I see the world in black and white

True Stories

Savan shares his experience of living with autism, and the online community he’s discovered via YouTube.

My name is Savan, but everyone calls me Sav. I’m from Pinner in London and I’m a British Asian Autistic Content Creator who vlogs about my experiences with autism to raise awareness. I’m also a big Doctor Who fan (a Whovian), love Pokémon and enjoy spending time with my friends.

What is autism?

Autism is either a learning condition, or a learning disability, depending on what the NHS and charities such as the National Autistic Society say. It’s on a spectrum, and everyone on that spectrum is unique in their own way.

See our article explaining what a learning disability is to learn more.

I have sensory overload

I was diagnosed with autism when I was 24, but I’ve had learning difficulties since I was two years old. There were various signs that I was different which included social interactions with friends and family, and how I processed the world around me. For example, I have sensory overload where everything seems too bright and too loud. I try my best to avoid certain smells because they’re too much for me to cope with. It took me over a year to get a GP appointment before I was officially diagnosed. I hid my autistic symptoms very well due to bullying from primary school to college.

I’ve learnt to add some shades of grey into my life

Being autistic impacts how I interact with people. I see the world in black and white – but I’ve been working on this over the years. I’m trying to improve certain situations and how I deal with people on a day-to-day basis.

It can be a roller coaster of emotions a lot of the time

My friends have been very supportive and do try their best to understand me. They also care about me and I love them to bits. I try my best to understand them even though it’s difficult to express my emotions due to feeling too much empathy. My parents and two younger brothers try their best to understand me as well. When I fully opened up about my autism in January 2017, I met a lot of other autistic people, which surprised me a lot. My autistic friends are also content creators on YouTube which is great to see. We try to support each other when we can.

I see the world differently

Sometimes people don’t understand me, which hurts a lot. However, I see the world in a completely different way. I’m inspired by the wildlife expert and photographer Chris Packham because he has Asperger’s (a form of autism). He shares my passion for nature.

I want the world to be a more tolerant place for autistic people

I want to continue raising awareness about autism. I hope my vlog series #AutismWithSav keeps going strong, and I’m able to build a thriving community through my YouTube channel.

More Autism resources

If you’re looking for other useful resources, take a look at our article debunking myths about autism here and our article on dating with autism here. The National Autistic Society website has loads of information about autism, including community boards where you can discuss living with the condition.