Tom Weber was diagnosed as an adult with autism. We discuss his story, the resources available for people with autism in Luxembourg — along with information for the caregivers who support loved ones with autism.

My guests this week are: 

- Tom Weber, English - German translator, and published author

- Sabine Angelsen, Director CTSA, Centre pour enfants et jeunes

présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme

- Anne Wagner, CTSA - psychologist

- Nathalie Oberweis, Head of Learning & Development - Autism Luxembourg

- Aleks Panzone, co-founder of T'ees Iced Tea

Tom Weber, a colleague at RTL Today, catalysed the topic of autism for this show by writing about it himself when diagnosed as an adult aged 27. Through Tom’s awareness-raising of neurodiversity we explore what autism is, how it can present, and what help is available to caregivers and autistic people themselves in Luxembourg.

Tom eloquently describes his own personal story, the constant effort of masking, the dark periods and the changes to one’s self-perception when diagnosed late.

Tom Weber is an English-German translator and this lifestyle fits his requirements for a professional life very well, whilst also giving him time to pursue his own writing of prose and poetry. Tom is a published author and won first prize at the National Literary Competition in 2020.

Autism is a very broad spectrum of neurodiverse traits and is more common than we may think, says Anne Wagner, CTSA - psychologist. And yet, over diagnosis can be an issue since there are frequent co-morbidities that accompany autistic people (aggression, ADHD, anxiety, depression, psychosis, for instance).

There is a heightened rate of suicide amongst autistic people and a higher rate of divorce for the care-givers. Tom describes the pain of not being able to connect with people and how that can lead to deep depression, which could result in suicide if one doesn’t have a strong support network.

Sabine Angelsen and Anne Wagner work with children and their families at the Centre pour enfants et jeunes présentant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme (CTSA).  They see children at the point at which some form of issue has presented, but many children find ways to mask their difficulties in social settings.

Nathalie Oberweis, Head of Learning & Development at Autism Luxembourg, helps people to develop skills in a safe environment through their various workshops. They provide vocational training, education, and even a day-centre in Sandweiler. They also have some home-help services and a limited number of accommodation facilities.

The workplace can be quite traumatic for an autistic person. We discuss what measures an employer could put in place to help this type of mind.  It is often hard to ‘see’ neurodiverse issues; they can be thought of as ‘invisible handicaps’.

Aleks Panzone is just 23 years old and is the co-founder of T'ees Iced Tea. This (delicious) iced tea is produced by people with Autism in Luxembourg, aiming to raise awareness and supporting them by offering a safe working environment and decent wage. It is only made with local and natural ingredients; no added sugar and no artificial flavours. Aleks is helping people with autism live as fully integrated members of society.

https://just-thoughts.net/about/#:~:text=Tom%20Weber%20was%20born%20in,publishes%20books%2C%20mostly%20poetry%20collections.

www.autisme.lu

https://cc-ctsa.lu/

https://plantatea.com/

https://just-thoughts.net/2023/12/07/the-stranger-behind-my-eyes-27-years-undiagnosed-autistic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teesicetea/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/t-ees/?viewAsMember=true