I live with my mom, my dad, my brother and my sister.

And one day, I will be a world famous actress.

I also have autism, which means my brain works a bit differently..

I'm going to take you into my world- imagination!

Show you how autism affects kids in all sorts of different ways.

I'm not a logical person as you may know

I don't want to be different, I haven't asked to be different, I am different.

But that however it affects you, it doesn't have to hold you back.

So stick with me, and find out what it really means to be autistic.

The kind of Autism I have is called Aspergers Syndrome, and sometimes it makes me see things a little bit differently.

I get very sensitive.. and I can't control it.

And sometimes it's a bad thing because all the other kids are laughing when I'm just crying and screaming at things that they're not.

Every single thing, even things that aren't living, has a personality and a life..

..If there's two pairs of shoes and I pick one, and I feel like the other pair would be-- feel left out or something.

I don't like saying certain words because they just make me feel all tense and unhappy.

Alot of people with autism I felt sometimes mixes your senses up a little bit.

I can feel words-- uh used to describe a word as being slimy or prickly 'cause that's what it tasted or felt when I said it, or when other people said it.

..quite alot of people didn't have much understanding about it.

They dont mean to be mean, but it just hurt my feelings because of my sensitivity .

So what exactly is autism?

People with autism have problems relating to others..

..and making sense of the world around them.

Scientists know it affects the way the brain works, but they dont know what causes it.

Boys are much more likely to be autistic than girls, and it can run in families.

Autism isn't rare, one in every hundred people is autistic, and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

I get very stressed in crowds, uhm i have anxiety issues.

I'm sometimes easily distracted, easily annoyed..

..It's a bit difficult for me, uh--how to have a conversation, i need to try to think very hard about it.

If someone does touch me i say 'can you please not do that again?'

I sort of feel sometimes like people will try to hurt me.

It feels --uh,uncomfortable when people's crowded.

I'm not really normal, but I-- it's kind of ..I can't describe it. Sorry i can't really describe it.

Although it can be a problem, I wouldnt swap my Autism for anything..

..It makes me who I am, I just wouldn't be the same without it.

For instance, I think it gives me my imagination.

fireworks sounding

It also gives me my incredible skill at remembering hundreds of impressive facts.

The Inventor of the waffle iron, didn't like waffles.

Spain literally means the land of rabbits.

Some people might call my obsession with facts a bit boring..

I call it focus and I'm not the only autistic person who thinks like this.

Tony's autism expresses itself with major obsessions..

at the moment it's a role playing game called War Hammer, with loads of complicated rules..

..and having clear rules about everything, makes Tony feel good.

"Remember I've got the objective so far because I'm within three inches of the building.."

Most people when they do a hobby, they do it for periods of, uh, maybe a year or two.

We do it for like nearly a decade.

Lots of autistic people like to get interested in a hobby and that is what Tony is like with War Hammer..

..He absolutely loves it.

It's a strategy bored game including little plastic miniatures that you have to build and paint, and then you get to play with them..

..It's really, epicly fun.

"Green for the--" He's really good at painting, he's really good at building..

..thats what he likes to do.

I get four attacks each, on the charge..

..which is awesome!

Some autistic people like to know everything about a subject.

And Tony knows all of the rules about War Hammer.

..complicated and hard, basically started at the tree moved six inches.. but then they cant shoot..

If he doesnt know all of the rules, he can't play, and if he can't play he gets really.. well, really angry.

Normally when I'm playing the game I dont talk, I think I plan.

I'm working, I'm plotting, it's really fun.

Well, autistic people like organizing stuff. I organize stuff because otherwise everything will be out of order and hectic.

I colour code all my models to make sure they're not mixed up..

..I also keep special units separate from the core units..

..and they have to be in the same box, same place.

I just want everything to be organized.

If you drop something come put it back where it could belong, he'll know, because he'll just measure it.

What are you doing putting it there, you don't put it there. You put it next.. no-- you put it..you put it down here

Tony finds it hard to make friends because he-- he can't, he doesnt really know how to say to people 'can you be my friend?'

..twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, it's turned three..

Can I borrow three dice?

The reason I don't have any friends is because my friends are little plastic miniatures and I'm just an anti-personal magnet.

I just feel like models that can't talk, they can't move, they can't do anything, but they keep me company.

I just don't feel lonely with them around.

I am perfectly normal, everyone else is weird ..

The entire world's weird, I'm fine.

Like many children of autism, Tony doesn't find it easy to socialize, but his hobby has helped him to make friends.

There are lot's of different types of autism.

