{"id":7027,"date":"2018-08-31T10:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T02:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/stargazer-student-spectrum-shines-bright\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T13:08:54","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T05:08:54","slug":"stargazer-student-spectrum-shines-bright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/stargazer-student-spectrum-shines-bright\/","title":{"rendered":"Young alumni stories: Stargazer: student on the spectrum shines bright"},"content":{"rendered":"

Curtin alumna, Jacinta Reynolds, is a very accomplished woman. Graduating from Curtin in 2017 with a\u00a0Bachelor of Science (Physics)<\/a>, majoring in astrophysics, and with a string of scholarships to her name, she is also a writer, a talented visual artist and an engaging public speaker with a cracking sense of humour. Twenty-three-year-old Jacinta also happens to be autistic, diagnosed at 14 years of age. She was informed by two of the three schools she attended that she would never go to university, or complete a degree, and she would be dependent on other people all her life.<\/p>\n

In the fifth edition of the\u00a0Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders<\/a>\u00a0(DSM V), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined by having difficulties in two areas; social communication and interaction, and restricted, repetitive behaviours or interests. The description is necessarily clinical for diagnostic purposes but doesn\u2019t do Jacinta \u2013 warm, bright, passionate, funny \u2013 any form of justice.<\/p>\n

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics,\u00a0in 2015 there were 164,000 Australians with ASD<\/a>. Autism is diagnosed on the basis of behavioural criteria and boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed than girls.<\/p>\n

Bullying and autism, the invisible disability<\/h2>\n

Throughout her childhood Jacinta, born in the United States and with a soft American accent, always knew she was different. When her family moved to England, and she attended a private girls boarding school, the increasingly complex social interactions of her peers left her confused and isolated. When Jacinta was 14, an astute teacher pulled her parents aside and told them she thought Jacinta was on the spectrum and that the condition was underpinning her social challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t diagnosed until I was fourteen. I was at an all-girls boarding school, population about 300 girls. It was tough, because you live with half of them and half of them think you\u2019re the weird American. I\u00a0was<\/em>\u00a0weird,\u201d Jacinta says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the teachers couldn\u2019t understand why I was getting bullied so badly, why I had what looked like symptoms of depression, until one of the English teachers turned around and said to my mum, \u2018I think Jacinta might have a form of autism that is making her struggle in school socially with the girls\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe helped kids with\u00a0dyspraxia<\/a>,\u00a0dysgraphia<\/a>, all the rest of it, so she picked up on it straight away. It was the only reason she could see why [the] things [I said] weren\u2019t coming out the way that I\u2019d intended them to. I was not aware [of] what they were coming out as.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jacinta
Jacinta was bullied badly at school (pictured here working at Scitech).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A piece of Jacinta’s artwork.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Jacinta was fifteen the family moved to Perth, Western Australia, where her father was from and his family still lived. Jacinta attended a co-educational Catholic school where the teachers supported and accommodated her natural gifts for learning, however the bullying from her peers continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good experience, mostly for the learning enrichment, but I still got mercilessly bullied. My year hated me with a fiery passion. They would go out of their way to isolate me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have an invisible disability, it\u2019s a lot easier to make fun of people. When you\u2019re autistic you\u2019re invisible. Nobody can see your disability, they take advantage of it. Kids are inherently cruel. They\u2019re trying to find their place in the world and they take that out on everybody around them. It\u2019s horrible. I hated school. Every school I went to, I hated the kids and I loved the teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pathways and presuming competence<\/h2>\n

While the incessant bullying and social isolation made school a traumatic environment for Jacinta, there were two teachers who made a crucial difference to her experience and set her on her current path. The first, at her school in England, introduced her to what would become her great passion: astronomy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with it,\u201d Jacinta says, simply. \u201cI just fell in love with the way my teacher told all the stories and incorporated it into History and English and Science and Health, and it just went on and on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second teacher, in Australia, told her she had the intelligence to attend university and, with the support of the school, that was where she was going to go. For a young girl, who had been bullied for years by her peers, and told by her teachers that she was not capable of higher education, the words were both a boon and a contract.<\/p>\n

