Jacob

My name is Jacob Lewis, I am 23, and I was relatively late diagnosed auDHD with an SpLD. As of September, I will be studying a masters in Autism.

I am a massive doctor who fan (nerdy in general) and in my spare time I enjoy hiking and being in nature, building scale model kits and dioramas, going to the cinema, and playing on my Xbox.

Growing up I felt different and like I didn’t fit in, a fish out of water. I did not have a diagnosis or a label to easily explain why I struggled with social interaction and understanding unwritten social norms and cues which meant that growing up was extremely difficult.

I often explain it like navigating without a map and crew. You have no support mechanisms to guide you through or help you, instead I had to get by as best I could.
Thus, this meant that school and education was a case of survival for me.

My primary education was at a private school and I was not identified as being neurodivergent instead my behaviour was verbally and physically punished by staff, I was bullied by fellow students and a lot of my ‘behavioural challenges’, including throwing objects across the classroom and having meltdowns, were blamed on mental illness

These issues persisted into state secondary school which for me was a baptism by fire. Every day my senses and brain. were bombarded by bright lights, loud sounds, busy corridors.

Forced into classrooms for hours at a time doing work I did not understand because of my undiagnosed SpLD. As a result, my mental health severely suffered from bullying by teachers and students, burnout, sensory overwhelm, and masking, which led me to make suicide attempts and at times refuse to attend school.

Luckily I was able to narrowly get my GCSEs and go to sixth form in 2019.

Despite having to restart sixth form in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic and defer my a-level sociology exam for a year due to having a mental breakdown is succeeded in getting my a-levels in 2023.

Around this time, I was diagnosed with autism first and later ADHD via right choose, and with an SpLD through my university.

In 2023 I went to the University of Sheffield to study a BA in Sociology. Initially this was a struggle but once I settled in being at university has been the happiest time of my life and academic journey.

I was able to hyperfocus on a subject I am passionate about and explore niche areas of special interest.

Thus, is where my passion and focus on campaigning and activism began.

I would use my essay assignments wherever possible to write on topics related to auDHD, and to expand my knowledge of relevant literature.

Moreover, I became very much involved with the students’ unions liberation group focusing on changes to support disabled and neurodivergent students, such as doing talk on the history of autism for disability history month.

This led me to conduct research courtesy of the Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) into levels of academic staff confidence in supporting autistic students.

Research which I delivered to the vice-chancellor for education.

Simultaneously outside university I became involved with the Sheffield Autism Partnership Network and was part of a working group which co-developed the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Autism Strategy Plan 2025-28, amongst other activism work.

Now having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1, and prepare to start my Masters in Autism, I continue to be an activist around neurodivergent (particuarly autism and ADHD) and disabled inequalities in health, education and the CJS as well as broader society.

I hope to continue an academic career to do research in these areas and get a PhD.

I am proud to be an ambassador for Autism Inclusive Meets UK whose organisation advocates for and promotes the rights of treatment of, and welfare of autistic people and children. This very much aligns with my own values, activism and objectives.