A NORTH-EAST teenager who was diagnosed with autism when he was just seven wants to develop a book to help people understand the condition and its effects.
Lewis Beeston, 17, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is being supported by Fixers, a charity that helps young people aged 16-25, to produce a book that explores the 'A-Z of autism'.
"We want to create the book because not enough people understand how vast and diverse the autism spectrum is," said Lewis, who is working on the project with a group of friends form the North-East Autism Society, based in Newton Aycliffe.
"We want other young autistic people who may only be on the mild side of the spectrum to better recognise their behaviour, and we want to stop people misconstruing autistic behaviour as insolence in schools."
A report about his campaign will be shown on ITV Tyne Tees on Thursday, September 5 from 6pm.
Through his Fixers project, Lewis wants to overcome misconceptions of autism and encourage understanding.
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