00:00So, I'm Harry Scarfe. I'm a football content creator and YouTuber. I'm also autistic, so I'm an advocate for autism as well.
00:08I have my own channel, Scarfe Spurs Talk, which has gone really well.
00:11For 15-year-old Harry Scarfe, football and content creation are his passions.
00:17As a young person with autism, he has challenged the status quo and has not let his condition hold him back
00:23and is now wanting to spread awareness and inclusion further.
00:28Generally, a lot of people have heard of autism, but they don't understand how it works, how it affects people differently.
00:33So, you know, for me, my passion has always been football.
00:37So, to be able to link the two is absolutely fantastic.
00:40And there's so many autistic people, you know, maybe they're neglected by the system and a load of different things.
00:46And I just think that some of you need people to stand up for them, you know, raise points on their behalf.
00:53Because, you know, for example, you look at the diagnosis waiting list in England, we're looking at about 187,000 at the moment.
00:59People don't get an autism diagnosis. That means they're not getting the help, support or need that they deserve.
01:05There's that barrier of getting an autism diagnosis.
01:08Then there's the barrier of getting the HCP to be able to claim that, you know, support.
01:13For example, score one on one that you need and get you in an SEN score or whatever help you need if you're stuck in mainstream, for example.
01:20So there's a lot that needs to be done.
01:22So where did Harry's journey in campaigning for autism awareness in football begin?
01:27And how has it developed in that time so far?
01:31So it really started, I met this guy called Barney on X. He was a Fulham fan.
01:36We just exchanged a conversation over Spurs and Fulham.
01:39And then I found out he was autistic and had the same passion.
01:42He was like, you know, we both kind of realised quite quickly that we were frustrated with the way generally autistic people are misunderstood
01:51and et cetera. So we just kind of got talking. It's really come on from then.
01:54Since we formed a collaboration, we met up and discussed ideas.
01:58We've had the privilege since then to work with other football clubs at Fulham and Tottenham.
02:02That's been an absolute pleasure and learn really interesting what they do around accessibility and what more they can do.
02:09I look forward to working with them as well and other football clubs and just generally sports clubs as well to start with.
02:14And then hopefully we'll move on from there and open up a bit.
02:18But no, it's been really good. That's how it started, really.
02:21Harry then explained why his work is of such importance to others who are neurodivergent,
02:26who love attending and watching football matches across the country.
02:31It's more a case of a lot of people, you know, at SEN attend things like football matches and different things like that.
02:40And if you think about it, I mean, it might not be to me or you, but if you do like dissect it,
02:44it is quite an overwhelming experience for them, whether it be the noise, what they see,
02:48especially someone who's come as a first time. So little things that I've been trying to push for,
02:52like sensory packs, sensory rooms, expanding sensory rooms, all improves a match day experience.
Comments