Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and April is Autism Awareness Month. Rather than sharing my story with y'all again, I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that you're all familiar with it. Instead, I'd like to issue a challenge to all of my readers.
For those of you who do not look autism in the face every day:
I challenge you to take some time to learn more. The next time you're out in public and you witness someone "acting up" in a way that makes you uncomfortable, stop and think before you react. Just take five seconds to wonder whether or not that person - or his or her guardian - can do anything about it. Some of us don't have that luxury, but we all have feelings. Before you turn and scowl at the child, or implore the adult present to shut them up, think about how you would feel if someone were to do the same to you.
For those of you who have been forced to welcome this condition into your loved ones, your home, your everyday life:
I challenge you to educate one person. It could be a child at the playground who doesn't understand your kiddo's stimming. Or maybe an adult who can't seem to grasp the fact that we are all different. One minute is all it takes. I also challenge you to have compassion for those who don't understand, just as we request compassion from them. There are two sides of this fence...and the line between is so very blurry. We hate to have our feelings trampled upon; what's to say we're alone in that conviction?
We certainly can't change the world in one fell swoop, but it's the little things that sometimes make all the difference.
Woot!
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