Known on social media as Noemimisma, Noemí Navarro has become one of the most prominent influencers in our country. On her Instagram profile she has more than 400 thousand followers, who enjoy her content that covers everything from fashion, beauty and lifestyle to her experience in the world of autism.
About 7 years ago, Noemí took her first steps on social media with the simple idea of sharing her day-to-day life without pretensions. She started by showing her experience as a first-time mother, inspired by other accounts of mothers who shared their experiences on the network. As her life progressed, she adapted her content and gained more and more followers. It was her son’s autism diagnosis, and her own diagnosis later on, that prompted her to talk about autism on her social networks. “What I am trying to do is help create a society in which my son does not have to fight to be included, where there is real coexistence, where people live together and understand each other,” Noemí shares.
“It is not shown that a person like me can be autistic,” Noemí Navarro, influencer
In recent years, autism has gained increasing visibility and attention from society. The conversation around this disorder has gained strength. However, there are still many who point out the persistence of stigma by the media: “There are things that are represented in society that are, in fact, autism, and there is another more invisible and less known part about which there is much more prejudice,” explains Noemí. The influencer highlights that the media usually focus on the most complicated situations, such as those in which the autistic person requires total dependence on a caregiver or is non-verbal. However, she points out that the reality of people like her is barely visible: “A self-sufficient person is not shown, who can have a profession with which to earn a living, who can support a family. It is not shown that a person like me can be autistic.” She also stresses the importance of not making generalisations, as there are as many types of autism as there are autistic people: “My autism requires space, silence, anticipation and appreciates solitude, but not everyone has to experience it this way,” she points out.
The value of diagnosis
Although her connection with the autism spectrum began much earlier, Noemí was diagnosed with autism at the age of 35. “I decided to get tested after speaking to a woman who had been diagnosed with autism as an adult. I felt very much reflected in her in everything she told me and I asked her where she had been tested,” explains Noemí.
Noemí confesses that, upon receiving the results, she felt a bit disconcerted: “I am the first one who had a certain lack of knowledge even though I have a child with autism,” reveals Noemí, who adds: “I had a very different image of autism than the one I projected.”
The manager of the Autism Confederation of Spain, Ruth Vidriales, indicates that in Spain there are between 460,000 and 470,000 people on the autistic spectrum. However, she points out that the number of people diagnosed does not exceed 100,000, and that 90% of these are under 30 years old.
“The age at which a diagnosis is made varies, and that is a problem. It is a problem, first, because it often means that people cannot access the support services they need, and also because it creates uncertainty in families and in the people themselves, who cannot find an answer to what is happening to them or an explanation for their needs,” explains Vidriales.
Aroa Estévez, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 30, shares that she felt great joy when she received it, since she had felt out of place all her life: “I felt very strange from masking my way of being so much,” she says. José Luis Maldonado experienced a similar feeling upon receiving his diagnosis, stating that it marked a significant change in his life as he began to understand “why he was different.”
“I didn’t know why I was so tired for days after an event or social gathering. I always thought I needed vitamins or something, but now I realize it was because of my autism.”
“Since my diagnosis, I have realised that social relationships make me very physically tired,” says Noemí, adding: “I didn’t know why I was so tired for days after an event or social gathering. I always thought I needed vitamins or something, but now I realise that because of my autism, it exhausts me.”
Women on the autism spectrum
In recent decades, research into autism has experienced a significant boost and although traditionally it has been thought that autism was an almost exclusively male condition, today we know that there are many more autistic women than previously believed. “Many times they go unnoticed because they show less obvious traits of autism or they practice behaviors that we call “camouflage,” such as imitating what other people do to better integrate into the social group,” says María Verde Cagiao, a psychologist in the Research Department of the Autism Confederation of Spain.
“I know what role I have to play wherever I am. That is something that many autistic adults do. They know how to mask it and comply with what is supposed to be socially required of them in order to fit in,” Noemí reinforces. “As you realize that you don’t have to fit in, that you are who you are and you learn that you don’t have to force yourself, you start to respect yourself and that makes others do the same,” says the influencer.
“When the challenges associated with autism do not drastically affect daily routine, it is common for them not to be identified early.”
