Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

3. Sanctuary

Autistic Dara's intense connection to the natural world makes him a target for school bullies. But nature gives him sanctuary.

Autistic Dara's intense connection to the natural world makes him a target for school bullies.

But nature gives him sanctuary.

Chronicles of the turning world of autistic teenager Dara McAnulty.

These vivid and moving diary entries about Dara鈥檚 connection to wildlife, and the way he sees the world, are raw in their telling and urgent in their message.

They communicate his intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and trying to build friendships alongside a life of campaigning.

鈥淚 was diagnosed with Asperger鈥檚/autism aged five. By age seven I knew I was very different, I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system.鈥

Written and read by Dara McAnulty.

Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed.

Producer: Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for 麻豆社 Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.

14 minutes

Last on

Thu 20 Jun 2024 03:30

Broadcasts

  • Wed 27 May 2020 09:45
  • Thu 28 May 2020 00:30
  • Wed 19 Jun 2024 08:30
  • Wed 19 Jun 2024 13:30
  • Wed 19 Jun 2024 19:30
  • Thu 20 Jun 2024 03:30

1800 Seconds on Autism: All colour-coded and catalogued in my brain

1800 Seconds on Autism: All colour-coded and catalogued in my brain

Teenager Dara McAnulty on his love of birds and black holes.