UKC

Our Friday Night Video this week features Georgia Pilkington, an autistic climber who has challenged herself to climb the Old Man of Stoer. Georgia has learned to be 'normal,' despite her desire to just be herself. Climbing has helped her confront her issues and realise that for her, 'normal' just isn't.

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In reply to UKC News:

What a great little film. Carry on being yourself!

In reply to UKC News:

Quite moved by that. Well done!

In reply to UKC News:

Nice - I like the comment "the only people who really know me are my climbing partners" - reminds me of a quote from Paul Petzold "the only time you really get to know people is when you climb with them"

In reply to UKC News:

I enjoyed this wee film.

In reply to UKC News:

Nice account of her experience of climbing the matterhorn: http://www.womenclimb.co.uk/georgia-pilkington-climbing-the-matterhorn/

In reply to UKC News:

Beautiful inside and out . Thumbs up!

In reply to UKC News:

Got to watch this gem at Kendal and meet and congratulate Georgia afterwards (and share the memorable importance of Fulmar avoidance on this route .

In reply to UKC News:

Could the dislikers please explain why ffs!!!

In reply to Ade in Sheffield:

Hi ade. I'm not a disliker, very rarely bother to like or dislike anything on here really. I have just watched the film, and thought it was okay, however generally I am beginning to feel a little tired by climbing films that are trying to be more than what they really are, using climbing or bouldering or alpine climbing (or running or mountain biking or anything really ) as a vehicle to convey a 'bigger', more poignant story underneath. Like I said, I didn't dislike this video, but I can understand why someone may have pressed the button. Sorry if this causes any offence. Tom.

In reply to thommi:

None taken.
Fair answer-

In reply to thommi:

You certainly have a point there. Maybe it's whether that story is portrayed in a positive or negative light that makes a film acceptable to us or not? For instance, the much discussed China Doll video was supposed to be about a 5.14 trad climber who had no self confidence - you don't climb 5.14 if you have no self confidence... There was supposed to be a gender issue there as well, but try as I might, I couldn't find it, though maybe I missed it in the enormous amount of unnecessary padding. Contrast that with this video of Georgia's very positive approach to her autism - this is what makes this film so much more endearing for me.

In reply to thommi:
Hi Tom,

Maybe I'm missing your point?

A rather large aspect of stories in general are entirely based upon telling a more poignant story underneath - as you put it - and this video is exactly that. The video is talking about Georgia's (and others) autism, how climbing has made such an impact on her life and how she believes that it could well make a large impact on others in her situation. It is not purely about the physical act of climbing Stoer.

I'm interested to know whether you feel that climbing gives you any deeper feeling aside from a purely physical activity? Unless you're a nihilist, I would imagine you feel a wholesome, psychological or spiritual nourishment from the activity?

Kind Regards

In reply to thommi:

Hey Thom,

Interesting point you have. There's certainly a market for "climbing porn" and I certainly love a good Sharma flick. But more recently, these types of films don't make as big and impact on the viewer as they used to do. People look for more relatable stories and characters, hence why a lot of film makers try and dig for the underlying story to what makes a climber do they things they do. It's basically a way of finding a narrative, and answering the age old question of "Why do we climb?"

Just thought I'd interject!

Glad people are enjoying my little film. Georgia will be thrilled to hear she's inspiring people. She's an incredibly inspiring young lady with a bright future ahead for her!

In reply to euanryan:
Really good little film, very inspiring as I have a child in the family who has autism who loves her climbing and beams all the way up every route. Go Georgia.
Dave

In reply to UKC News:

Anybody else heard the "mildly autistic" thing before? Coming to the conclusion that it's quite a common reaction. Autism is often dismissed as a bit of a scam isn't it?

I got it off one of the local climber jocks down here in the southeast. In the pub, when he'd had chance to give me the once over and could impress his cronies with his wisdom. If I framed his behaviour toward me ever since in that light then i might be tempted to say he's done everything in his power to exploit it as a weakness. A good old fashioned playground bully in a 40 year old body. Honestly surprised he's never asked for my lunch money.

Climbing is not always an escape.

In reply to drew harrison:


I'm not sure if people think f it as a scam, so much as they have no real understanding of the condition. I think that many people expect you to act like Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man".

I enjoyed the film. Always good to see people enjoying what they do.

In reply to drew harrison:
I'm don't think I'm following you here, and I'm curious what your point may be. Do you mind explaining?

For the record, I've got a personal interest in learning about and understanding ASD, and how people with the condition are perceived.... and I thought the film was just great. Well done Georgia and Final Crux.

In reply to Jezadee:

It's the third time i've heard "mild" applied to autism. My own experience, the girl in the video and i read it recently as a subheading in Mike Stanton's book on autism (2000). Seems a relatively common reaction.

Also from my experience it can not only be slightly dismissive but outright sinister. Climbing is no longer an escape for me here on the sandstone. I seem to be locked in a cage with my tormentor and his many sycophantic followers. My tormentor is a person of influence, locally at least, and assuming he was correct in his initial "diagnosis" then how am I to negotiate the social mire that he has placed before me. The character assassination that i have endured over the past 6 or 7 years since his pronouncement of "mildly autistic" has been as impressive as it has been effective. 

Probably no point, i just thought i'd share my experience.

 

 

In reply to drew harrison:

It's one of those things that depends on context. Generally, though, "mild" is not something you would want to use to describe a condition that so significantly affects an individuals life without risking causing offence. I would expect most of the time it's just used casually by people who know little about the condition to differentiate from what they understand to be autism (the Kanner end of the spectrum) and the more high-functioning end (like the young lady in this video). Generally, I would think people don't mean offence by using it, they just don't realise how hard life can be for even those at the high-functioning end especially when they're in their teens and twenties. 

As for the video, I thought it was good.

 

In reply to drew harrison:

Hi Drew,

Thanks for your reply. I've only just seen it. I'm sorry to hear what's been going on for you.  These adult bullies are despicable, taking their own problems out on others. I wish I had a solution to deal to that sort of behaviour.

To answer your original question, yes, I've heard of mild/moderate ASD - both as a real diagnosis (from a clinical team), where its impact is understood, and thrown about in conversation to mock people. I struggle to keep calm when those comments are bandied about - are the people making such comments showing a lack of empathy themselves, or do they simply not get it? My impression is that autism is often misunderstood, and its effects under-estimated, much like Wurzel wrote, above.

 

Personally, it's taken me a few years to begin to figure out what ASD might be and what it could mean for the affected individual, and that's seeing it first hand, day-to-day. It's been called a hidden disability - some traits can be seen if you know what to looks for, others misinterpreted. The classic case being the 'melt-down' taken for bad behaviour, over and over, wearing away a kid's self-worth and leading to depression. 

It certainly seems different for each person. This idea of a linear mild/moderate/severe scale seems inappropriate, and we've actually been told it is no longer used in diagnosis. I see it more like a honeycomb, with some functions amplified and some diminished. This can make unique and beautiful people, but I do worry about the negative effects of the social communication issues - is the best counter to that being raising awareness of the issues?  Exactly what this great film has done.

Off-topic but in the same subject, I wonder what folk make of this - an augmented reality kit to help users understand autism. : https://www.dezeen.com/2017/01/08/heeju-kim-emapthy-bridge-kit-help-users-u...