The teen making her village more autism-friendly

A 17-year-old girl is helping to make her Highland village become more autism-friendly.

Nuala MacDonald, who lives near Ullapool, struggled with autism when she was younger and noises, smells and dimmed lighting can affect her behaviour. She was later diagnosed and now describes the development disorder as her superpower.

A trip to Channel-Port aux Basques - dubbed Canada's most autism-friendly town - inspired Nuala to approach local businesses about steps they could take.

Ideas she brought back from Newfoundland included quiet areas in cafés and restaurants and menus showing pictures of the food.

Nuala and her mum Lisa MacDonald, a Gaelic academic, have spoken of their experiences of autism in a new BBC Alba documentary.

Autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects people in different ways.

Nuala said when she was younger she felt like she had to wear a mask in public.

"During the day I tried to pretend that I was fine and didn't want to be unlike others or odd," she said.

But Nuala said she did get into trouble one day at school for saying it was too noisy in the classroom.

Lisa, a single parent, said before Nuala was diagnosed life at times could be difficult and lonely.

She added: "One of the challenges was that she had two different personalities between school and home.

"In school she was shy and extremely well behaved."

Lisa said Nuala's school persona meant having to bottle up her feelings all day. She said when her daughter came home it was like an "explosion", leading to rows between them.

But she added: "She had to have a release point, and that happened in her safe place."

Nuala said her diagnosis came as a relief and later, in 2018, she was able to join her mum on a trip to Canada, where she was giving a speech on Gaelic.

During the visit, they went to Channel-Port aux Basques and met with Joan Chaisson, a retired special education teacher and co-founder of support group Autism Involves Me (Aim).

Aim works with local schools and businesses to raise awareness of autism and what simple steps they could take to help people with autism.

Nuala said putting pictures of food on menus helped people who found it difficult to explain what they would like to eat.

She said: "It gave me an idea I could do something like that in my own community that would make a huge difference for people."

Nuala has been developing her idea over the past few years and West Coast Delicatessen recently became her project's first autism-friendly business.

She worked with the deli's Stephanie Martin to produce a map to show a quiet area and also parts of the shop where it could be busy or noisy.

The business also introduced times when the radio would be switched off to make the shop quieter.

Ms Martin said it was exciting to be part of Nuala's initiative, adding: "It's very rewarding to see a young person taking this forward."

In the documentary, Nuala has also shared insights into her photographic memory and her talent for rowing, which helped her win a bronze medal at the 2022 St Ayles Skiff World Championships.

She said: "Lost of people ask me if I would rather not have autism.

"I tell them that I like having autism because I have these superpowers."

Nuala’s World - #MyAutismFriendlyVillage will be available on BBC iPlayer and BBC ALBA from 21:00 on Monday 5 August.