‘What I see is different,” says Chris Packham as he introduces Inside Our Autistic Minds (BBC Two). The naturalist is in his natural habitat, a woodland scene, which looks lush and peaceful but is, Packham explains, a lot for him to take, because he sees not just a vista of nice trees but all the connections between them, the names of all the species, their possible animal and insect inhabitants. Sherlock-style graphics on the screen help to convey the information overload within Packham’s brain. “It becomes utterly overwhelming,” he says.
Immediately, we have learned a little more of what it can be like to experience the world with autism. This new two-parter doesn’t give us too many insights into Packham’s own thoughts, in the way that his gently revolutionary 2017 documentary Asperger’s and Me did, although his interactions during the programme with others on the spectrum are noticeably different to the more familiar sight of him working with neurotypical co-presenters. This time, he is handing the mic to others – meeting autistic people and then helping them to make a film that encapsulates their inner life. It’s a gesture with results as valuable as they are beautiful.
