{"id":64063,"date":"2024-05-02T11:37:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T10:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=64063"},"modified":"2024-05-03T14:21:09","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T13:21:09","slug":"i-was-the-autistic-and-gay-kid-i-was-going-to-get-bullied-the-17-year-old-author-using-his-platform-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/05\/02\/i-was-the-autistic-and-gay-kid-i-was-going-to-get-bullied-the-17-year-old-author-using-his-platform-for-good\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was the autistic and gay kid, I was going to get bullied’: The 17-year-old author using his platform for good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A teenage author has sold over 70,000 copies of his book telling of his struggles with autism and bullying – in an effort to raise awareness of the condition and money for charity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie Michael Baker, from Leyland in Lancashire, self-published Autism and Me, and sold 14,000 copies in the first week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “I\u2019d been bullied all throughout school. It started really in my young years in primary school and with singling me out. I\u2019d sit on my own for lunch and when I went to secondary school it just got worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was being called names, I actually had to delete social media. People wouldn\u2019t be friends with me and I went home and cried every night. I had to literally lock myself into classrooms. I bunked off class because I had things thrown at me and I wouldn’t be allowed to move to the back of the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie said he had been surprised by the book’s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was thinking I\u2019ll sell about five copies to my family and friends, so I said I\u2019m going to donate all the proceeds to charity,” he said. “I posted it on Instagram and a few shares came through and then I put it on the local Facebook page and then it blew up from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe local papers picked it up, then the national papers picked it up and then international papers picked it up and now I\u2019m global.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charlie Michael Baker (Source: Charlie Michael Baker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to being sold in the UK, Charlie\u2019s book is also sold in Australia, Dubai and America where it is stocked in Walmart and Barnes and Noble. All of the money made from the sales is donated to various charities across the world that help people with autism with daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this success, Charlie suddenly started to see his follower count on Instagram rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used to be able to name every single person that followed me and now I\u2019ve got my own Google page and I get papped which is weird.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie now has 1.4 million Instagram followers with his online platform, he is continuing to share his story and struggles in an effort to help those who may be able to relate to his experience of autism and bullying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was diagnosed with autism at six years old, but did not have a Education, Health and Care (ECH) plan in place at school until he was 15. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly afterwards he was permanently excluded from school because they were not equipped to deal with his autism and could not resolve the bullying he was experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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