Specialist Verde Cagiao points out that, along with the phenomenon of camouflage, the manifestations of autism in adulthood are often perceived in less obvious nuances than in childhood. “In childhood, it is common to observe it in the way that boys and girls play or communicate, while in adulthood it is sometimes perceived in less obvious nuances of social interaction or in rigid patterns of behavior that can go unnoticed by others,” she points out. “When the challenges associated with autism do not drastically affect daily routine, it is common that they are not identified early,” she adds.
Combating discrimination and stigma
As psychologist Verde Cagiao points out, autistic people still face discrimination and stigmas that persist in society today: “They often encounter obstacles to social inclusion and participation, as well as to making decisions about their own lives, regardless of the intensity or complexity of the support needs they may present,” laments the specialist.
These barriers not only have an impact on the social sphere, but also on their integration into the labour market, where, according to experts, inclusion rates are still very low. “We must promote the employment of adults with autism, we have a lot of talent,” claims Aline Bravo, a consultant for a major multinational company and diagnosed with autism.
“At 18 years of age, aid ends, and autism cannot be cured, adults continue to be autistic”
More and more companies are addressing neurodiversity by offering support for the integration of people with autism into the workplace. “This helps a lot, because at 18 years of age the support ends, and autism cannot be cured; adults are still autistic,” says Aline.
In Noemí Navarro’s work environment, the situation is completely different, as every day she has to face judgment about the authenticity of her autistic condition. “I work in a profession in which everything is questioned and judged,” she says. “Many people tell you ‘I have seen an autistic person and it is not like that’. This shows that there is a lot of ignorance and a lot of misinformation,” she points out.
Noemí, however, maintains that social media is a great tool for raising awareness and encouraging conversations about autism. “I learn a lot every day from people who are highly educated in autism who post on social media,” she confesses.
It was precisely this idea that inspired her to found MadreTEA: “99% of people are eager to learn. They really appreciate simple and clear content explaining autism,” she says happily. The numbers back up this notion, as the profile has more than 25,000 followers, a fact that Noemí has yet to fully assimilate: “It seems to me that there are a lot of people who want to talk only about autism, listening to me, who am not an expert,” she says, amazed.
Road to independence
And while it is true that we are making progress in addressing autism, there is still a long way to go. According to psychologist Verde Cagiao, in Spain there are hardly any resources aimed at promoting autonomy and independent living for people on the autism spectrum. Autistic adults generally receive less attention, not only in medical terms, but also in terms of social and educational support, compared to children. Verde Cagiao maintains that there are local initiatives within the associative movement aimed at this end, but that they do not have the economic, regulatory, or structural support that would be necessary to meet the needs of the entire group.
The psychologist explains that adult life is one of the priority lines of work for the Autism Spain Confederation. “We are currently part of the Rumbo Project, whose objective is to promote the design of innovative models of support for personal autonomy and independent living for people with disabilities, especially for those with greater need for support,” she explains. The Rumbo Project seeks the resources and services necessary to facilitate the inclusion of autistic people in society, guaranteeing their well-being, safety and accessibility in their environment.
At a regional level, there are also initiatives such as the “TEA Castilla y León Action Plan” whose objective is to promote the independence of adults with TEA through flexible housing services, pre-employment training programs focused on the person as a vehicle to facilitate social and labor integration and active ageing programs adapted to this group in the social-health field.
The Government of Aragon, for its part, in its “Digitéate” project by a·Autismo, focuses on the field of training and labour inclusion. In this context, the ATADES Training Centre, with a·Autismo, in collaboration with the Zaragoza City Council, is carrying out a Professional Certificate in Recording and Processing Operations of Data and Documents in which people with Autism Spectrum Disorder with mild or moderate support needs participate. The purpose of this training is to train students in carrying out data recording operations, as well as in the transcription, reproduction and archiving of information and documentation necessary for administrative tasks. This will allow them to access occupations and work roles such as computer data operators, office assistants, archivists, document operators and digitisation assistants.
Tackling this problem is essential for a group in which maturity and ageing remain key stages, but are still largely unknown, and addressing them represents a challenge for the whole of society. “Autistic people make up 1% of the population” says Aline Bravo, who asks for “understanding, it is not that big an effort.” “We are on the right path, I have total confidence” concludes Noemí Navarro hopefully.