ArrDee

Do you know what I'm saying?

I was outside a lot as a kid.

So my older brother, he's autistic.

And so he's two years older than me, but he needed a lot more attention and caring.

And obviously my mom, I now looking back know that she obviously had to learn

first of all, what it is to be autistic and how to navigate that.

My brother didn't speak a word of English.

Didn't speak till he was seven.

Like, by choice.

Like, he could.

He just made dinosaur noises and stuff like that.

Like, we had a good relationship, but I have no animosity to it.

It's not like I look back and think, oh, my mum cared about my brother more.

Like, I love my brother and I love my mum and that's what... I don't feel like I needed it necessarily, do you know what I mean?

But what it did mean is that I'd be playing out with, like, the older boys, so I'd be, like...

five six playing out till late ish for a five or six year old but it wasn't dangerous because wherever i was there was a neighbor of some sort that was watching their kid and everybody was all friends you know what i'm saying but i i remember always being told as a kid that you think you're you're way older than you are like i've always acted like an adult and i used to always want to

chat and blend and be with the adults.

Even from down, like if my mom had all the family over, I would want to stay up later and I would put on like shows and perform.

So I used to perform like songs from the musical Oliver Twist.

My mom would put me in like a little, like a little hat and like, yeah, I'd sing those songs and it would mean while they're all drinking and having fun, I would get to stay up later.