Professor who discovered adult autism creates collective that has already detected 52 other cases at Unicamp

From the diagnosis of autism, just over a year ago, the law graduate and professor Guilherme de Almeida, 39, decided to help adults who suspect they have the same condition as him, especially those who face difficulties in higher education.

For this, in July 2021, he created the CAUCamp (Unicamp Autistic Collective), a group that refers these people to specialists who charge more affordable values ​​for their consultations.

The collective of the State University of Campinas does not receive financial aid, only volunteers collaborate, according to him. They are people who believe in the cause of including people with disabilities in higher education. And the idea of ​​Almeida, who has worked as a civil servant in Curitiba (PR) and Jundiaí (SP), is to expand this assistance.

“We are not always able to offer zero cost, but, in these cases, we seek referrals to professionals who care for social values.”

A consultation, which can reach R$ 250, costs R$ 50, on average, with the indication of the collective, explains the professor. CAUCamp also has profiles on Instagram and Facebook to exchange information about autism.

​He says that between July and October of last year, the collective has already identified 52 people within Unicamp with a diagnosis of autism among students, faculty and staff, after sending a questionnaire to map these people in the academic environment and discover their demands.

All this with the guidance of psychologist Mayck Hartwig, specializing in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in adults. Another 70 cases are under investigation.

“On the first day, we received almost 70 forms. Many had the history of each person and questions whether relatives were autistic. Others reported family and relationship issues, indicating the reasons why they believed they were on the spectrum”, says the CAUCamp coordinator.

With the collective, Almeida says that he is targeting —not exclusively— university students who may experience difficulties throughout the course. ​”We ​​want to work so that people can finish their degrees or specializations and work in the areas they dedicated themselves to at the university.”​

He declares that he also receives patients of other ages, some even over 60 years old. “It’s a diverse audience that doesn’t receive follow-up in a systematic way. It’s this vacuum that we try to fill.”

Master and doctoral student in education at Unicamp, Almeida says that he suffered, throughout his life, with incorrect diagnoses. At the age of seven, he had an indication of depression, as he cried a lot and suffered from constant insomnia. In addition, he claims that he had difficulty relating to children and adults.

“But this was not detected. Autism is still related to intellectual disability. And I was considered intelligent”, he says. “I used to hear that intelligent people are strange, not sociable, more introspective. When all this, in fact, is part of a mythology that has no support.”

The professor reports that he had a more complex crisis at age 12. At that moment, he went through big changes: new school and his parents’ divorce. “I collapsed. I didn’t talk anymore, I didn’t go to the bathroom alone, I didn’t feed myself, I didn’t dress myself.”

Even so, he remained diagnosed with depression and there, with medication used to reduce tension and anxiety, his two-decade-long saga of medication began. “I took various medications to balance my supposedly chronic depression, but my condition remained. The suffering was enormous.”

The difficulties during the school phase, where he felt excluded, became complex issues, also in academic life. He reports being sensitive to noise, especially during classes, and that he even attempted suicide in 2015, before understanding what was happening to him. Therefore, he says that early diagnosis is essential.

The professor reveals that he finally received his conclusive report after almost a year of doing evaluations. “It was a turning point in my life. When I understood what was happening to me, I gained tools to achieve balance, tranquility and not suffer anymore. I had doubts whether this diagnosis would become public, but I didn’t want to stay in that closet.”

Relevant support

According to psychologist Hartwig, the diagnosis of ASD contributes to more assertive clinical decision-making, guarantees the autistic person access to their rights, and can also dampen depression. “This helps autistic adults understand their difficulties and seek relevant support from educational, health or social services.”

Hartwig explains that late-diagnosed autistic adults often report long-standing stress from social isolation, bullying, exclusion, and the perception that they are different, which makes post-diagnosis psychological and psychiatric assistance necessary.

Scientific promoter Bruno de Sousa Moraes, 3, felt it in his skin. He had his condition confirmed in July 2021, the same month he met CAUCamp. He says that he was bullied at school when he was younger and, after the diagnosis of a friend, in 2021, he decided to study more on the subject, as he saw many similarities with her.

Not finding a group that could help him at the time, he sought help from a private doctor, as his health plan also doesn’t offer autism specialists in adults.

The scientific promoter claims that he was unemployed at the time and, therefore, got a discount for the diagnosis (which takes months), R$ 800. But he says that the average price in the clinics is up to R$ 2,100. “With that, I arrived at the collective knowing I was autistic”, he says.

But Moraes reinforces the importance of being in a group that understands his desires. “It brought a feeling of recognition, visibility and self-esteem. There needs to be a space that welcomes autistic people who enter a university, for example”, says Moraes, who intends to take more courses at Unicamp, with the support of the collective.

Erica Araújo Constanini, a psychologist specializing in ASD, works in partnership with CAUCamp, serving patients sent by the collective at popular prices. “I have recently seen more and more cases of adults who discover they are autistic after evaluating their children,” says the expert.

According to writer Andrea Werner —mother of Theo, 13, who is autistic, and author of the book “Caterpillar Turns Pupa: Life and Learning by the Side of a Beautiful Autistic Boy”—diagnosis before age three is important. , because there is a window for the baby’s development until that age, when there is still a child’s brain plasticity.

“It is possible to teach many skills that the child would not learn alone because of autism. So it is possible to minimize these delays that the child may have”, he says. “Today we see adults being diagnosed, often after their children.”

The UN estimate is that there are 70 million people on the autistic spectrum in the world, 1% of the population, with the highest incidence being in men.