Autism is a spectrum. When you’ve met a child with autism, you’ve only met ONE CHILD WITH AUTISM. They are all vastly different in their needs and strengths. They are all exquisitely beautiful and inherently amazing. And no, life is no picnic. But when have I ever claimed it was?
No two snowflakes are alike, my friends. What works for one child may not work for another. A treatment or therapy that works for one child may not work for another. And? I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that there are many, many different causes. Because if every cause were the same? I think it would be much easier to figure out how to help our kids.
I’m saying this because I believe it. I’m also saying this because I’m not here to be judgmental. Autism is not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. We all have things in common but we all have different ways of going about our lives. We all do (and we all SHOULD do) what works for our families.
But there’s one thing I want to make clear: We need to stop pointing fingers. Stop blaming each other. We need to stop thinking our way is better and their way is bad. We need to band together and support one another. We cannot do this alone. No one can. And we need to be there for each other, accept that we have differences and respect that we don’t always agree.
Respect!
Support!
Non-judgment!
Help each other!
It can be done. We CAN build a community not just based on awareness, but on acceptance and understanding. Let’s stop the name-calling and hatred and fear NOW. And you can start HERE.