Hi guys. Sorry if this is in the wrong topic but I want to share something personal.
One of my friends and basketball teammate from primary school recently took his own life after battling mental illness. I, like many of my other friends were shocked because we never knew he was battling such problems before. To many of us he was a quiet but gentle, kind and passionate teammate and friend who was incredibly supportive and optimistic. We were really good friends for a long period of time after we started playing basketball, often going out to play with others or with each other after school. After moving from Perth to Adelaide I lost contact with him and was recently thinking about reconnecting with him to see how he’s been, only to learn that he has passed away, and I‘m feeling extremely guilty for not being there to support or speak him when he needed his friends the most. I want to support his family and friends during this time but I don’t know what to do.
What can I do to support his friends and family during this time?
At the very least, send a condolence card (with return address, they should send back a thanks - although it might not be straight away). Something might stem from that.
If you don’t have the address, find out who the funeral director is/was and send it there. They should forward it on to the family.
It’s the simple things, especially at a time when mourning is involved.
Not sure which thread to say this in, or even if this revelation is worthy of its own. But it’s time to say something long overdue (even though some would’ve already known this about me):
I’m another Media Spy member who’s on the spectrum, so to speak. I’d be extremely surprised if there weren’t other autistic members on this forum (I wouldn’t even be surprised if there are people with autism working in the Australian media, but have chosen to keep their diagnosis private), but of course I’d never out anyone without their permission.
Why have I been reluctant to make this public for so long? Probably in large part because the Australian media’s track record when it comes to covering/representing those with autism is extremely poor. Sure there’s been those shows from the public broadcasters over the past year or so, but has anyone ever seen a positive representation of an autistic on mainstream Australian commercial television or radio? Because I certainly can’t remember any.
Of course, it’s nothing short of a relief that places like Media Spy exist for me to discuss elements of the media that the general public either ignore or hate. I never would’ve received so many insights (and of course, hope to receive many more in the future) about our TV and radio landscape if I never joined this forum or Twitter. On the flipside, I’m sure there’s occasionally been things I’ve picked up on before anyone else.
To say the least, right now is a very interesting time in history. While there are very few if any opportunities open at the moment, I really hope that at some point in the future I’ll get to meet more people from the media (having only met a few so far) or even actually get to visit a TV or radio network. But at the same time, of course I understand and accept that due to the current pandemic this is likely to be a while off like so many other good things in life.
Finally for now, a completely irrelevant thought which came to mind after being reminded that Sophie Delezio (who alongside Mike Dalton, Samara Gardner and Sarah Navin, is one of the very few media-related people I’ve actually met in real life as I’m sure many know by now) will be one of the subjects in the series of Anh’s Brush with Fame screening soon on ABC-TV: Doesn’t she live in London these days? If so, I personally think it’d be great if the London correspondent for Nine News who just happens to be another Sophie from Sydney did a “Special Report” with her at some point in the future!
Good on you for speaking about something I’m sure others wouldn’t be comfortable in doing - and I agree with your points about Autism representation on Aussie TV.
I deal with a lot of kids who are autistic and they can be some of the most friendly kids going around - they just need someone who they can converse with at their level.
MediaSpy is, and always has been (even if its not apparent) an outlet for us media followers to give our opinions in a rather safe environment. Thanks to the net, these sort of places have appeared and allows for like minded people to discuss this sort of thing. Now that’s something that has been rather awesome about the Internet.
I think I got autism in 2006 when I was 1. My younger sister Victoria was born with a condition that almost killed her. She was supposed to be born in April but was born in January instead. She stayed in the hospital for I think a few months. She survived by the barest of margins. She was released soon after that. I don’t remember too much from that. My parents tell me this sometimes. Anyway the School I go to is Jacana School for Autism in Jacana, VIC. All students are on the Autism Spectrum. A friend of mine, Memphis, had a twin brother named Ty who had a similar condition that my sister had but tragically died soon after.
a freind of mine who is in her late 50s has also got autsim. and iam so glad i rang her yesterday. she was so scared of what she saw on the news about the lockdown in melbourne that she thought it would come here to ballarat. but after a while of talking she realised it wouldnt and then she calmed and she is a mother of 3 daughters in melbourne . she was ok after they rang but was still scared till i rang
Your posts on Twitter are always informative. I’m very reluctant to post on Twitter … probably because I’m there under my real name and had the odd run-in with loud mouth stars in the past.
Joe Hildebrand hasn’t blocked (infact quite the opposite, even following) me on Twitter.
I do know of at least two now-former TV news reporters (including one which used to be on-air in Sydney) who’ve blocked me for reasons known to themselves and not any others…which probably says more about them than me.
Of course I never like to brag about having Twitter followers but do think it’s great that a reasonably wide mix of people inside and outside the media seem to appreciate my contributions.
