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Lived experience, Think Autism Sydney 2025
Michael Theo described life as a puzzle that needs every piece
In short
Asked at Think Autism Sydney in 2025 how much the people in his corner mattered, Michael Theo described support as security, friendship as a second family, and a life that cannot be completed alone.
Read it instead, 4 minutesThe transcript
The story
An audience member at Think Autism Sydney in May 2025 said they had followed Michael Theo’s progress since the two of them spoke during the 2020 lockdown. Taking the microphone, the questioner asked both panellists about the people who supported them, from colleagues at work to, in Theo’s case, his friendships and his new relationship. “How important are those people that, like you say, are in your corner and support you?” the questioner asked, and how did they shape the rest of their lives? Theo answered.
Theo’s answer started with security. He said that “everyone needs a support system to help guide them through life and to help them have a sense of security”. Without that security, he said, people are at their most vulnerable, and without a support system behind them, “we will be truly lost”.
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Sources the story draws on
- Loneliness in adults on the autism spectrum (opens in a new tab), Autism in Adulthood, vol. 1(3), pp. 182 to 193 (Ee, Hwang, Reppermund, Srasuebkul, Trollor, Foley and Arnold)
- Autism in Australia, 2022 (opens in a new tab), Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Michael Theo (author page) (opens in a new tab), Scholastic Australia
More from Think Autism Sydney 2025
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