I was awake in the night last night, around 5am-ish incase you're interested, and although I wasn't feeling distressed about anything (I can suffer from anxiety) I wasn't feeling able to go straight back to sleep. So I did what I always do in these situations, which is continue listening to the audio book I was listening to last time I was awake in the night. At the moment that book is 'Guy Martin: My Autobiography'.

I discovered Guy Martin a year or two ago from his TV series, I now always watch one if I see it's on. I love his enthusiasm for everything! When my daughter stopped listening to audio books I had two book credits left to use before cancelling my subscription, so I chose Guy Martin's two books. I've been gradually making my way through the first.

Whilst I was listening last night, I had a thought that maybe he could be autistic. I immediately derided myself - telling myself I was just seeing autism everywhere and to stop being ridiculous. So it was rather sureal when he then recounted his trip to a psychiatrist who told him he had aspergers! This morning I'm half wondering whether I just dreamt that part!

The obvious signs of his autism were there in his single minded focus and love of all things mechanical, he finds working on trucks, and being in his van, relaxing and comforting as well as productive work; and of course his intense discomfort and difficulty with crowds of fans and being asked to approach and talk to strangers for TV work. He also has integrity, honesty, and huge attention to detail - which is of prime importance if you're hands on wanting your bike to be just right for racing!

I love that Guy Martin has both been public about his aspergers, and in a way that isn't a sensationalist big deal. It's a mention, and an explanation of why he can't be involved in huge PR events to the extent that other people are (he's not just being intentionally "difficult" or a "diva" - how anybody could think that who knows anything about him at all is pretty crazy - you'd be hard pressed to find anybody so down to earth!). He's still just Guy Martin getting on with his life. Not that he's looking to be one, but I think he's a good awareness advert for how infinitely different everyone on the spectrum is - not everyone exhibits extremes like Rain Man or The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time, as wonderful as it is to have those too - the more variety everyone sees the more they can appreciate that there is no one distinct picture of autism, it's different for everyone.