awareness – user's Blog!

This is a topic I’ve written about before: finding your tribe. Your people. The group of people who “just get it.”

Something I can say about the autism community: we have an amazing group of people to call “ours.” We are a group of people who fiercely love our kids and will do anything and everything to help them. Because of our shared experiences, we also bring something else to the table: acceptance.

Yesterday, Colin’s school had a Christmas party at a local bounce house place. These types of places usually bring so much stress for me: can I see both of the boys? Are they okay? Are there other kids who aren’t paying attention to the little ones and might hurt them? Is Colin following the rules?

I didn’t feel a single one of those emotions yesterday.

Why?

Because we were with “our people.” People who understood. People who didn’t bat an eye when a kid sat on the floor and spun in circles. People who accept kids who are a little different, because their own kid is a little different too.

I stood and watched yesterday, and do you know what I saw?

I saw joy on every kids’ face.

I saw parents enjoying their kids.

I just saw regular families, enjoying a party.

I saw acceptance and love.

I heard this question today:

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

I’d want to make the world look and feel like yesterday’s party looked and felt. Our kids on the spectrum, just having fun, being themselves, and being accepted and loved for it.

SoapBox: They Probably Understand…

*Soapbox Warning*

Just something that I thought I would put out there, for your future reference. You know, because I like to make sure you are being your best self, and this will help you with that….also, because this particular thing bugs the snot outta me!

My advice to you is this:

When you are working with anyone who is nonverbal, never assume that they don’t understand you.

Let’s just imagine this for a minute:

You can’t talk. You have thoughts, opinions, things you might want to share with others, but you can’t, because you are nonverbal.

Your ears work just fine, so you can physically hear what is going on around you.

Your receptive language (what you understand) is also fine.

Now, imagine that someone is talking about you in front of you.

What would that feel like? Would you appreciate that? What about if someone spoke for you? Would you want someone to assume you don’t want to answer for yourself? (Because you might not be able to talk, but you can “answer” in other ways, of course!)

I thought this might be a good reminder as school starts back, and many of you might be working with kids who are nonverbal. Just because someone doesn’t talk, doesn’t mean they don’t understand. People who are nonverbal are smart too! Just remember that.

Always, always, always assume that people understand you. It’s just the considerate thing to do. 🙂