To mark the International Day of Persons with a Disability earlier this month, The Malta Independent on Sunday met up with Jonathan Borg, a 29-year-old man with autism – on the high-functioning side of the spectrum.

Jonathan greeted me with a lovely smile and a warm, enthusiastic, confident welcome. Autism is a condition that is not always immediately apparent, and Jonathan is an example of this.

While people with autism generally face communication challenges, some can excel in other areas. For example, although they may have trouble comprehending abstract concepts and social cues, which applies to Jonathan, they will, for example, excel in their knowledge of specific subjects.

Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterised by impaired social interaction, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behaviour. It is not a black and white concept; in fact, autism must be looked at as a spectrum in which some of those with the condition are classified as high-functioning, others as non-verbal and so on. No two people are the same, so every case needs to be treated individually.

In our conversation, Jonathan made it clear that, although he acknowledges his differences, they do not prevent him from having a normal routine.

When asked about how autism affects him, he said: “Because of my problem, I cannot understand many things that people say to me; I know that I cannot drive a car, I cannot do any exams at all and I cannot go abroad alone.”

Photos Baskal Mallia

He explained his daily routine, which consists of a list of activities that are considered ‘normal’, such as making his way to work at the Ħal Far Playmobil factory by bus and back on a daily basis, going out with his friends, exercising, meeting up with his girlfriend, Katia, and pursuing other hobbies such as listening to music and watching films.

To some other extents, Jonathan shows more ability than the average man. He is a successful swimmer, a member of the National Special Olympics team and has travelled to various countries, including China and America, where he participated in the games.

Bearing in mind the fact that Jonathan is on the high-functioning side of the Autism spectrum, earlier this year, 21 year old Jessica Camilleri, who has an autistic twin brother, told this newspaper that there is a lack of programmes and job opportunities for autistic people who are not high-functioning “The real problems begin after the school leaving age or at least on reaching the age of 18, because Maltese care for people with autism, who aren’t high-functioning, ends there. Actually, it is the minority who are high-functioning, with the vast majority who having more serious problems and needing one-to-one attention,” she said.

Inspire Malta, the organisation helping individuals with disabilities, believe that people with a disability should be celebrated on a daily basis because “the world’s largest minority” are “the world’s most resilient and determined individuals on the face of the earth.

“Despite generally having poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty, people with disabilities and their families are a force to be reckoned with,” the organisation said in a press release to mark the International Day of People with Disabilities.

“They face obstacles on a daily basis. These range from a lack of services available to them, such as information and communications technology, justice, transportation, or those resulting from legislation or policy, to societal attitudes and discrimination. And yet, they strive to be the best that they can.”

Inspire believes that everyone has a right to equality and inclusion and their mission is to try to help everyone with a disability to achieve this. The organisation helps over 1,000 people with various disabilities – ranging from Down’s syndrome to autism, cerebral palsy and others.