'Not weird, just limited edition'- Why this woman with Asperger's is fighting to rid the stigma

Faye Flint, from Stockton Heath, is a keen advocate for autism and wants people to realise that the diagnosis should not be seen as a weakness.

She has recently published a book to help people get inside the mind of someone on the autistic spectrum.

The 30-year-old explained: "Over the past few years I have been going to college, and while I was there I had to do a talk and decided to do it on Asperger's.

"I was trying to find research for it, and I realised that there was nothing that was simple to explain.

"There's people out there that want to learn about Asperger's, but I thought 'no wonder people don't understand it!'.

"I started thinking about it a lot and I took a pen and paper out with me.

"Every time I got in a situation that I thought people should know about, I would write about it."

This was the basis for 'Not weird, just limited edition: Inside the autistic mind', a best-selling book filled with thoughts, experiences and advice about life with autism and Asperger's.

Faye's words have touched people worldwide, with customers praising the way it has helped them to understand either themselves or others.

Faye has since been invited to talk to workplaces and schools.

"I just want to do more now and become a bit of an advocate for it," she said.

"There's things that people on the spectrum think they can't achieve, but just because you're on the spectrum, it doesn't mean you can't be successful.

"Sometimes, if you tell people you are autistic they do judge you.

"When I was told, I worried about what people would think.

"But, if anything, it gave me a drive to be even more successful - you are more capable than people think."

Faye was previously misdiagnosed with depression as a teenager but always knew that was not the answer to how she was feeling.

"I knew from the age of three I was different," she recalled.

"But the problem with diagnosing girls with autism is that girls hide it so well.

"When I was in high school, it became more obvious, but autism wasn't really a heard-of thing then, it was more used for boys.

"I couldn't deal with noise in the classroom or the stresses of being in classroom environment, and I would just walk out."

When she was finally diagnosed, Faye said she was 'stunned' and didn't truly believe it.

Since then, she has been fighting to prove people wrong about autism and wants to get rid of the stigma surrounding it.

Faye added: "I have started my journey as a motivational speaker and an author, neither of which I don't think I'd have achieved had I not used my Asperger's as a strength.

"You can turn it around if you ignore the naysayers and you can become whatever you want."

'Not weird, just limited edition: Inside the autistic mind' is available as a paperback on or Kindle at amazon.co.uk/Not-weird-just-limited-autistic/dp/B084WMZ3HD/.