Living with Autism can be very challenging, but not impossible. Today I caught up with Angus Baskerville, a magician who has autism. Have a read to find out about some of his challenges he has faced, and how that has not stopped him pursuing a career as a magician.

 

Angus Baskerville is 22 years old and has Autism & ADHD. He was diagnosed with Autism back in 2011 upon returning to the UK from living in South Africa. Angus has been doing magic for 4 1/2 years and it has really changed his life. He is also a university student who studies animal management. On top of all of this, Angus enjoys to give public talks about autism.

 

School & Bullying

Angus had a difficult time at school in South Africa and here in the UK, he attended a total of 15 different schools. Bullying was a major problem throughout this. Angus said that no school understood him, due to it being so hard to get a diagnosis living in South Africa. 

 

Angus was taken advantage of, bullied by his peers, being excluded by the younger ones, and beaten up by the older ones. He would often be in trouble with his teachers as they were unable to recognise any behaviour patterns, meaning that he was often seen as a child who would 'act out' rather than a child who was just misunderstood. 

 

Despite all of this going on Angus looks back on this in a positive way, saying it has made him have the confidence to be able to talk about his autism to help support and inspire others. 

 

Magic

Angus has an interest in magic. When he was little he used to go to kids parties and watch magic shows, as well as recieveing kits for birthday and christmas presents. Angus's interest in magic didn't click until he was older when he saw Dynamo performing on tv which amazed him. This curiosity and interest caused Angus to start looking up tricks online and he learnt some card tricks. Soon he asked his parents if he could go on magic course at the famous Davenports magic school in London. This lasted for 3 days, and upon return Angus started his journey as a magican. 

 

Like anyone else, Angus did face some challenges while starting out. Angus found it very difficult to go up to strangers and offer to perform magic due to a fear of being rejected. Angus conquered this challenge by working closely with a support worker to begin with. This soon gave him the confidence to work independently. 

 

Another challenge Angus faced to get to where he is today is managing his nerves on stage. Angus had to persevere through this using breathing techniques he had learnt. The more times he did this, the easier it got. 

 

Angus got the oppotunity to perform some of his magic on the television. 

Take a look! - https://youtu.be/tTaVsWXCOHY?t=15m48s

 

Autism

As I have talked about in previous blogs, each and every case of autism is unique. I asked Angus to define what Autism means to him. He described it as a gift, where your brain is wired differently. He also said that this does not make one disabled or stupid. Angus feels that if there was a cure for autism, he would not want to take it.

 

Angus enjoys to talk publically about autism. He has been through a lot over the years and has the experience to help and support parents of children with autism. 

 

One thing Angus wishes that people understood about Autism is that Autism is a gift, not a disability. It can be an advantage when working as a team (E.G. memory skills). 

 

 

Thank you very much for your time Angus! I look forward to speaking at an Autism conference with you next month. 

 

Make sure you take a look at Angus's Website & Facebook!

 

Website: www.angusbaskerville.com

 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/angusbaskervillemagic