In the nurturing environment of the school\u2019s Learning Enrichment Program Jacinta flourished academically. She worked hard and gained the marks to attend Curtin where, in 2013, she enrolled in a\u00a0Multidisciplinary Science<\/a>\u00a0degree with a Headmaster\u2019s Recommendation Scholarship. Jacinta\u2019s goal was to become a science communicator.<\/p>\n

\"Jacinta's
Jacinta’s first year as a university student was very challenging.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sink or swim<\/h2>\n

If there\u2019s one word to describe Jacinta\u2019s first year at Curtin it\u2019s\u00a0challenging<\/em>. The social demands of university life were bewildering and Jacinta\u2019s anxiety about making friends skyrocketed. The academic requirements of her course felt onerous and difficult to navigate. In what felt like an increasingly foreign environment, Jacinta began to flounder.<\/p>\n

\u201cUni is very different to school. It\u2019s the adult world. It\u2019s not safe, it\u2019s not enclosed. I didn\u2019t know how to be an adult, to \u2018do adulting\u2019,\u201d Jacinta says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also had to do group work, which I thought was fine until I realized working in groups meant I had to socialise!\u201d<\/p>\n

Years of being bullied at school had taken their toll on Jacinta\u2019s confidence. She battled on through 2013, however it was a lonely and unhappy experience. If 2013 was gruelling for Jacinta, 2014 was her year of serendipity. She changed courses and began studying physics, majoring in astrophysics, and, in a case of mistaken identity, she was invited to join the\u00a0Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program<\/a>\u00a0(CSMP).<\/p>\n

The CSMP is a unique peer support program for students on the autism spectrum established in 2014 by Program Managers, Dr Jasmine McDonald and psychologist, Theresa Kidd. Mentors on the program support mentees in all aspects of university life and, in return, gain experience working with neurodiverse people and a more grounded and informed understanding of what autism is. For many mentors, who may have learnt about autism from a textbook as part of an allied health\u00a0degree, the program provides an invaluable opportunity to broaden their academic knowledge with \u2018real-world experience\u2019 by working directly with the experts on autism: autistic people.<\/p>\n

\"Jacinta
Jacinta speaking about her experience with the CSMP at the recent Perth World Autism Day Morning Tea, one of many autism events she speaks at.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since its establishment,\u00a0the CSMP has been evaluated<\/a>\u00a0by a number of students undertaking postgraduate studies in\u00a0psychology<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0occupational therapy<\/a>\u00a0and members of the\u00a0Curtin Autism Research Group<\/a>\u00a0(CARG).<\/p>\n

For Jacinta, the CSMP was a lifeline. It offered a quiet place of refuge, with likeminded peers, and all the encouragement and support she needed to continue on at university and achieve her goals. The positive social experiences she had with her mentors, a neurotypical student cohort, boosted her confidence in her ability to interact with other students on campus and in her course.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you saw me at the beginning of my degree and compared me to how I am now, there\u2019s really no comparison,\u201d says Jacinta.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program helped me grow as a person. I wouldn\u2019t be here without their support and their belief that I have a unique gift to communicate. If it weren\u2019t for my mentors who helped and guided me [through university] I wouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the guidance of CSMP staff and mentors Jacinta also worked as a volunteer at\u00a0Scitech<\/a>\u00a0for eighteen months to gain experience as a science communicator, her ideal job. With autistic adults\u00a0almost six times as likely to be unemployed as their neurotypical counterparts<\/a>, it was imperative that Jacinta was strategic about how to transition from university to paid employment. A significant barrier to employment for autistic people is often the formal interview process, which can be extremely stressful for someone on the spectrum. Work experience \u2013 or showing not telling \u2013 is often a better way for an autistic person to demonstrate their skills and potential.<\/p>\n

