended time in which Christmas holds its breath. Then I usually leave and I really love traveling and spending New Year’s Eve elsewhere.
Diary of an autistic boy: “An achievement to buy a piece of red pizza” by Federico De Rosa 15 November 2023
In short, I really like Christmas, I just would like a little less chaos, less lights, sounds, music, crowds. How beautiful a silent Christmas would be! Everyone could celebrate within themselves. So yes, it would be an autistic Christmas!
Diary of an autistic boy: “Autonomy? Living with kids like me” by Federico De Rosa 11 December 2023 Topics