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Springwatch star Chris Packham says even being immersed in the natural environment he loves so much can be “overwhelming” for him, as he opens up about his Asperger’s syndrome in a new two-part BBC documentary on autism.
The 61-year-old conservationist, who has enjoyed a four-decade career as one of the UK’s most popular naturalists, is outspoken about his own 2005 diagnosis on Inside Our Autistic Minds, the first episode of which airs on BBC Two on Tuesday.
Describing how people without Asperger’s Syndrome can see a beautiful wooded scene when venturing into a forest, he explains that he experiences it very differently, seeing “every log, every branch.”
Packham says his version of autism is “enormously beneficial” for a naturalist, but also admits that sometimes the “visual part of my world” is just too much, saying it “gets absolutely overwhelming.”
Last month, the outdoorsman revealed that he has canceled all TV work for the next three months after feeling completely “burned out”.
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The 61-year-old BBC Winterwatch and Springwatch presenter was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2005 and is presenting a new two-part BBC documentary, Inside Our Autistic Minds, which airs on Tuesday night.
The two-part series sees him meeting people of different ages with autism in a bid to help convey the world they experience. It sees Packham helping a comedian reveal his true autistic self to his mother, as well as providing a voice for Murray, the son of radio DJ Ken Bruce, who doesn’t speak and communicates via a dashboard. mail letters.
The BBC’s Winterwatch and Springwatch presenter went public with his own Asperger’s Syndrome in 2016, and the following year made a BBC documentary on the subject titled Asperger’s and Me.
He says that people with autism should be understood, not ‘tolerated’, as he has expressed fears about the impact of social media on young people living with the condition.
The presenter says he is still ‘scarred’ by the ‘horrible’ bullying he faced as a child and said his life would have been ‘absolute hell’ if one particular bully had been able to continue abusing him online as well.
The show sees the naturalist reveal how his brain processes a beautiful forest scene differently than others would, focusing on granular detail where he scans “every trunk, every branch.”
The naturalist will focus on other people’s experience of autism in his latest BBC documentary (pictured with Springwatch co-host Michaela Strachan)
Packham says his version of autism is “enormously beneficial” for a naturalist, but also admits that sometimes the “visual part of my world” is “just too much.”
He said: ‘When I went to my room in the 1970s and closed the door and there was no way to reach me, I found safety. “I was in that space where I could continue to exist.
“But now that bedroom has been penetrated by social media because those kids will have their phones and they’ll have access to those people who don’t understand them.”
Explaining how an estimated 700,000 people in the UK could have autism, he continued: “Thanks to my visual memory, I can see some of the most horrible things other young people said to me as a child and they still hurt now which means they’ve taken one load so far.
‘They’ve tattooed something nasty into my psyche that will still have an influence now. If that comes via Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, that can be quite damaging.
‘I’m so glad that one particular boy in my youth was never able to make it into my room because he made my life an absolute hell…the damage is done. He just never goes away.
Packham acknowledged that social media could provide a space to “find like-minded people who aren’t in your classroom” and urged those with a “huge voice” to use it to raise awareness about autism.
“We just need to find people who have a voice and have the courage to speak up, but that’s hard,” he said. There are some great people with great voices that you know they could be using for great good, but they just aren’t. It’s pretty sad.
Packham, who was 44 when he was diagnosed, said the “overwhelming” response to the show inspired him to make the next two-parter, Inside Our Autistic Minds, in an attempt to help people understand the complexities of autism.
He said he had received many letters after going public with his Asperger’s syndrome in 2016, saying there could be as many as 700,000 people living with autism in the UK.
Timeout: The wildlife presenter is taking a break from the cameras for the first time in nearly four decades (pictured with Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke)
Scars: Packham says he was bullied at school and is relieved there was no social media at the time so his tormentors ‘were never able to get to me in my room’ (pictured as a kid and new BBC2 series)
Career: Chris says this is the first time in his TV career that he’s taken a break (pictured filming The Really Wild Show, which ran from 1986 to 1995)
He said: ‘It takes courage even as an adult to say ‘I recognize my difference’… [The] The beginning of what you are saying is “I would like you to accept it too. I ask you to understand it.”
‘Sometimes people say “tolerance” and I don’t think we should be tolerated. We should be understood.
Packham said he spent years “masking” his condition, suppressing certain behaviors that others may find bizarre, but making “catastrophic mistakes” that damaged close relationships when he accidentally kicked the habit.
“I have to be constantly cautious about what I say to the people I work with and live with because I don’t want to hurt them,” he said.
In January, Packham revealed that he had canceled all television work for the next three months after feeling completely “burned out”.
He said he’s taking a break from cameras for the first time in nearly four decades after saying he feels like he’s been constantly running on a treadmill. using the beginning of the year to create abstract sculptures of animals.
“I’m not going to buy a Ferrari and run off with a 20-year-old,” he said. Mirror.
I have never taken three months off. Never. I can barely sleep, I’m so excited. I may have to ban [partner] Charlotte from the studios.
On his new art project, Chris added: “I don’t want any interference or interruption, I want to keep going.” It will be good to clear my mind and focus on something else entirely.’
Inside Our Autistic Minds airs on BBC Two on February 14