Documentary star Nuala MacDonald on Spectrum Sessions
In October the National Autistic Society launched a new podcast series which gives a platform to unfiltered autism voices. The latest episode features Nuala MacDonald who triumphed in making her village more accessible.
Nuala, who is 17-years-old and is based in Ullapool, Scotland, featured in her own documentary otherwise known as Nuala’s World, which premiered on the BBC in August 2024.
The feature follows Nuala’s mission to make her hometown her autism-friendly which was inspired by her visit to Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland in Canada. Here restaurants put pictures of their food on their menus so people with autism can picture what they will be eating before they order.
Within the documentary, which lasts 30 minutes, we see Nuala work with schools, businesses and organisations to implement small changes to help autistic people feel more comfortable. Nuala joined forces with Stephanie Martin, who owns Ullapool’s West Coast Delicatessen, to create a map that shows a quiet area and highlights parts of the shop that are busy and noisy so people with autism can avoid sitting there.
Alongside helping other people, this latest podcast episode also gives Nuala a chance to share her story. She discusses her diagnosis, the challenges she’s faced and the positive outlook she’s adopted – Nuala now refers to autism as a ‘superpower’.
‘Lots of people ask me if I would rather not have autism,’ Nuala said. ‘I tell them that I like having autism because I have these superpowers now and I like that. I’m so proud of myself and of my superpowers.
‘I would like people on the spectrum to walk with their head held high. That’s very important. I want to be like that and to create a new stereotype. I look forward to that.’
Further episodes of Spectrum Sessions, hosted by Media and Communications Officer, Heather Carson, can be accessed for free in audio format on Spotify as well as videos on YouTube.
Previously we covered the launch of the series which featured Scottish actor Ben Gibben who recently won an award for his astonishing performance as the grief-stricken ‘Danny’ in the film Somewhere Boy.