Some people like me, have a much milder type, but others have a much more severe sort.

..and one of them is my little brother.

This is Lenny, he has classic autism.

Even though he is nine years old, he cant really talk and we think that he wont have much independance..

..and he'll be looked after all his life.

At the moment, Lenny is nesting on the T.V.

He grabs the throws from the sofa, stuffs 'em down there ..

.. and then sits on them eating Gogurts, which is yogurts.

He likes things in certain places, he puts all the throws behind the T.V., he turns the sofas over

.. he fills the bathroom with bubbles, and he likes it that way.

But we don't see why he likes it that way.

"Hi Lenny"

He feels really stressed if he's um-- if the doors aren't shut.

He can sense the doors being open (laughing)

Right back to the bath now.

A lack of understanding can be a real difficulty,

Because Lenny looks completely normal, and it's only his behavior really

that gives a clue, to the fact that he has a disability.

And it can often seem like a child is being naughty or throwing a tantrum

when in fact they're just reacting to some kind of stimulus or..

they're unhappy and they're unable to express their needs.

The best thing about my little brother is absolutely everything.

Look at him! He's absolutely brilliant.

Because it's not always obvious that people have autism, some people just think we're mad ..

.. or being naughty.

This lack of understanding is one of the worst things about being autistic.

My name is Ben.

I was bullied at school because people didn't understand the fact that I had autism.

Autism to me, enlarges one of your emotions, it makes it a lot more potent.

For me it made my anger a lot bigger, and when I completely lost it ..

I would sort of loose my vision, I'd be able to hear but I wouldnt see. I'd be seeing red in my sight ..

..and next thing I knew, I'd be informed by somebody that I had attacked somebody or done some sort of damage.

Imagine viking berserkers, I was twice the trouble of them.

People figured I had an anger problem, they continuously taunted me, going at me, most of them called me a bear ..

I was feared, I was hated.

Wasn't fun.. wasn't fun at all.

Imagine going to school everyday and not having a single friend.

I was very depressed, I didn't enjoy life. I'd realized that it wasn't going to get any better.

I was very desperate for any sort of help. I didn't want to live, I actually did not want to live at that time.

Well, when I started high school, I didn't really go to too many lessons..

I was too afraid.

After a while, I started to get more confidence, and I came down with support from the LSU.

The LSU stands for Learning Support Unit, and it has really helped my life.

If you are worried, or panicked, or something bad happens, I can always go straight up there and attack a pillow or something..

..to get my anger out.

Amongst all the chaos, you find sanctuary in the unit if you're autistic.

Just having some support has helped with everything else.

It has made me more confident, made me calmer..

and now I am able to go down to nearly any lesson given without any support.

I've become more sociable..

I've learnt more about the outside world than just looking out the window

I've got more things to talk about, I can relate to more.

I used to think that every time I got near somebody, they would call the cops on me

I've got friends now.

Ben I find, uh, an interesting person in fact and quite entertaining.

He sees things differently, so it brings you different points of view that you wouldn't necessarily think of yourself.

I would probably say funny, uh, quite serious as well sometimes.

I think they think I'm fairly okay, someone to watch out for..

..but still fairly okay.

Clever, occasionally funny, and a bit mad.

But I'm quite happy to be called that, I'm just happy to have friends.

Ben's journey is just one of half a million people with autism in the U.K.

..and like him, many of them have a difficult time.

Nearly three in every four children with autism feel unhappy and anxious about things.

It's not because they're autistic, it's because they're not getting the help and support they need.

And things don't get much better when we get older, in fact, only one in every six people with autism..

.. end up with a full-time paid job.

When i grow up, I want to be a famous actress, hairdresser, dalek..

..and i don't see why my autism should stop me.

One thing I've learned is that just because I'm autistic, doesn't mean I can't succeed.

I love drawing, and last year my drawings were published in a book that my mom wrote.

I did nearly twenty illustrations, and this one's my favourite.

Lot's of people wanted to know about the book and my drawings..

.. I even appeared on the One Show to talk about it

Which meant sitting next to Robson Greene, and chatting with the presenters.

And great illustrations, brilliant.

Thanks.

I've made this film because I've wanted to tell the world about how many autistic kids get bullied at school ..

.. and can have a really tough time getting jobs when they're older.

I wanted everyone to see close up what it's like to live with autism..

.. and the hope even drives meeting Tony, Ben, Lenny and me.

Autistic kids can come across as a bit different, but it's well worth getting to know us.

Living with autism can be hard sometimes, but it makes me who I am.

Autism makes me different, but it also makes me unique and special.