Alex Stratikis was diagnosed with autism at age 6. Today he writes about his travels abroad, encouraging others with autism to travel. And he coaches those involved in the travel industry on how to best serve autistic individuals.

Who is Alex Stratikis?  Here's his story in his own words:

"Hi, I’m Alex Stratikis, founder of Autism Adventures Abroad.  I’m a 20-something travel blogger/writer (I’m also a Japanese to English translator too!) and I just happen to have an Autism diagnosis too. I was inspired to start my blog and establish this website to encourage other young autistic people who are ambitious about exploring the world to push their boundaries and give traveling a go, even if society may convince them otherwise. I could never have imagined that my life would turn out the way it has!

I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 6 (I now simply identify with the broader Autism Spectrum). I always knew there had to be a bigger, more interesting and exciting world than the small ex-mining community where I grew up in Scotland. I dreamt of living in Japan and from the age of 13 I began to study the language, I eventually studied for an Honours Degree in Japanese at Newcastle University in England and graduated in 2019.

I traveled myself for the first time abroad at the age of 19, to Japan and spent 6 months in Tokyo, studying at a language school.  Those were some of the best times of my life. I learned a lot about myself, my limits, my likes and dislikes, I really pushed myself to try new things and explore new places during my stay.

I started to develop connections with others who like me were living in a foreign country and this was a key point I noted.  Nobody was there to judge anyone else’s differences, everyone was there to connect with the people present, most of whom were of different cultures to themselves.

I was raised in Scotland (I’m Greek/Scottish) and really struggled socially throughout my childhood, I struggled to make friends because no-one I knew seemed to be interested in the things I wanted to talk about and here I am now at the beginning of an incredible journey that has seen me travelling (mainly solo) to over 30 countries, 6 of which I have lived, worked and studied in.  I now have friends in countries all over the world!

I have a real interest in visiting sites and venues of historical and architectural significance (I did think about studying archaeology at university before I settled on Japanese).

I post regularly on Instagram, photos and stories from my travels so please take a look, like my posts, leave me a comment and if you like what you see, follow me and I might just follow you back"!

Alex's blog:  https://www.autismadventuresabroad.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AutismAdventuresAbroad

Alex's travel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autismadventuresabroad/

Alex's tip jar/donation: https://gofund.me/20645a45 or
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AlexStratikis

Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022

Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.

To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com