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Manchester United Women goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel recently opened up on her autism diagnosis, sharing the news with fans on social media.
Since then, our young shot-stopper reveals she has gone through several emotions when it comes to her ASD, but she is determined to become a role model on the back of it.
“I want to be that role model because unfortunately there is a negative stigma around ASD and autism,” she told club media in an interview.
“There is nothing different about it, we just see life a little bit differently.
“I just want to be there and announce it [so] people can be like ‘I can do that and just because I’ve got autism doesn’t mean I can’t make or do the things I want to do’.
“I [want] to show people they can do whatever they want, you’ve just got to put your head to it.”
Safia says her life is ‘more positive’ now she has answers and clarity on what have been struggles for her – she also has the support of both the club and her team-mates.
“They’ve been great,” she told regarding the support she has received from her team-mates.
“The first person I told was my best friend Jess [Simpson], she’s been amazing with it and just being there for me and in trying to get me out of this mask that I’ve been hiding behind.
Safia Middleton-Patel with best friend Jess Simpson.
“The goalkeeper union is unreal and also Leah [Galton] has been reading a book about it just to understand it a little bit more and understand my quirks and why I do the things the way I do.
“I do feel very happy that it is there now and I can understand it and share my story – my life is a lot more positive now.”
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