BIRCHWOOD High School pupil Jake Lindsay, decided to mark Autism Awareness Month by raising awareness in a creative way.

Jake, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, wrote a series of poems to share his experiences of living and coping with autism in his day-to-day life.

Only one in every 100 people have autism, and the year 11 pupil understands it is difficult for others to appreciate how it feels to be autistic.

Jake, 16, was delighted that his poems were picked up by Autism Initiatives, a charity which provides a range of services to people with autism and Autism Initiatives are planning to publish the poems on their website.

Jake, from Birchwood, is hoping that his poems will help those around him at school and in his personal life to understand how he and others with autism feel and cope with life.

The approaching GCSE exams are a particularly stressful time for Jake and he hopes that by reading the poems, others in the same situation may benefit from his words.

Jake loves poetry and says Roger McGough and John Cooper Clarke inspire him. He wrote every day throughout April and really enjoyed the writing as an outlet for his feelings and thoughts.

As well as his poetry, Jake recently went to New York as part of the school’s media residential trip. He also plays for Warrington Wolves PAN Disability and is a member of Warrington Asperger’s Drama group.

A spokesman for Birchwood High School said: “We are very proud of Jake and his achievements.

“He is a fantastic, positive and friendly member of our school community and it is great that he is so committed in raising awareness for autism and sharing his experiences so that others can benefit.”