Post Curtin life: an employee, ambassador and advocate<\/h2>\n

In 2017, Jacinta was awarded her bachelor degree, the only female in a group of seven to graduate in astrophysics. She is now a CSMP Ambassador,\u00a0regularly giving talks and presentations at autism-related events. While she is an accomplished and entertaining public speaker, she still battles significant stage fright, and has grappled with the stress of appearing \u2018typical\u2019 in such public arenas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get really nervous. You know those butterflies people talk about when you meet somebody new for the first time? I get those times twenty when I\u2019m walking up on the stage. My legs shake so badly it looks like I\u2019m having my own personal earthquake,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll stand behind a lecturn until the nerves settle down or I\u2019ll wear dresses and skirts, which hides it. I taught myself techniques to manage the stress of talking to people I\u2019ve never met, who don\u2019t know me, who don\u2019t know my opinions. It\u2019s that fear that someone will take what I\u2019ve said the wrong way. And I think that\u2019s everybody\u2019s fear, but it\u2019s more so when you\u2019ve spent your whole life being judged by people who don\u2019t know [about autism].<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople when they hear the word \u2018autism\u2019, they make their own judgements automatically. And you have to spend most of your time, when you\u2019re standing up there talking, convincing them that if they\u2019ve made the wrong judgement, then they\u2019re wrong because they don\u2019t know [about autism].<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to spend most of your time presenting as normal as possible. I think it was about my second presentation when I decided\u00a0You know what? I give up. I\u2019m not going to pretend to be something you want me to be, and I\u2019m going to be myself<\/em>. And that\u2019s the most important discovery I made for myself. I stopped trying to be the perfect candidate, or the perfect speaker, or the perfect whatever, and really focused on what I wanted to try and get across to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jacinta
Deciding to simply be herself paid dividends for Jacinta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deciding to simply be herself was a moment of clarity that was to pay real dividends for Jacinta. When a paid role for a science communicator came up at Scitech, she applied for it and was granted an interview, which included a presentation on a scientific topic for five-to-seven year olds. Jacinta spoke passionately about how fridge magnets stick on fridges. When she\u2019d finished, she left the room and hoped for a positive outcome. She got a phone call six hours later; the panel\u2019s decision to hire her was unanimous. For Jacinta, it was a dream come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cScitech is an awesome place to work. We\u2019re such a diverse team with lots of different scientific backgrounds, weird quirks and amazing personalities. It\u2019s why I love it so much, it just feels like a big supportive family and I feel so safe and secure there,\u201d Jacinta says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job includes selling tickets at the front desk on some days, on others I walk the floor and communicate with parents, teachers, and kids and talk to them about science and try and engage them in tinkering activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Thursdays I work with the Professional Learning team, organising their survey data and doing stats for them. I have learnt so much about myself, social skills and communication skills from being there, and there is so much more to learn!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jacinta
Jacinta working at Scitech’s Creativity Central school holiday program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Jacinta has landed her dream job, her university journey may not be quite finished. She\u2019s considering returning to tertiary studies to undertake a\u00a0Master of Education<\/a>, and hopes to use her experiences to educate, inform and encourage students, teachers and administrators in secondary education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see a program like the Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program in all universities and all schools,\u201d Jacinta says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to work with teenagers and young adults on the spectrum and their teachers too. I feel like I need to go out to schools and talk to them. Show them what can be done, and that it\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Curtin Specialist Mentoring program has a range of resources, which\u00a0are available for universities across Australia to implement their own peer mentoring program, and\u00a0can be accessed here<\/a>. The CSMP website\u00a0can be accessed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty-three-year-old astrophysics graduate is a writer, a talented visual artist, an engaging public speaker and scholarship recipient. She also happens to be autistic, diagnosed at 14 years of age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":7028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-7027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Graduate snapshot","content":"

Name:\u00a0Jacinta Reynolds<\/p>\n

Studied: Bachelor of Science (Physics)<\/a><\/p>\n

Graduated: 2016<\/p>\n","image":false},"related_courses":false,"credits":{"author":{"title":"Arianne Chavez","url":"#","target":""},"photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/792x420-CROPPEDDSC_0911.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Curtin University"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 07:56:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7027"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=7027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}