COUNTY NEWS: Autistic girl writes poem about being '˜normal'

Lia Payne, 17, with her mother Sally Payne and their pet dog Pablo

Everyone has a passion '“ and for Lia Payne, that passion is writing.

Whether it is thinking up short stories for her creative writing A Level course or updating her blog, the 17-year-old’s writing is always personal. But for Lia, who has high-functioning autism, it also helps her to understand herself.

In a poem that she put online in November last year, Lia, from Worthing, wrote about coming to terms with being what she describes as ‘neuro-diverse’ – a turning point in her life.

“I have actually felt like being different is a really bad thing,” she said. “It depends on my emotions at the time. Throughout my entire life I have felt different, so when I wrote that poem I finally accepted that fact. I write exactly what I’m feeling at that moment. I put it into metaphors and it helps me see what’s going on in my mind.”

A poem by Lia Payne, 17, from Worthing about living with autism

In many ways, Lia is like any other 17-year-old: she has an Instagram account, @bamboochewer, which she uses to publish her poetry and enjoys going to the cinema with her friends.

But her condition means that she finds it hard to talk to strangers and suffers from anxiety in social situations.

If she gets on a bus, or goes to a restaurant, she relies on her friends to buy her ticket or her meal. In one scenario involving her mum’s friend, Lia ignored her when she said ‘hello’ in the street – not because she was being rude or stuck-up, she said, but because the situation made her feel awkward.

Her social difficulties mean that she does not think she could hold down a part-time job, and has had to drop one of her A levels at Chichester College and study from home.

She added: “I feel really lonely sometimes because I don’t have many friends. I guess that is because I don’t go up to people and make myself known.

“I feel very grateful that I have friends like my mum who will order for me and stuff like that, because it can be quite awkward.”

But Lia has made friends through Instagram, and also attends a weekly social group at Worthing College, organised by Autism Sussex, which has organised social trips to go ice skating and bowling.