Diary of a Young Naturalist

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Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty: 2. Clash

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Diary of a Young Naturalist, by Dara McAnulty

2. Clash

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

BBC Radio 4 - Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty, 2. Clash

Autistic Dara has just turned 15, and the first swifts arrive in Northern Ireland.

Autistic Dara has just turned 15. His passion for nature continues to clash with him feeling trapped in a Northern Irish suburb.

It’s just after Dara's 15th birthday, and his passion for nature continues to clash with his feelings of being trapped by life in a Northern Irish suburb.

Chronicles of the turning world of autistic teenager Dara McAnulty.

These vivid and moving diary entries about Dara’s connection to wildlife, and the way he sees the world, are raw in their telling and urgent in their message. They communicate his intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and trying to build friendships alongside a life of campaigning.

'I was diagnosed with Asperger’s/autism aged five. By age seven I knew I was very different. I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system.'

Written and read by Dara McAnulty.

Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed.

Producer: Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.

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Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Dara McAnulty, aged 15, documents the passing of a year in both nature and his life.

Book of the Week. Dara McAnulty documents a year in his life as an autistic teenager and an intense connection to the natural world.

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Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

2. Clash

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