A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Etheses - Queen Margaret ...

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sharing it you gain so much strength by knowing that you have that... if you like,
sisterhood or brotherhood of people who are there to support you and who have
shared values... and you know that no matter how crap it can get, you know that
collectively you are able to make an impact... on the environment around you... and
so I think sometimes that sharing it and being able to let go of it can actually be
really powerful in terms of strengthening you... (l.3:252ff.)
Ben: Birmingham New Street
I met Ben outside WH Smith‟s at Birmingham New Street railway station. We had agreed to
reconstruct his twice-weekly passage between platforms on his journey between Coventry
and the university he attends. As somebody with autism Ben describes this as an unpleasant
but necessary experience which he tries to get over as quickly as possible (l.3:390ff.) It
involves going up one escalator and hurrying to another down to platforms 2 and 3, unless
there has been an alteration. It is an underground station which creates a sensation of
enclosure filled with noise: people all around talking, trains revving, revving becoming
throbbing, clattering running footsteps, trundling wheels of suitcases, piercing whistles,
incessant announcements about trains, platforms, platform changes, delays, departures,
informing people that smoking is not permitted anywhere in this station. On this day as well
Pudsey Bear rattled his collecting tin for Children in Need. Ben says he regards it as an
endurance event to get through:
the noise is
the biggest
thing
it‟s inside
of me
it‟s taking
up all my
processing
capacity
if I pick up