View reality from an entirely different perspective

I hope this website along with my autobiography My World is not Your World will help others in similar circumstances to myself. This website gives an overview of how I experience my surroundings; this includes an animation Sight2017 of how my eyesight is affected by Visual Snow.

My World is not Your World is an autobiographical account which maps my challenging journey, with its many twists, from lost child to despairing teenager all the way to successful research scientist. My path was strongly influenced by Dyslexia, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and also some tenacity and a little humour!

My second edition (2017) includes all the material in the first edition, originally published in 1998, which describes my life up to the age of 26 years old. During these first 26 years of life nobody understood me, which led to a great many misunderstandings and significant difficulties at home, with my education and in most aspects of life.

In my second edition, published in 2017, I describe my steps away from the fringes of society where I was depressed, isolated and unemployed, to a place where I could engage with life, gain a university education and a full-time job.

My perceptions of the world around me are very different to most people's. I describe these alongside the ways that I overcome such obstacles. I hope, through my experiences, to help others like myself to be better understood by themselves and those around them.

'I looked out into the world, unable to make coherent sense of all the mesmerising fragments of sound, images and words.'

'All those who knew me were baffled as to why I was different, unable to do so many ordinary everyday things.'

'Meanwhile, so that I could express myself, I desperately searched for understanding and consistency.'

I invite you to enter into 'my world' and just for a moment completely forget 'your world'!

Dr Alison Hale