“No one sat with him at lunch time. Kids laughed when he stimmed or made mistakes. He was kept in during recess to ‘think about his behavior.’ My wife and I couldn’t reconcile this with the child we knew. At home, he was calm and followed directions; at school, he became disruptive.”
‘He was sent to the principal’s office the first day of kindergarten. He was branded the troublemaker. The attention seeker. The bad child.’: Dad to bullying survivor with autism urges ‘teach your kids compassion’
When I Tell You My Son Is Autistic, Please Don’t Say ‘I’m Sorry’
“His way of saying ‘I love you’ without speaking a single word. How his amazing personality and smile light up an entire room. His ability to see the beauty in the simplest of things. I’m not sorry.”
‘Off to the edge of the playground, I saw him. A dad walking closely behind his son, never allowing him to get more than a few feet away.’: Mom shares kind reminder for special needs dad
“I saw the son, his mannerisms – the way he walked on his toes, flapped his hands and stimmed. I knew instantly he had autism. He had mannerisms similar to my Gabe. I made my way over to him.”
‘I used to think my success as a mother was measured by my children’s milestones.’: Special needs mom urges ‘accomplishments don’t equal a life well-lived’
“And then I discovered both my kids had autism. I no longer see scored goals or straight As as markers of success.”
‘DON’T let it hurt him like it did your brother.’ I can still smell the hospital and hear him cry. My son would be SUCCESSFUL.’: Sister of brother with autism becomes single mom to special needs son
“I had a front-row seat to how the world treated my brother. I knew how cruel the system could be. He was constantly told he could not achieve his goals and desires, but he told the world, ‘Just watch me.’”
‘You’re just NOT trying hard enough.’ I KNEW I was different, but I tried to brush it off. Then something magical happened.’: Woman diagnosed with autism shares journey, ‘I will live a BEAUTIFUL life’
“‘You’re WAY too sensitive.’ They don’t know I am constantly aware of the clock ticking, people typing, colleagues moving, screens shining, lamp shining, them laughing, the radio playing. This world is so LOUD.”
‘He’ll grow out of it,’ they’d say. I didn’t. I spent YEARS masking myself to fit who I thought I needed to be. I learned to celebrate my differences.’: LGBTQ man waiting for autism diagnosis, ‘I was BORN this way’
“I began to only stim in the privacy of my bedroom or the bathroom and treated it like a dirty secret I’d hopefully grow out of, along with my attraction to boys and all things deemed feminine.“
‘I applied for at-home services through our primary insurance, but was denied. We needed to do a psychological exam and have a diagnosis. We did that and were still denied.’: Mother of autistic child receives act of kindness, support from community, ‘It takes a village’
“They said our income exceeded the guidelines. I was so upset because I did not understand. I just wanted the insurance he was entitled to due to his condition. Autism is so complex.”
‘If you had autism, you’d be a unicorn.’ My social life was thriving, but I was a mess on the inside. I hated not being myself.’: Woman shares autism diagnosis journey, ‘My differences are a gift’
“I was told I was special or unique. I was the center of attention, and not in a good way. From the clothes I wore to the things I said, everything was wrong. I couldn’t fit in with the ‘normal’ people.”
‘Can I give the a tree a hug?’ She tells me her brain is stuck. ‘Why is the sun shining?’: Caretaker of an autistic child insists ‘I am a better person because of her. I see the world in a changed way.’
“I said, ‘Break a leg!’ She got furious and started yelling at me, ‘Why do you want me to break a leg?? She takes things exactly the way they are, what you say is what she hears, and she processes the language just as it’s spoken. Katy has her own unique way of thinking, which I adore.”
